#1703 Rachel Mike and Molly

Summary

Juicebox Podcast: Type 1 Diabetes

Episode #1703: Rachel, Mike, and Molly
Date: December 8, 2025
Host: Scott Benner
Theme: Practical family perspectives and strategies for living well with Type 1 Diabetes—addressing both the emotional journey and the technical “bold with insulin” mindset.

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Episode Overview

This episode features Rachel and Mike, parents of 11-year-old Molly, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in August 2021 at age 7. The conversation touches deeply on the family’s emotional journey, their adaptation to daily diabetes management, and the supportive community they've found online. The show offers candid insights into balancing scientific/technical aspects of insulin management with parenting emotions, communal sharing, and how diabetes reshapes daily life and family dynamics.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Family Background and Diagnosis Story

• Molly’s Diagnosis: Molly was diagnosed at age 7 during a short respite in the COVID-19 pandemic. Rachel noticed something was wrong after Molly had several overnight accidents—a major change from her previous behavior. Having a family history of diabetes (Rachel’s brother has T1D), Rachel was attuned to the possibility.
  • Quote, Rachel [07:09]: “At age 7, when your kid has three overnight accidents within five nights, you know something's up.”
• Path to Diagnosis: Rachel tried to rationalize the symptoms as a UTI or stress but knew diabetes was likely. The pediatrician (who also has T1D) insisted on an immediate visit, confirming Rachel’s suspicions.
• Hospital Experience: Molly’s blood sugar was high (around 575 mg/dL) but she wasn’t in DKA. The family was told to prepare for several days in the hospital at CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia).

Molly’s Empathy Even in Crisis

• Quote, Mike [12:03]: “[Molly] says to us how lucky she feels that we have this hospital in our backyard and how... she feels bad that not everybody has this.”
• Rachel: Molly’s main emotional reaction was realizing that other children might not have access to such good care.

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2. Community Support: Facebook & Online Resources

• Mike’s Early Search for Help: Immediately joined the Juicebox Podcast Facebook group from the hospital, seeking any resource due to sleepless nights.
  • Quote, Mike [04:07]: “I would get 95 answers in 15 minutes from across the globe. It was kind of wild.”
• Impact of Community: Mike found reassurance that they weren’t alone and gathered various approaches and support.
• Rachel’s Different Path: Initially overwhelmed, she was a “lurker” rather than an active participant; for her, the information was too much in the beginning and she needed time to process emotionally.

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3. Family History and Management

• Autoimmune Stack: Rachel’s family includes multiple autoimmune conditions (T1D, MS, Hashimoto’s).
• Rachel’s Personal Medical History: She has Barrett’s esophagus, managed with medication—emphasizing that autoimmune and chronic conditions are woven through the family narrative.
• Family Dynamics:
  • Rachel’s brother lived with T1D for years, mainly on injection therapy and without a CGM—only shifted to a CGM when Molly did, wanting to be a supportive role model for his niece.
    • Rachel [14:03]: “He got a CGM... if my niece can do it, I can do it.”

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4. Parenting: Emotions vs. Science

• Differences in Approach: Mike is “technical/medical,” focused on numbers, patterns, and device management. Rachel handles the emotional load and worries about Molly’s confidence, social adjustment, and daily wellness.
  • Rachel [18:06]: “He wants to dive into the numbers and the trends... My mind doesn't work like that. I'm not a math person. I was like, I'm the least medical person, and you're gonna throw me into this diabetes thing...”
• School & Social Life: Rachel was worried about Molly’s transition to middle school, support from friends, and her ability to feel empowered and unashamed with visible devices.
  • Quote, Rachel [20:07]: “I probably could have skipped over [my worries] because she's amazing and she's confident… she, like, wears a crop top with her, you know, device you’re worried about.”
• Therapy: They enrolled Molly in therapy after diagnosis to pre-empt emotional issues, but even the therapist felt Molly was well-adjusted and didn’t need intensive support.

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5. Management Routines & Family Adjustment

• Mike’s Role: Troubleshoots device management, tweaks settings, coordinates with CHOP’s diabetes care team, and continually seeks validation of management tactics.
  • Quote, Mike [32:55]: “Just hearing from someone who really should know more than me… is valuable… and reaffirming that, like, okay, I'm on the right track here.”
• Molly’s Growing Responsibility: Molly sometimes under-boluses at school, typically out of distraction or mild fear of insulin, not rebellion.
  • Mike [33:58]: “I literally said to her, Molly, no one's upset with you... But... your wrist vibrates... you can't ignore this...”
• Balancing Control & Independence: As Molly grows, Mike and Rachel consciously empower her, but also step in as needed ("hey, a little correction would be a good idea" via text).

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6. The Effects of T1D on Family Life

• Increased Parental Involvement:
  • Mike describes how daily routines (like breakfast) are more involved—requiring careful timing due to pre-bolusing and device checks.
    • [41:36]: “What are seemingly mundane moments of your day for many people are not mundane moments of our day because we have to think about things a little more intentionally.”
• Positive Bonding: The increased attention required has strengthened Mike’s relationship with Molly, providing more quality time (e.g., breakfast together).
  • [43:12]: “I do think it kind of strengthens the connection that a parent can have with their kid.”
• Flexibility and Growth: Mike acknowledges that adolescence will bring new challenges, requiring ongoing flexibility in parenting style and diabetes management.

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7. Impact on the Marriage

• Shared Responsibility & Stress: Early on, managing sleepless nights and alarm fatigue was shared, but overall, Mike doesn’t feel T1D has significantly changed the marriage, other than making some logistical aspects of life more complicated (e.g., only family, not teenagers, babysit).
• Social Life: After the initial post-diagnosis pause, the family has resumed social outings—relying on extended family and well-educated friends for sleepovers and care.
  • [48:57]: “Her friend can sleep over here... but now we’ve got about two or three of her school friends [she can stay with]. The parents have learned the devices and want to help.”

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8. Community—Both Virtual and Flesh-and-Blood

• Importance of Support: The hosts repeatedly emphasize the life-changing value of both virtual communities (Facebook, Instagram) and the devotion of local friends and extended family.
  • [51:07]: “Community boils down to: Wow, here's a friend of ours... ‘What do I need to learn? I don't want you to have to call me at 2am; I want to know what does this beep mean?’ That’s the kind of friend you want.”

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9. Personal Growth and Motivation

• Mike’s “Big Why”:
  • [45:44]: “I have... an 11-year-old daughter, she's a type 1 diabetic, who... wants to be a dance instructor. And as far as I know, [they] don’t carry... great health insurance. So for the rest of my life, I need to make sure... I can prepare myself to say, ‘Yeah, 30 grand a year is going to make sure she can afford her insulin.’”
• Rachel’s Evolving Anxiety: Over time, Rachel’s initial intense worries have lessened, though she admits she finds “new things to worry about.”
  • [21:46]: “It’s not as much. I’ve definitely in the past year or two... found new things to worry about, so don’t worry.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On community:
  • Mike [04:07]: “I would get 95 answers in 15 minutes from across the globe. It was kind of wild.”
• Empathy from Molly:
  • Mike [12:03]: “She says to us how lucky she feels that we have this hospital in our backyard ... she feels bad not everybody has this.”
• Rachel on her worries:
  • Rachel [18:06]: “I’m the least medical person and you’re gonna throw me into this diabetes thing. Like, what are we gonna do?”
• On family adaptation:
  • Mike [43:12]: “It kind of strengthens the connection that a parent can have with their kid.”
• On adjusting management as Molly grows:
  • Mike [35:07]: “You cannot ever need to feel ashamed... if you have to pull your phone out and give yourself more insulin... I don’t want to be having this conversation with you in the emergency room one day.”
• On the impact on Mike’s mindset:
  • Mike [45:44]: “For the rest of my life, I need to make sure... I can prepare myself to say, ‘Yeah, 30 grand a year is going to make sure she can afford her insulin.’”
• On the value of honest storytelling in podcasts:
  • Mike [63:18]: “So many people tune into your podcast because you’re so open with your own personal story, good, bad, and ugly. That’s what draws people.”
• Molly’s strength:
  • Mike [39:55]: “She is the definition of a T1D warrior... it is mind-boggling to me the degree to which she has grown up and handled it with grace.”

