Juicebox Podcast #1775 “Bear Attack – Part 1”

Host: Scott Benner
Guest: Domino
Date: February 17, 2026

Episode Overview

This deeply personal episode features Domino, a 50-year-old woman living with type 3C diabetes—a rare condition resulting from the surgical removal of her pancreas after years of misdiagnosis and grueling health struggles. The conversation digs into Domino’s remarkable health journey, from severe, unidentifiable illness and near-death hypoglycemia, to her muted diagnosis, the joys and challenges of life post-pancreatectomy, and ultimately how the Juicebox Podcast and community became lifelines for her survival and resurgent hope.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Domino’s Health Journey: From Mysterious Illness to Type 3C Diabetes

• Initial Diagnosis and Surgeries

  • Domino endured ten years of misdiagnosed infection that ravaged her body, resulting in multiple surgeries, including gallbladder and partial stomach removal.
  • “I was very sick. I had, you know, infection just constant... throughout my body for those ten years.” – Domino [07:13]
  • Eventually, a rare disorder called nesidioblastosis (abnormal overgrowth of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas) was diagnosed after years of severe hypoglycemia.

• Living With Nesidioblastosis

  • Domino experienced years of undiagnosed, life-threatening low-blood-sugar events, including seizures and passing out.
  • “It took almost six years to diagnose it.” – Domino [03:33]
  • The disorder, usually seen in infants, was especially rare in adults and complicated by her previous surgeries.

• Surgical Resolution: Total Pancreatectomy

  • Domino underwent a total removal of her pancreas, as well as most of her stomach and part of her intestines. This marked her “diaversary”—the first year since the major surgery.
  • “This time last year I was in an eight-hour surgery. They were removing a feeding tube that I had been on for 412 days and woke up, no pancreas, most of my stomach gone, some of my intestines gone.” – Domino [22:40]

2. Struggles With Diagnosis and Daily Living

• Family and Support

  • Domino comes from a family with 11 full siblings and several half-siblings, none of whom have experienced anything medically similar.
  • Her family background highlights that her condition was neither hereditary nor common, emphasizing the isolation of rare-disease experience.

• Misattributions and Delayed Help

  • Symptoms were constantly attributed to malabsorption, digestive reconstruction, and “dumping syndrome” resulting from her surgeries.
  • “I really just kept writing it off to, ‘This is my new anatomy.’ They're telling me it’s malabsorption, it’s nutrition... I just thought that was my new normal.” – Domino [15:36–16:27]

• Moment of Diagnostic Breakthrough

  • A new doctor finally recognized the link between nutritional intake and Domino’s hypoglycemic events. By orchestrating a timed lab as soon as symptoms hit, they confirmed critically low blood sugars (in the 30s mg/dl).
  • “He said, okay, here’s what we’re going to do. You're going to eat in your car...As soon as those symptoms come on, go straight in, cut in line, and have him draw your blood.” – Domino [18:32–19:16]

3. Life After Surgery: Managing Type 3C Diabetes

• Immediate Aftermath & Technology

  • Following pancreatectomy, Domino was quickly started on the Omnipod 5 insulin pump. Just two days later, her endocrinologist suffered a stroke, leaving her without medical guidance for months.
  • “Two days after I started my pump, my doctor had a stroke...I was left with no doctor and two days on the pump, not knowing what I was doing.” – Domino [28:30–29:02]
  • Seizures and passing out from severe lows continued as she struggled to titrate insulin by herself.

• Community as Lifeline

  • Domino discovered the Juicebox Podcast via online searching (“desperate Googling”) and joined the Facebook community for support.
  • “I thought: I’m gonna die if I do not figure this out. These seizures are killing me. I’m missing something and no one’s helping me...and I found you.” – Domino [31:54–32:08]

• Teaching and Life Purpose

  • Prior to illness, Domino was a preschool teacher and later became a master boxing instructor, mainly teaching women, girls, and Parkinson's patients.
  • Her tenacity and sense of “getting back up” through adversity stem from her boxing ethos:
  • “I use the boxing. You get knocked down and get back up. Knock down, back up.” – Domino [25:53]

4. Current Challenges and Hope

• Physical and Emotional Toll

  • Recurring “sticky lows,” unpredictable digestion, and absorption issues, plus ongoing hypoglycemic seizures continue to disrupt her life post-surgery.
  • “Sometimes there are just sticky lows. They take a long time to get up, and I don’t know if the digestion is slower at that time.” – Domino [46:29]
  • “I regularly go below the 40 on my Dexcom, where it just drops low and with finger sticks I’ve seen in the 20s.” – Domino [44:04]

• Dark Humor and Perspective

  • Domino retains a dark sense of humor amidst the adversity, quipping about “dying in a bear attack” if she chokes on gummy bears treating a low.
  • “Please just say I died in a bear attack. Just give me some dignity. Please don't tell them I asphyxiated on gummy bears.” – Domino [47:41]

• Ongoing Struggle for Balance

  • Her A1C is “too low” (5.3), representing skewed data due to frequent lows and other blood factors.
  • “Even now, you know, [doctors say] ‘You’re 95% in range...this is great.’ But I think, no—