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Key Timestamps

• 03:09 — Introduction to Molly’s diagnosis
• 04:07 — Discovery & joining the Facebook group
• 07:09 — Early symptoms & family diagnosis moment
• 12:03 — Molly’s empathy during diagnosis
• 18:06 — Parenting differences: emotions vs. science
• 32:55 — Mike’s collaboration with care team
• 35:07 — Talking to Molly about missed boluses
• 43:12 — Positive bonding as a result of diabetes routines
• 45:44 — Mike’s “big why” and long-term motivation
• 51:07 — Community importance and trusted friends
• 53:19 — Reaffirming Molly’s resilience and adaptability
• 63:18 — Power of authentic storytelling in the diabetes community

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Tone and Style

The conversation is warm, candid, and often humorous. Scott, the host, keeps the tone relaxed and supportive, directly addressing listeners’ likely worries and frustrations. Both Rachel and Mike are open and relatable, conveying both their vulnerabilities and strengths—making their family’s experience accessible and encouraging for listeners facing similar journeys.

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Takeaways for Families

• You’re not alone: Community (virtual and in-person) plays a massive role in navigating T1D.
• Emotional and technical skills are equally important: Parents can split roles and support each other.
• Kids can be incredibly resilient and empathetic: Give them a chance and trust in their ability.
• Therapy and mental health: Worth considering for everyone after diagnosis—even if, sometimes, the parents need it more than the child!
• Stay flexible and expect your approach to evolve: Diabetes management is a moving target as kids age and circumstances change.

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For more, listeners are encouraged to connect via the Juicebox Podcast community groups and explore resources mentioned at JuiceboxPodcast.com.

Transcript

[A]

Hello, friends. Welcome to the Juice Box Podcast. From my family to yours, I want to wish you a happy holiday.

[B]

Hi, my name is Rachel.

[C]

My name is Mike. Happy to be here. We've been married since 2011 and we've got a 11 year old daughter, which is actually kind of why we're here today, I think.

[A]

If you're looking for community around type 1 diabetes, check out the Juice Box Podcast. Private Facebook group juicebox podcast type 1 diabetes but everybody is welcome. Type 1, type 2 gestational loved ones. It doesn't matter to me. If you're impacted by diabetes and you're looking for support, comfort or community, check out Juice box podcast type 1 diabetes on Facebook. This episode of the Juicebox podcast is sponsored by Skingrip, durable skin safe adhesive that lasts your diabetes devices, they can fall off easily sometimes, especially when you're bathing or very active. When those devices fall off, your life is disrupted and it costs you money. But Skingrip patches, they keep your devices secure. Skingrip was founded by a family directly impacted by type 1 and it's trusted by hundreds of thousands of individuals living with diabetes. Juice Box Podcast listeners are going to get 20% off of their first order by visiting skingrip.com juicebox nothing you hear on the Juice Box Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise. Always consult a physician before making any changes to your healthcare plan or becoming bold with insulin.

The episode you're about to enjoy was brought to you by Dexcom, the Dexcom G7, the same CGM that my daughter wears. You can learn more and get started today at my link dexcom.com juicebox Today's episode is also sponsored by the Omnipod 5. And at my link omnipod.com juicebox you can get yourself a free. What I just say? A free Omnipod 5 starter kit. Free. Get out of here. Go click on that link omnipod.com juicebox check it out. Terms and conditions apply. Eligibility may vary. Full terms and conditions can be found@ omnipod.com juicebox links in the show notes [e-mail] hi, my name is Rachel. And who else is here?

[C]

My name is Mike. Happy to be here.

[A]

Well, I'm happy to have you. So you guys are what, dance partners? You're married? What are you?

[C]

Once in a while we do dance together. Yes, but yeah, we've been married since 2011 and we've got a 11 year old daughter, which is actually kind of why we're here today, I think.

[A]

Okay. Rachel is Your daughter the only child, or are there others?

[B]

Yes, only child. We just have one. She's plenty.

[A]

I think you mean a lot. Is that what you're trying to say?

[B]

And perfect.

[A]

Oh, sure. It's lovely. Rachel, what brings you to the podcast today?

[B]

So our daughter Molly was diagnosed with diabetes in August 2021, in that nice little break of COVID where we could both go to the hospital and. Yeah, so that's what brings us. Mike used the podcast when she was first diagnosed, and here we are.

[A]

Mike, how did you find it?

[C]

So even from the hospital room, I think I ordered like, you know, the. What is it? The bag of hope from jdrf, the little. The little Rufus, the diabetic bear doll. And this sort of started saying, okay, what is any resource I could possibly find? Lord knows I wasn't going to be sleeping much. I came across the podcast, and I can tell you for sure, or I should say I came across the Facebook group first. And I'll tell you, in those first few, certainly in the first few months, possibly even in the first year or two, there were times at two in the morning, things are. Alarms are blaring. This is that. And I'm on. I'm on the pod. Why in the hell is this happening?

[A]

Like, what?

[C]

And I would get 95 answers in 15 minutes from across the globe. It was kind of wild.

[A]

Yeah. So that group was a little bit of like your Frequently Asked questions page for a while for me.

[C]

Yeah, a little bit. And with, you know, with. With a slight grain of salt, because obviously there's folks in there who have been doing a whole variety of, you know, management methods for all. For decades. And. But yeah, it was definitely like, all right, how can I get, you know, a bunch of opinions of people who have some, one way or other, lived with this for years and, you know, kind of hash through them kind of.

[A]

Quickly just try to figure out a direction. So what did you do? Did you kind of just collate answers? And how did you take those different suggestions from people and turn that into action for yourself?

[C]

Sometimes it wasn't for me anyway. Always about action. Sometimes it was just like, okay, this is not like we're doing something really weird here. This is happening clearly to thousands of other people. And I could feel a little bit better about, you know, our Rachel and I and our process of. Of learning, which clearly sort of trial by narrow. You know, sometimes it did turn an action, and usually those were the questions that were a little bit more technical. Like, I've asked this actually more than once. I keep forgetting you're changing the dexcom, the pod, and all at the same time. Which do you do first and why? You know, then I would, like. Okay, maybe I would sort of look at those, like, following instructions sometimes.

[A]

Okay. And Rachel, did you. Were you a member as well at that point?

[B]

So I was not. My husband actually added me to it a little bit later, a few weeks, maybe a month or two. And I silenced it because I found it totally overwhelming. I thought it was too much. It was like, too much information at once. I needed, like, time to. I'm like, the emotional one of us, so I needed time to, like, sit with my feelings on it before I was, like, jumping in on all of the technical and the medical and the. Obviously we. You jump in the medical immediately. That is number one. You have to. But I'm an emotional human, so it definitely was too overwhelming for me right away.

[A]

Did you ever make it back to it or.

[B]

No, I did. I'm more of a, like, observer on the Facebook page for sure. Yeah. I'm not as much of a commenter or question asker. I like to just scan a little bit. Instagram's more my jam, too.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So I get a lot from Instagram.

[A]

I think a lot of people are lurkers before. Before they're talkers, actually. I think it's a large portion of the people, because I can see how many people see a post, but how many of them comment on it is a significantly different number, for sure. Yeah. I don't think that's uncommon at all. Which one of you was the first one to say out loud, hey, there's something wrong with Molly. What's going on?

[B]

I think that was me. Definitely me. This is a kid who, like, never had an accident basically in her entire life. Like, she woke up dry at 18 months and, like, never had it. It was potty training was easy.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So at age 7, when your kid has three overnight accidents within five nights, you know something's up.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I wanted to, like, think it was a UTI or anxiety because she was heading back into the school year post Covid. But I knew in the back of my head because my brother has type 1 diabetes, although he was in his 20s when he was diagnosed, that it was a big possibility. So when I called the pediatrician to say, hey, something's going on, and they were like, you need to come in today. That's when it, like, hit me in the stomach. And I was like, yep, we're going to get that diagnosis today.

[A]

Did you tell the pediatrician, your brother has type 1.

[B]

I didn't until we were there.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

But it was. I told them about the accidents, and they were like, so you're going to come in today? And I was like, well, camp ends this week. Can I come in next week? Like, we can wait. It's fine. Let's not take her out of camp. And they were like, our last appointment's at 4. You're gonna come in.

[A]

Right?

[B]

So I knew.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[C]

And the pediatrician has had T1 for 40 years.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[C]

So he was, like, very well versed in the whole thing and is an excellent pediatrician on top of that. But, yeah, I'm sure his. His bells went off immediately.

[A]

So, Rachel, what else is in your family line? There's type one with your brother. Do either of you have autoimmune stuff or.

[B]

My mom has Ms. She also has Hashimoto's, so that nice little stack. Yeah. So we knew.

[A]

Rachel, do you have anything?

[B]

I have Barrett's esophagus, so that's not.

[C]

Not related to that.

[A]

Not that. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. How did you find out you had that?

[B]

I was 24, which is interesting because my mom's like, it's an old man's disease. What do you mean? But I was having, like, you know, some GI stomach things. I was nauseous, which. So they did not think it was going to be Barrett's esophagus, but. Yeah, but my dad has it, too.

[A]

So how do you manage it?

[B]

I just am on lanzoprazole.

[A]

And that worked, you know?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So I have the beginnings of Barrett's.

[B]

Oh.

[A]

I had horrible, like, reflux and stuff like that for years, and sometimes I had kind of silent. I don't know if that's really a thing, but, like, I don't know how to put that exactly. It feels like silent reflux a little bit.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But that's all. The GLP made it all go away.

[B]

Yeah. Oh, interesting.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Huh. So, yeah, I kind of have silent Barrett's also. Like, my symptoms were not, like, total acid reflux. They were not. That's why they were shocked.

[A]

So, yeah, it's pretty awesome how. How much that's alleviated that. I know some people say they go on GOPs and they get, like, reflux, but.

[B]

Oh, interesting.

[A]

Mine. Mine went away. And it wasn't for those people listening who was like, well, it's because you were a fat scout. But.

It was. It went away way before the wait happened. So.

[B]

Interesting.

[A]

I have no idea.

[B]

You should look into it.

[A]

Yeah. What was going on down in there.

[C]

Anyway, Scott, we have, we have a very. Who I think is a very intelligent friend of ours who literally talks about the GLP drugs like as if aliens came down and handed us this like magical thing and we just have no idea what to do with it. But it works for so works or doesn't work for so many things. Every you watch the news every like few weeks, there's a new thing that apparently these drugs help. It's kind of crazy.

[A]

It works on so many different things that when I have a little ailment that's not touched by it, I'm like, oh, the GLP really let me down on that. How come it didn't fix my sore knee? So, okay, you're in the, you're in the doctor's office. They give you the diagnosis right there. You go to the hospital. What was her blood sugar?

[B]

Yeah, they sent us to chop, which is Children's Hospital Philadelphia for those that aren't in the area. They told us we had time to go home. Her number was like, I think we were 5, 75 at the time. So high. But not, not like DKA. And so they were like, go get some clothes. You're going to be there a few days. So we got home, we grabbed some food so that we could eat in the emergency room. We're probably there around six and then we didn't get a room until like midnight. But we were, I was like, why are you not. You were called. Why aren't you letting us come in immediately?

[A]

Hello.

[C]

Retired and hello. So for what it's worth, Molly was basically fine. She, she said no dk. She, she was not sick. She was not throwing up. She was not. I mean, yeah, she was a little, little nerve wrack what was going on, but she was otherwise seemingly healthy without. We hear stories. I've read stories on the, on the podcast in the Facebook group of kids who are just violently ill. So you caught it early some degree. Yeah, we were, yeah. We feel kind of lucky in that sense. And Rachel mentioned, you know, chopped like. We are on our way to the hospital and there are, you know, this, you know, seven or so, right? Seven. Yeah. Seven year old girl. What is she saying to you could imagine all the things she might be saying or crying about or. What did she say to us? She says to us how lucky she feels that we have this hospital in our backyard and how if I'm wrong, she was like, I feel bad that not everybody has this.

[B]

Yeah, we were.

[C]

Where is this coming from?

[B]

Yeah, we were reassuring her that, like, everything was going to be okay. That Chop is one of, like, the best children's hospitals in the country, and we're so lucky it's right here.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And she started to get. That's the moment she started to cry and get upset. Not when we were rushing there, but was like, oh, my gosh, other kids don't have this. Why are we like, this is so sad.

[A]

Is she normally that empathetic?

[B]

I feel really guilty. Yeah. Yes.

[A]

Oh, okay. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Well, that's nice.

[B]

It's her nature. I think it's my fault.

[A]

It's your fault. It's lovely. So people don't know, but I only have 10 more minutes with Rachel, and then it'll be Mike and I till the end. Apparently, Rachel has, like, a job or something.

[B]

I know, it's terrible, but.

[A]

So I want to ask a question. A little out of order. Your brother having type one in any way valuable for you, or did you guys not talk about it very much? What was that relationship like?

[B]

So it's funny, my brother and I, as close as we are, we are very close. It's just the two of us. He's my older brother. He sort of, like, because he was in his 20s, like, kept it really to himself. He was on MDI. He didn't have a CGM. He just sort of did his own thing. I'm a little sister, so I just would make fun of him for taking naps in the middle of the day. I'm like, you're an adult. What are you doing? Now, looking back, I have apologized to him many times.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

To be like, I'm sorry. You are probably dealing with something while in the moment of diagnosis, there was no, like, oh, I can check to this, or say, this makes sense, or whatever now. And, like, since she's been diagnosed, it's been great for her to have, like, a T1D buddy in our family. They were already really close. You know, she's his only niece. They're already very close. And I think this brought them even closer. And she can be like, hey, what's your number? Like, they. I'll get emotional about this. So just because my mom does. He got a cgm. He got a Dexcom. When Molly did. They were begging him for 10 years to get one right, to manage his blood sugars better and. And figure it out. He's a creature of habit. He'll kill me for saying that on. On this podcast, but it's fine. But my mom was so happy. Everybody, just like that. Like little bit of worry lifted a little about my brother when he was like, okay, if my niece can do it, I can do it. He's still not on a pump.

[A]

Okay, well, what do you think about her diagnosis motivated him.

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[B]

I think he, I don't know. We haven't really talked much about it, but I do feel like he probably was like, I want to be around for her. She needs to see an example maybe of taking care of yourself and doing the things that you should do. And listen, the CGM isn't for everybody. I understand that too. But it certainly can help you with the trends of where you're going and all of that and help you figure out what you need to do. I don't know if Mike, you've ever had a conversation with him about it.

[C]

But I sort of think that at least on the front line, he was doing it for her. Hey, Mal, don't be afraid of this. I'm going to do this with you. Like, it's going to be helpful, a good thing, et cetera. I think kind of behind the curtain there was a little bit of like, well, if my 7 year old niece understands this is right, I should probably be hopping on this train, you know, But I think the thing that we sort of saw more so was in support of Molly, but I'm sure there was a. All right, it's about time. I got to do this now.

[B]

Stop being so stubborn.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

So he's not married, right?

[B]

No.

[A]

Yeah. I guess I shouldn't be that surprised by. I guess if I underst. Probably if I'd taken a high school psychology class or two, I would have understood, but people really have trouble doing things for themselves, but they have no trouble at all doing it for somebody else.

[B]

Totally.

[A]

Yeah. It's really, really interesting. Hey, in your note here, your note here, you said, parenting, the emotions versus the science. I'm asking that question now, too. I'm trying to be mindful of Rachel's time because I feel like she's gonna like, can you tell me what you meant by that?

[B]

I can totally answer that one. Because I am, as Mike and I always say, like, he's more medical, he's more science. He wants to dive into the numbers and the trends and her ratios and all of that. My mind doesn't work like that. I'm not a math person. I'm not a science person. I was like, I'm the least medical person, and you're gonna throw me into this diabetes thing. Like, what are we gonna do? I worried a lot in the hospital and beyond the past four years.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

About her confidence level. You know, she just entered middle school this year. Like, what was gonna happen when she transitioned to middle school? Elementary school was so supportive. Her friends were amazing. She had friends who would be like, molly, is this a, like, run around recess? Do you need to bring your numbers down or do you need to sit? Like, those are the things I thought about. Were her friends gonna be supportive? Was she gonna feel confident? Is she gonna be, like, rocking her gadgets? Is she gonna be able to go into the world and say, I have diabetes? Okay, like, don't make fun of me, Mike.

[A]

Does Rachel worry about Everything.

[C]

Oh, it's like her middle name.

[A]

Oh, okay.

[C]

Yeah. No, yeah. Amongst it. She is definitely the worrier. She's not. It's not like she's never involved in the, you know, carb counting. And we do.

[B]

We.

[C]

There's. We share a lot of those things because you have to. But, yeah, she's. It's definitely true that, you know, she does. Rachel's more. I don't want to say concerned about, but, like, yeah, her. Her. She. Her vibe is more that way. My vibe is often more.

[A]

We've put Mike in a bad position. Rachel, are you anxious?

[B]

I am super anxious. I will say. I also, this is not that I don't do the medical or I don't do any of that, but I definitely question myself more.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

When it comes to those things, I'm more like, was that the right thing to do?

[A]

So let me ask you, all your concerns and your worry. Were they valid or could you have skipped over them and things would have been okay?

[B]

I probably could have skipped over them because she's amazing and she's confident and she, like, wears a crop top with her. With her, you know, device you're worried about.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, she. A year into it, she was, like, wearing a crop top, and both of her devices were on her stomach. And I remember this moment so well. She was like, mom, guess what part of this. My strongest part of my body is right now? And she points to her stomach where both, you know, her Dexcom and pump are on her stomach, and she's like, see, I'm strong, and her friends are nice, and nobody even, like, cares about the beeping in class. And I'm concerned about all those things.

[A]

Rachel, can I ask a difficult question?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Does she tell you, look, mom, look how strong I am? Because she knows you're worried, and she's trying to make you feel better.

[B]

She might, because she's an empathetic.

[A]

Yeah. But we know we can't make her feel that way. Right, Rachel? Yeah. Okay.

[B]

All right. I'm just saying it's funny because we, like, immediately put her in therapy right after diagnosis because I wanted her to just at least, like, you know, I'm.

[A]

Laughing because I wanted to say. Not you. You put her in. I was going to say, because she sounds okay.

[B]

I met with the therapist, too. She's great. She. I needed her more.

[A]

I was gonna say, Molly sounds like she's doing fine.

[B]

She's doing great. We actually. The therapist, we brought her back at, like, some point because we, like, took, like, a long Break, I guess, the summer or whatever. And she was like, so you can keep coming. I love talking to Molly, but like, she's okay.

[A]

No kidding. But you're still going or.

[B]

No, I don't have time for that.

[A]

Have you been able to give it away or do you still carry the anxiety around?

[B]

It's not as much. I've definitely in the past year or two have, like, I found new things to worry about, so don't worry.

[A]

I'm supposed to send something to my sister in law this week that has to be put on ice. And the other night my wife goes into the freezer to move stuff around because she bought something that she had to make fit in the freezer. What? And she takes out the ice packs and she puts them on the counter. I said, yo, I'm using them tomorrow to mail the stuff. And she goes, those are not the right ice packs. And I was like, what?

I was like, they're cold, right? I was like, they'll be fine. I'm like, I'm overnighting something. It's cold outside. Like, it's going to be. No, you have to get ones that are meant for that. And I thought, like, all right. I mean, I guess if this makes you feel better, but I just bought more ice packs for no reason whatsoever. But it's a thing that I looked at her, I was like, oh, God, she's worried about this.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I don't know what happens to you ladies, but like, God bless you because it's terrible. It really is.

[B]

I don't know what it is either.

[A]

But were you like that before you made that baby, by the way, Rachel? Or did it happen? Like, did you think she grabbed a switch on the way out? What. What do you think?

[B]

I think I always had it in me, but I just think it intensified after a donor.

[A]

Yeah, Like, I. I always assume, like, the kids are sliding out. There's a big, like, button that says do not push. A lot of them go by and push it. And then you girls lose your minds.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Know what happens?

[B]

So true. A little true.

[A]

I want to be fair. I appreciate that. My wife is. Seems to be hardwired to make sure that we're okay. I just want to say I think we'd be okay if she wasn't like that.

I find myself telling her all the time, I'm like, you know, when you're not here, I handle this and everything's fine.

[B]

Right.

[A]

I do it one way, you do it a different way. Like, your way's not right. My ways wrong. And I don't even think she thinks that. I just think the anxiety of it not being done, the way she knows it works is hard on her.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I don't know if she was like that before. I. I was gonna say before I got her pregnant, before we had a baby. I don't know if she was like that before. Before we had a baby or not, because I don't really remember. We were dating. Like, our lives were not as intertwined, you know?

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Yep. Anyway, it feels like a baby.

[B]

And I totally acknowledge. A lot of times, sometimes I don't. And I say this is just the way it is, but I do acknowledge that there is some crazy inside of that anxiety. But.

There is some crazy to the anxiety.

[A]

Okay, so do you have to go? Rachel, are we losing you?

[B]

I am going to hang up. I know. I'm a joy, and I'm so fun.

[A]

Mm.

[B]

You'll just have to have me back by myself.

[A]

I would do that, but before I let you go, like, where's your accent from? Because it's not Philly, but you're in Philly.

[B]

Oh, my gosh. That's so nice. People say it's Philadelphia all the time.

[A]

I don't know what I'm here. I'm hearing a little, like, there's a tail at the end. Like, I hear Philly, and then there's a tail. What's the tail? Where'd you go to college?

[B]

Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

[A]

Oh, you stayed here? I don't know. Are you fancy? Did you come from a Mike? Did you pluck her out of a fancy family? What happened?

[C]

I mean, I assume my in laws are not going to listen to this, so. No. No, not really.

[B]

I mean, you know, they'll listen to it. They listen to everything we do.

[A]

Mike's like, they were garbage people. They were lucky I took her.

[B]

Yeah. I don't know. My dad was born in Paris. He moved here when he was 8. But he doesn't have an accent. Like, he sounds.

[C]

You have an elegant.

[A]

There's an elegance to the end of your speech pattern.

[B]

I don't know.

[A]

You don't know that.

[B]

I'm just fancy.

[A]

All right, go do your job. I don't want you getting fired.

[B]

Oh, thanks. I appreciate it. Thanks for having me.

[A]

No, it was great. You definitely can come back on. Let me know. Okay, great.

[B]

Thanks.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

Bye.

[A]

All right, Mike. Now we can talk about her.

[B]

Totally heard that.

[C]

Now we can talk about her.

[A]

Yeah, now we can definitely talk. I. I didn't look up Before I said that, so far, what you've heard here, right. Like, this is. I think it'll be interesting to keep it going this way. Did you find yourself worried about your daughter and your wife all of a sudden? Where were you while this was happening?

[C]

A little bit. So, you know. Well, actually, I think in the very beginning, and I think this is a nice way, like, my wife and many other people could have just disappeared on the face of the earth. I wouldn't have known.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Like, there was a little bit where it was like, okay, this is all about Molly and my. Whatever I could or couldn't or thought I could do to help her or not help her or be there or not be, not be there was all that I was kind of consumed about. And I think it took me a little while to.

[B]

Not.

[C]

Not a little while, I guess, in years, but maybe just a couple weeks where they just kind of remember, wait a minute. No, I'm very much so. Very much so not alone in this.

[A]

So you felt alone. You got locked in on trying to find what answers, solutions.

[C]

Well, you know, looking back at it, I think. I think that is definitely part of it. I mean, that's why. I mean, I literally, from the hospital, there I am Googling, like, what can I.

[B]

Who.

[C]

What organizations are out there? What can I get? What can I. That's why that bag of hope came. I bet you if I went, or you went, If I went back and looked, when, what date did I join the Juice box podcast, Facebook group? I'd be willing to bet. No, I'm probably going to be wrong when I say this, but that it was within hours or days of diagnosis.

[A]

Of the diagnosis. Yeah. And that's consistent with your personality. Like the diving in, like, the whole thing? Or is this, like, did this unleash your crazy somehow? Like, what?

[C]

No. So, like, you know, I mean, right now, like, you know, I'm a realtor, but, like, I'm a business coach, so I've worked with agents, coaching new agents. So, like, the ability. My ability and desire to help solve a problem is very much so there. I mean, that's sort of been one of my things. I, you know, I like the quote, data minutes. You know, I like being able to help, being able to assist. So, yeah, I think it's always been that way. And this was now, like, okay, I've got something that's extremely important to me. How can I find? How can I help? What can I do know? So that's. Whereas Rachel was, you know, more focused on the emotional Side of thing.

[A]

Yeah. What was going to happen to her?

[C]

How can I change her icr? What number can I tweak here? Because otherwise I felt helpless. Like really there's, there's nothing I can do to watch her go through a day at 350. Like that's not okay.

[A]

Right? Right.

[C]

Even now, I mean, I dropped her target yesterday. Changed some of her ICR last week. Because I look at things, I'm like, there's this, this is not. No, this, this number's not okay the way it is all day long.

[A]

Okay. So would you have known that the number wasn't okay if you didn't find the community aspect of it? Or do you think you would have thought it was all right and maybe not even looked into the rest of it?

[C]

That's a good question. So I think a little bit of both because in the beginning, almost as often as I was looking at the, at the Facebook page or listening to the podcast, I was also going into the CHOP Hospital app and messaging the non urgent medical question to the care team there. Like, hey, I'm seeing this. What do you think I can do? Or I want to try this, that and this on the pump. Do you think this would be okay? Those messages occurred quite often back then too. And even these days, with a little bit more of a head on my shoulders and not quite so, you know, important, but not like freaking out, I still send the CHOP team a message saying, hey, can you look at our numbers the past couple of days? Like log into Gluco, take a look. I don't like what I'm seeing and I want to try this. What do you think? I still do it, just not as often and usually not at 2 in the morning.

[A]

How have you found their that to be valuable? Like to message them? Are they getting back to you with actionable stuff? It's helping you?

[C]

Oh, absolutely. Yes. It's so I don't know about every diabetes care management team, but the CHOP people, you know, the hospital of Philadelphia, they're phenomenal. And so if I send in what's quote it's called, it's a non urgent medical question and I hear back if I send it before noon, I often I'll hear back that evening. But it's barring it being the weekend, if I write on a Monday afternoon, nine times out of 10, I hear back latest by Tuesday and I've paid enough attention to whatever and I forgot the glucose app. I can kind of reference, hey, can you look at this hour to this hour on these past Five days and tell me what you think. And for instance, I just learned this. I don't know if learn is right word or experienced it. Whatever, really seeing. Okay. Huh. Molly put in for breakfast or something because breakfast is her work. It shoots her up. I don't know what's going on, but it's just the way it is. But I can see all right. She left, got on the bus at 7:30. She got to school, and I know this is what time the bus gets here at about 8:05. And I can see at 8:10, looking at the Gluco app, she had 25 carbs. Okay, she got something to eat at the school. No problem. Suggested for the pump, suggested bolus. I don't know. 3.5 bolus delivered 1.5. And I can see ma, like, what did you do? You like you. We weren't in the mood to give yourself the full bolus at that moment. And it wasn't a rebellion thing. She's a little scared of insulin, so. But I can see this. So like every day or every. I'm learning something. Oh, I can log into Lugo. I can see that. And I get to have a slightly more intelligent yet not forceful conversation with her. Or she goes high enough, the school nurse text messages us and says, would you like us to treat this like, yeah. Oh, and by the way, could you remind her that she did not give her full bolus for the whatever she ate at the school cafeteria?

[A]

When you message the care team and you get the answer back, do you find that they're saying something to you that you were like, oh, thank God I got to them because I had no idea this. Or are you just using them as a sounding board and what they're saying, saying back to you, you think, oh, well, this is what I thought at this point.

[C]

The latter. Because, I mean, look, the fact about it is with an Omnipod, you can't change many things. I mean, it's the OD5. Yeah. You change the target, you change the ICR. I mean, there's not a whole lot of tweaking. I suppose other pumps with more things that you can do might be bigger questions. But no, right now it's just sort of like, hey, what do you think of this?

[A]

So you're scared that there's something you're missing, but then you're hearing back from them and realizing that's not the case. I. I was kind of on top of that. So do you think that's building your confidence? Like, I'm trying to imagine Them, Right. They're spending their time answering your question, but you already know the answer. But there's still something valuable coming from it. Is it that? Is it the confidence piece?

[C]

Yes. Nine, ten. I would say yes. Sometimes there's something I still know how to do, like, how do I. How do I do this? But I would say that more often than not, it is a. I notice a trend of, you know, whatever highs at a certain time or whatever it might be. And I just want to say, okay, I'm thinking of trying this changing ICR here up in the target there. Whatever, whatever. What do you think? And just hearing from someone who really should know more than me, valuable to.

[A]

Know Buck is valuable.

[C]

And reaffirming that, like, okay, I'm on the right track here.

[A]

Great. Good, good, good. And then the other piece that you feel like you have like a jumping in point to speak with your daughter about it, how is that going? Like, because it seems to me like it's, it's interesting, right? Because the not giving insulin to the full number because she's nervous about it is more of the emotional side of her, but she's talking to the technical parent about it. Have you ever put your wife on that conversation instead of you?

[C]

So I'm sure, yes, once or twice. We have definitely had it together in the same. We're all sitting there on the couch together or whatever. And I would be willing to bet that it's happened between Rachel and Molly just independently as well. I think, though the conversation probably, or the part of the conversation goes a little bit differently than Rachel has it when I have it. I mean, just last week I said to Molly and I said to her, I literally said to her, molly, no one's upset with you. I'm not angry with you. Like, if you miss a boy, I mean, it happens. But the way I said it to her is I, look, you need to be. I mean, she's 11 years old. You know, again, it's not like she's in her 20s. But she's also not a. She's not five. I said you feel it beeping. You have a, you have a watch. You have it in your, in your, in a little fanny. You feel it, you hear it. You can't ignore this. If you eat breakfast or you have whatever snack at school and 30 minutes later and you were like, you know, you were 1:30 when it happened, and 30 minutes later you're 3:90 shooting up like you need to notice. Wait, what did I miss?

[A]

Do you think she's ignoring it? Or do you think it's just because she's 11 and she's doing other stuff?

[C]

I think most of it is just, I'm. I was at recess. I was. I was in math class. I was, whatever, hanging out. I don't think she was consciously ignoring it. Listen to podcast episodes and seen on the Facebook. People saying, oh, my kid is rebelling. I go into their room and they're hiding candy and this and the other. I don't think she's rebelling against it. I don't think it's that kind of a conscious decision. I think it's just. Yeah, she's 11 and just kind of forgets and life goes on with her day. So that's what I'm trying to say to her. I said, mom, I'd much rather be having this conversation with you right now about, hey, babe, when you feel that in the watch vibrate, take a look. Like, you should never, ever need to feel ashamed or that you're interrupting class if you just have to pull your phone out, click a few buttons, and give yourself more insulin. I actually said to her, I don't want to be having this conversation with you in the emergency room one day. This is a very important thing. It's, you know, and she, like, freak her out. She got it. She's like, no, I know. I know. Something I want her to feel sorry for. But we're not there with her all the time, or, you know, she. She needs to sort of say, so.

[A]

Mike, you're more afraid than you're letting on. Is that right? What are you afraid of? Like, what would get her into the emergency room?

[C]

Well, like, you know, you feel you don't want to spend, you know, spend your days, you know, three, 400, you know, glucose levels at some point, it's unhealthy. And if she were to, I don't know, have a day where, for whatever reason, she missed more than is normal, you know, you don't want a kid going into dka. You don't want something happening.

[A]

Is that happening? Is she running around with 3 and 3 and 400 blood sugars?

[C]

Rarely. Rarely. But there are days where I look at the. Well, granted, most of days where it's prolonged usually end up being a pump issue. You know, like the pump is leaking or something. Not absorbing. Well, but there are days without question, one guarantee. And she has told me, hey, mom, did you. Did you bolus for that stack?

[A]

Oh, no, I forgot.

[C]

Oops. Yeah, she forgot.

[A]

But how frequently in a month, how many times does that happen?

[C]

A handful. Less than half a dozen Sounds pretty good to me. Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah.

[A]

You said something that I rubbed up against. Like, you were like, well, it's not like she's five. She's 11. I mean, I don't know, 11 sounds pretty young to me still.

[C]

Well, that's right. So as I said, she's not. She's not a teenager or her 20s, you know, adult per se, but she's old enough to. And have been doing this for four years. Her wrist vibrates on her. Her phone beeps. It's not like it's. Oh, I don't know what that is. You know what I mean? And she's old enough to say, oh, that's what's happening here. Let me do something.

[A]

When I was 11, I lived in an apartment complex, and we would. During a certain part of the season, there were crabapple trees on one side of the parking lot, and on the other side, those little spiny balls. I don't know if that makes sense to people.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And we would spend long portions of our day fighting wars across the parking lot. So we'd split people up half and half on either side, pick up either the crab apples or the spiny balls, and then just throw them at each other's heads as hard as we could.

[C]

So. So are you trying to make the point that kids are basically idiots?

[A]

I'm trying to say, like, I think she's doing pretty well because if you went and found me at that age and you were like, hey, when your wrist vibrates while you're throwing the spiny ball at the people, like, you should stop and give yourself insulin, I'd be like, well, none of that's happening 100%.

[C]

Rachel and I both give Molly unbelievable credit. I mean, she is. It is mind boggling to me the degree to which she has grown up and been. Been forced to grow up and handled it with. With grace, I mean, it's unreal. I don't think I could do it.

[A]

Yeah. Maybe you're finding the end of how much she's willing to grow up right now, quite possibly. And that's.

[B]

That's fine.

[C]

I mean, again, I don't. It's not like, no, you need to do. I just want to make sure she's healthy and, and happy and able to live.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. Oh, my God. Obviously, like, so what do you got? What do you do? Like, if you see a big number like that, do you bop in with a text and they're like, hey, we got bolas here. Or like, yeah, I definitely have.

[C]

I'll just shoot her text. Hey, babe, a little correction would be a good idea.

[A]

And then she does that.

[C]

Well, she, she usually does. Yeah, she'll. She'll. She usually does, yes. Like text back. Okay, Yep.

[A]

I mean it sounds like. How long she been at this now? A few years?

[C]

Four years. August 2021.

[A]

So yeah, it sounds like you're doing well. I mean it sounds like she's doing great. You think she handles it like on an emotional level? Is she kind of skating with it? Is she. Does she get caught up on it somehow? It doesn't sound like it.

[C]

From earlier descriptions, he is the definition of a T1D warrior, which. He's a champ, yo. Like I'm amazed by her in so many ways, but just in the ways in which she handles her Diabetes is mind boggling.

[A]

Now.

[C]

Do I know if at age 11, and it's okay if she doesn't. She understands like the biggest of pictures, like this is a lifelong disease. Maybe not. And that's okay. I'm not concerned. Day to day, week to week. She is incredible.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

It blows my mind.

[A]

Yeah. Hey, can you talk a little bit about how this has all impacted you specifically? Like try your best to take her out of it for a second and even your wife just remove everybody else. How's it changed your life?

[C]

So there's a lot of the tangible stuff. I mean it adds immensely to the things that we're just. We have friends who go to school with her and their bus comes for Those kids at 7:30 the same way it basically does her mom. You ever take a few minutes and some of them roll out of bed at 7 o', clock, are dressed by 7:05, eat by 7:15, brush their teeth and are on the bus. Whereas Molly's like, well wait, you gotta pre bolus. It's gotta wait 15 or so minutes. Then there's more of a process. So there's our moments where. And again, not in a bad way, it's like, oh. What are seemingly mundane moments of your day for many people are not mundane moments of our day because we have to think about things a little more, a little bit more intentionally. Is it a problem? No. Would she like to sleep half an hour later? Yeah, I'm sure she would.

[A]

But Mike, I'm going to say something that's going to. It's going to make you feel uncomfortable for a second. I said, take your daughter and your wife out of it and tell me how it's changed your life. And you paused and then told Me how your daughter's schedule makes things different. And also how are you changed by this? Are you.

[C]

Well, so I guess. I guess I chose that example because you're right. Yeah. Otherwise I would be doing the same thing. I would sleep half an hour later. I would be like, yo, go down make yourself your own damn self breakfast. You know what I mean?

You know how to pour a bowl of cereal like have at a kid and I probably could. I mean frankly, she probably could.

[A]

So you're more involved in things that you didn't imagine you'd be involved in. Is that a good or a bad change?

[C]

It's a little bit of both. There are some moments where I think it's actually a very nice thing because I'm up with her. We sit, we eat breakfast sort of somewhat together. And I do appreciate those moments. So there's definitely some good to be had there. I talked to some of my coworkers. They're like dude, I haven't had breakfast with my kid in five years. She's 12 years old. What the heck do you want? She can pull herself a darn bowl of cereal.

[A]

And you're looking. Yeah. Some maybe private time or extra sleep or something you might have gotten is gone.

[C]

Yeah. And do. But do I. Do I regret it? Am I like a bummed out about it?

[B]

No.

[C]

I mean it's like there are moments where I'm. No, it's.

[A]

I'm.

[C]

I'm happy to be.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I'm up earlier. Sure. But like it's. It's nice. It's like time together to Even though brought you closer. Yeah.

[A]

Okay. So is the answer like because of that scheduling thing you've spent more time with your daughter and you're. You. You get to see more than you think you would have otherwise.

[C]

I think actually there is some truth to that. Yes.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

That just because of you know, the extra little things need to make sure of that we have, you know. Did you bullish for this to remember to bring the. This whatever. I do think it kind of strengthens the connection that a parent can have with their kid. I definitely know there are instances where it probably does the other the opposite. But thus far I think in many ways it strengthens the bond there has been. Has thus far. I mean there are certainly moments where she's like guys, these don't words you'll come out of her mouth and like this but like screw you both. I'm like leave me alone. I'm sure.

[A]

I actually thought it would be funny if I asked her that Question. She was like, I don't know if they're around all the goddamn time. Like, you know, I eat every morning with my dad. It sucks.

[C]

Exactly. Oh, my God.

[A]

No, but like, you know, change things a little bit. Yeah. Are you more or less anxious, more or less vigilant? Has it changed anything about your personality? Are there things that you would say, God, this has ruined this for me, or made this much better? Anything that jumps out at you at all.

[C]

It is interesting thing. So I work for Keller Williams and we talk a lot about mindset and what your big why is, why are you here, what got you into this field, et cetera. Obviously, it's an applicable question to anything. I was asked by a very good coach. She's an extremely good real estate coach, business coach, and she said she asked questions. So tell me, Mike, you know, take a few minutes, but tell me your why. What are you here for? And this is at a class I took about a year ago. I gave her some answer, toeing the line, oh, I want to own a company, make, make good money, blah, blah, whatever. You know, the kind of thing you might, one might think about as a, you know, entrepreneurial independent contractor or whatever. And she says, looks at me, mike, stop. Why? That's a great goal. I want to make money on my own business, blah, blah, blah, that's a great goal, but why? And I write just without even a moment of thinking. What rolled off my tongue was, well, because I have at the time, 10 year old daughter, she's a type 1 diabetic, who at this moment wants to be a dance instructor. And as far as I know, dance instructors not carry with it great health insurance. So for the rest of my life, I need to make sure whether I sell one more house or whatever it is that I can prepare myself to have to say, yeah, 30 grand a year is going to make sure that she can afford her insulin and that God forbid, this happens or whatever, whatever, whatever. And the woman looks at me, goes, that is your big why?

[A]

Yeah, yeah, I'm going to become a life coach. I just realized that. What a scam. All she did was ask you to reframe your thought, oh, my gosh, how much you have to pay her? That's how much I'm charging.

[C]

Well, luckily this is a class I went to, so. Yeah, but you know, it's. Scott, you're not wrong, man. And these days on Instagram and all, everybody's a coach.

[A]

Yeah, they're not making any money. That's okay. I got, I got a. My Thing does. Okay. I'm. Okay. I'm not going to pivot too much, but I just. Sometimes I see that happen in the business world, and I was like, all right. I mean, I don't think as much happened there as you think it did. Like, she's just trying to get, like, you think one way, Mike. Like, you're a problem solver, right? Like, which is pretty common for guys. She's trying to get you to just have a more macro view of. Of what's going on. Also, I don't know if, you know, if your why is. Is to cover your daughter's health insurance for the rest of her life. Like, that's what's in your head right now, because it's. It's front of mind.

[C]

Well, sure. Your why should change. It should. It should evolve. But, you know. You know, why might you make, in my. In my world, you know, a few extra prospecting calls or go. Pushed us to go one more open house, be one more client. Why? Yeah, making money is great, and then, you know, but money is only good for the good that it does. And right now, the good that it's doing in my world is for my daughter.

[A]

Yeah, no, I hear you. That's your focus. Your daughter's your focus.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah, that's good stuff, man. How has it changed your marriage if it has?

[C]

You know, I'm not sure if I could say that in any specific. Rachel might differ, but I don't think in any specific way. I would say, yes, Molly's type one has changed our marriage. You know, I mean, there were. In the beginning, there were definitely moments, you know, as things were beeping all night, like, okay, who's choosing not to sleep and to stay up and stare at the, you know, follow app until the number comes up, you know, who's going in to see what's happening? There were some of those kind of moments that added to the stress.

[A]

I don't know.

[C]

I don't think in the big picture, it's changed our marriage.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

There are definitely moments now.

[B]

What's that?

[A]

You're going to dinner, you're getting out. Sometimes, like, all that's.

[C]

By God, yes. Just like, you know, I'm sure you have friends when. Who. When they had newborns, they, like, disappeared from, like, their social circle for, like, two years. You know, they just, oh, we have a baby.

[B]

Sorry.

[C]

See you all in a year. So we were not. We were not that couple. Like, when Molly was mobile, we took her. We took her to dinner. We took her here, we took her I mean, like. So the same thing is sort of true now, right. In the beginning, for the first couple of months, was that the case? Probably not. But now, absolutely. I mean, the only thing that has not happened, and I actually think it's just because of. We live near family. She's never had a babysitter, like the local teenage girl come babysit in laws and family. And yes, for sure. So we definitely don't say, oh, no, we can't go out to dinner. We can't go to a friend's house. We can't go out with another couple because.

But are Grammy and grandpa available to watch her? It's not like, hey, let's just go to the. Find the local babysitter on the whatever.

[A]

Right.

[C]

That's definitely true. The number of friends that like our friends that have kids who. That she's friends with. We know the parents that even willing to have her go spend a night with a sleepover. For many years it was like, no, for two years she didn't have your friend. You want to sleep over? They can stay over here. But now we've got about 2 or 3 of her school friends. It has been a very interesting set of conversations with the parents, but that we're comfortable with her. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Mom and dad have to go to a. We have a birthday party to go to. You know, going late. Yes.

[B]

You're.

[C]

You want to sleep over at someone else's house? Sure, no problem.

[A]

Things are getting more comfortable and expected and you're branching back out into things that you imagine you would have been doing prior to the diabetes. Yeah.

[C]

And I think for a year and a half.

[B]

Ish.

[C]

Two years maybe, we still would go out this, that and the other. But it was like, we got to find, you know, Grammy or grandpa and. No, the sleep girl. Your friend can sleep over here. Yeah. So certain things have definitely evolved. And everybody, including Molly, is happy about it. And even one or two of the parents are like, it's wild. You talk a lot about community, which makes perfect sense. We have a friend who is like our Molly. Her daughter, their daughter are very good friends, and she's stayed at their house before. She's even stayed at their shore house in Jersey once before. And she's like, the mom's like, what can I learn? What do I need to know? What does this beep do? How do I do this? She wants to learn to make this. And it's just wild to see. Big picture. Community boils down to like, wow, here's a friend of ours who could say, okay, yes. Yeah, just fine. You know, mom and dad on the Follow app, call me, do something. But she's like, no, what do I need to learn is I don't want you. She says, I don't want you to have to, like, call me at 2 in the morning. I want to know, what does this beep mean? And if it happens, what do I do? Where do I go? It's like, wow, that's. That's the kind of friend you want.

[A]

Yeah. Surrounded by that kind of support. That's really wonderful. I think it's interesting to hear somebody go through, you know, all the different things that happen in the beginning. Like, I mean, in just the last, you know, last hour. Maybe we've. We've seen, like, your wife's maybe the more emotional one. She had all these worries about, like, you know, how she going to feel, how are people going to treat her? How's she going to assimilate? And you got to see that work itself out. You had worries about management. You're seeing that work itself out. You're seeing your community coming together around you, both in the flesh, like people you know and people you've met virtually. I think it's crazy to, like, what. To put a pin in any part of your conversation and say. Because, like, you've said things that, like, out of context, right? Like, if I. If I'm putting myself in the mind of somebody who's had diabetes for 30 years, they're gonna think, like, oh, he's being really restrictive, like in that part of the story here. Or like, you know, Molly, I don't want to have this conversation in an emergency room. For example, like, don't scare her. But, like, you're not scaring her. Like, you're having, like, it's like a growing conversation over years and months, you know, that it's slowly coalescing together. I think you're doing it right. I think that this takes a really long time to put into place. It's not a thing you sit down and talk about for 30 minutes, and everybody understands where you're at. You never have to talk about it again. For sure.

[C]

And I. I appreciate that. I truly do. I mean, you. You clearly are talking to a lot of people in all sorts of stages of this. So I do appreciate hearing that. And. And I. Look, I give. I give unbelievable credit to Molly. The smartest, most caring, whatever. Whatever parents on earth. You know, if their kid is just sort of like, not ready or willing to hear it, I don't think it matters. Molly is in, whether it's nature or nurture, a bit of both. I mean, she. Willing to have the conversations most of the time. And I give her immense credit. I mean, Rachel and I are unbelievably lucky to have a daughter like her who, I mean, look, she. Yes, nobody wants her kid have type 1 diabetes, but if you had to pick a kid who had to go through this, someone with her mindset is a gift.

[A]

Yeah, well, Mike, just be ready to pivot and stay flexible like that, because things change. That the hormone stuff's going to happen. Yeah, yeah, it changes again. And you know, that flexible, like, willing to listen. Girl might scream in your face one day. I have absolutely no idea. Or just ignore you, or, you know, just smile and wave at you and then turn around and just be like, I'm not doing that. You know, like, who knows, like, where it ends up going?

[C]

I think 100%.

[A]

Yeah, you just keep leading with, like, concern and love and, you know, be empathetic. Try to understand everybody's position. And, you know, you make it through the next part and the next part and the next part, and it keeps morphing. It really isn't going to stop. As long as you're. As long as you know each other, your relationship's going to continue to change.

[C]

Yes. Just keep. Keep doing. What is it? What do they say? The next right thing? You know, there's one step at a time there. And I mean, we'll play it by ear, you know, like, keep the lines of communication open. Always come from a place of, you know, you said love and concern and. And. And we want everybody happy and healthy and doing well and. Yeah. You know.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

A little.

[C]

Little bit of luck should be all right.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. Just. I just start with. With, like, a legitimate love, like, and that concern, and you want to help. And then, you know, if they. If they get to a point where they can't or won't listen to it. You have to know when to stop, too.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

You have to know when, like, today's not the day or this isn't going to work, or, like, if we sit here for one more minute, this is going to turn into an argument, and then it can change our relationship forever. If you can stop yourself from tilting over to that other side and just accept that every day isn't going to be the outcome that, you know, would be perfect. You know, like, forget what you want or what she wants. But, like, if there was some actual book that said, here's today's perfect outcome, you know, you're not really going to get to that every day, and you have to just, you know, be okay with that.

[C]

Well, and by the way, for those. That exact. All those times when I, you know, and send an email to Chop or I want to tweak this thing. Tweak that thing. I don't tell Molly.

[A]

Sure.

[C]

She has no idea that the 50 questions I've asked chop and the, you know, 100 questions I put on the pod on the Facebook group, I just say, hey, mom, give me your phone. Okay. Tosses it over, keeps doing her thing. I make my little changes. I say, here you go. Like, you know, at the moment, I don't need her to stress more than she might be about that sort of thing. And, you know, she just. She gives her bullets and user bullets. I don't need her to worry about why her ICR is the way it is right now. I mean, she'll deal with that. Obviously, as she gets older and more independent, she'll have to. But, like, nope, I don't.

[A]

Not right now. Yeah. No, and you're not wrong, by the way. Also, there'll be a day when you're like, give me your phone. And she's like, no, I'm okay. I don't need your help. Like, I mean, that's gonna happen, too. And she might be wrong. You know, even that's. Boy, wait till you get to that one where you know that, like, the resistance is. Is not the right thing for health or welfare or something like that. And you still have to bite your tongue and go, okay, you know, it's. You know, it's your life. You can do what you want. Here's what I was thinking.

[C]

You know, I can't go. All resistance is futile on her. That one is not gonna work.

[A]

Yeah. And you don't want to try to scare her. Like, that's not gonna. In the end. That's not gonna work either. No. Yeah. Well, look at you're making your way. How old are you, by the way?

[C]

What am I? I am 46.

[A]

Okay. All right. Yeah. I wasn't like, you're. I was trying to decide if you're, like, a younger parent or in the middle there. You're not an older parent. So, like, someone's.

[C]

Guys, I think.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. How old were you guys when you got married?

[C]

We were married in 2011.

[A]

2011.

[C]

So what is that? That's 14?

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

3Ish.

[B]

2Ish.

[A]

It seems so late to me because I got married like, a. Like a trash person when I was really Young, but, but, but, but it's not really. That's pretty common right in there in your 30s for people nowadays.

[C]

I would, I mean, I know I would say so.

[A]

Yeah, I think it's pretty common at this point. Yeah. There's not a lot of people are like, oh, my 22 year old wife and I. Doesn't happen as much anymore. Maybe, I don't know, maybe I'm wrong about that. But it feels like.

[C]

I think, I think you're definitely right. I think you're definitely right. I think married later, having kids later.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, because people are trying to. I mean, it's more expensive. Right? Like, it's not as eas. Just jump in and be like, we'll figure this out.

[C]

It's, you know, very true.

[A]

Feels like you won't figure it out.

All right, well, Mike, anything that we haven't talked about that we should have, anything at all that I skipped over or that you are like, oh, God, how did we not get to this?

[C]

No, I don't think so. I mean, look, there's. I could talk for hours about the, you know, the whole process and everything. And Molly, of course, and we're able to kind of talk with you. It's kind of wild. It's like, it's like meeting a B list celebrity.

[A]

That is very kind of you to consider me a B list celebrity. I don't think that's true at all. I mean, I am a D list celebrity and I don't even think that. Right.

[C]

I mean, this. I think what you're doing is phenomenal. I mean, that. That podcast is excellent and that that community is. Is often excellent as well. We've connected with some people. Like Rachel said she's. Instagram is definitely her jam. I mean, there's a couple of folks that we follow on Instagram. There's a few. There's one that we actually met in person. I don't know how we started following her. In the beginning, we started following this. This woman. Long story short, Molly would be asking, hey, I wonder how she does it. Her. Her handle used to be Beats and Beatties was her handle back in the time. He's Meg type one right now, Molly. So we. How does Meg do it? I would want to watch the video on Instagram of like Meg changing her pod. And we eventually connected with her in real life. And like, it was a. You want to talk about a wild experience? It was wild of the two of them, like, ran up and gave each other a hug. And Meg's like, I don't know, 30 and Molly was like nine. It was, it was just wild kind of moment. But I mean the community is incredible and, and I, I, I value it greatly.

[A]

Yeah, no, it's, it's great. There are all kinds of people out there sharing in all different ways and I, yeah, it's fantastic that, that people are giving of their time like that. I hope this isn't boring to people. I asked ChatGPT for list of B list celebrities, right? So it gives me for, for actors. It said like Elizabeth Banks, Joe Mangielio, I don't even know, True Blood or something like that. Magic Mike, Hayden Pantieri from like Heroes or Nashville, like musicians. It like, it says like Charlie Puth, Jason d'. Aurelio. Like I'm just trying to give you what it said so you can agree with it or not agree with it. Right. But hold on, give me one more second. So then I asked it for D list celebrities. Honey Boo Boo, Farrah Abraham from Teen mom, the William Hung guy who was like, you know, famous for American.

Gary Busey, Tara Reid, Snooki.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And then I said, what would I be considered if at all?

So it knows who I am because it's my ChatGPT. It says, let's see. Really interesting question because the list system doesn't always fit people who've built niche empires rather than mainstream fame. But within your niche, which would be health or diabetes podcasting, you're an A list celebrity.

[C]

Boom.

[A]

It says you've built the biggest, most influential podcast in your field, running for over a decade, pulling in major guests, shaping public understanding, maintaining one of the top positions in Apple's charts. This is dominance inside your vertical, you're the standard people compare against. So in the diabetes and chronic illness media world, you're closer to the level of Joe Rogan than as being recognizable and longstanding. But within the general public, outside of the niche, you probably. This gives me way more credit, I think than this whole thing is wrong. You probably sit somewhere between C and B list, depending on exposure. That can't be right. That's a mark of a highly successful niche celebrity, a category that's become more powerful and lucrative. Oh wow, I can't wait for that part to happen. Than many traditional C list TV faces. So it talks about the fame economy of today using modern language instead of like whole like old Hollywood A list. Heres you're industry famous, not tabloid famous. You have influence without celebrity chaos. You have a loyal audience, high trust, consistent reach. That's actually the ideal kind of fame. Right now, attention without the loss of privacy. All right. I mean. I mean, I don't know if that's right or not, but I love it.

[C]

Dude, I would take that. Artbeat. I'm taking it.

[A]

I'm taking it. I'm famous. I did. I always say I'm not, but God damn it, Chad, GPT says I am.

[C]

Well, I. I apologize for belittling you with that B rating, man.

[A]

Yeah, no, no, Yeah. I prefer if you were a little more. A little more conciliatory right now. That's. Obviously. You're. You're talking to a king. And you. You were just. You were very rude to me. That could be. I. You know, I could ask that question five minutes from now. I could say something completely different. It is interesting. I don't know. Interesting to people beyond me. But the way that all has shifted is really strange. Like, there. I mean, I would think of somebody who. Who has, like, a couple of million TikTok views. It's like, oh, that person's more well known than I am. But when you actually talk to people, they don't really know the person. They just, like. They'll be like, oh, that thing. Yeah, that dance pops up in front of me. Or, I've seen that person pop up in front of me, but they don't know their names or anything about them.

[C]

Well, you know, I know. You know, whether you admit you know is the question. But, you know, that's why I think so many of the people that tune into your podcast and to your Facebook group do so is because you're so open with your own personal story, good, bad, and ugly. That's exactly right. It's not like, oh, there's just another random voice in the podcast ecosphere. You know, it's not just like, ooh, some random video popped up on. On. On my feed. I mean, that's. I think that's what. That's what draws people.

[A]

You're going to think I'm acting like I don't understand, but I'm really trying to get through your thought here. Like, are you telling me that there's a way I do this that's more relatable than how other people do it?

[C]

Of course.

[A]

You all should understand that whether this was happening on this podcast or somewhere else, like, this is. I am literally just being myself. So, like, I would share that.

[C]

That's. That's exactly right.

[A]

And that.

[C]

That's. That's the point. I mean, I don't dive too deeply into, like, the. You know, what your daughter is Doing where she's at. But there are people who clearly are like, oh, yes. Well, we've been listening to the very beginning. We follow Arden. Is that your daughter's name, right?

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[C]

Seem to follow your. You and her, like they're members of the family. I think they do that because you're very honest about the. That's going on in your family, and that's what makes it relatable. That's what makes people. I don't. You know, it's. It's not like you've got the voice of an angel, man. They're not listening to you. Like, they're listening because you speak honest and truthful and ask questions. What is important. And, you know, again, not like you're playing a role.

[A]

Okay. No, I'm glad to know that I have to tell you, too. I'm not going to say it here, but about a week ago, when I was recording, I shared something about my health that as I was doing it, I was like, why am I saying this? Why? There's no reason for me to tell people this. What am I doing? And when I got done, the person I was recording with said, I really appreciate you talking about that. That could not have been easy. And I think it's a thing that a lot of people suffer with that nobody talks about. She's like, it was really brave of you. And I said, I was thinking to myself, I don't know if it was brave, but it's definitely feel stupid.

At the same time. I know that if I was in a group of five people who I met 20 minutes ago, and we were all chatting and it came up, I know I would say that. So, like, it felt this. I wanted to stop myself while we were recording. Like, trust me, you'll know what it is when you get to it. I'm telling you now. But as I was getting ready to say it, I think you'll hear the pause where I'm like, oh, God, am I going to do this? Like, right? And then I just thought, ah, whatever. It really couldn't possibly matter less. Yeah. I'll say the thing. Maybe it'll help some people. Maybe somebody will make fun of me over it. Who cares? Yeah. You know? Yeah. So wait. Wait till you hear. It's gonna be a whole thing.

There's a pun in there somewhere.

I have to say goodbye because Arden's leaving and she's not coming back for a couple days. And I promised her I'd say goodbye to her before she took off. So. And she's out of here in like 15 minutes.

[C]

So I got a job by all means.

[A]

But you were really kind to come on and share your, you know, your experience with everybody and, and seriously, tell, tell your wife if she'd like to come back on and record sometime, I'd be, I'd be happy to hear the rest of, of her story too. All right. Thank you so much for doing this with me.

[C]

I really appreciate you, Scott. It's a pleasure.

[A]

Hold on one second for me.

Dexcom sponsored this episode of the Juicebox Podcast Learn more about the Dexcom G7 at my link dexcom.com juicebox Today's episode is also sponsored by the Omnipod 5. And at my link omnipod.com juicebox you can get yourself a free. What'd I just say? A free Omnipod 5 starter kit. Free. Get out of here. Go click on that link omnipod.com juicebox check it out. Terms and conditions apply. Eligibility may vary. Full terms and conditions can be found@ omnipod.com juicebox links in the show notes [e-mail] did you know that Skingrip has donated over $100,000 in scholarships to help people with diabetes? The people at Skingrip, they know what it's what it's like to live with type 1 diabetes. They know what it's like when your devices fall off at the absolute worst time. And they're here to help. Skingrip.com juicebox Save 20% off your first order when you use my link. That's what you get for being a Juice Box Podcast listener. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of the Juice Box Podcast. If you're not already subscribed or following the podcast in your favorite audio app like Spotify or Apple Podcasts, please do that now. Seriously, just to hit follow or subscribe will really help the show. If you go a little further in Apple Podcasts and set it up so that it downloads all new episodes, I'll be your best friend. And if you leave a five star review, ooh, I'll probably send you a Christmas card. Would you like a Christmas card?

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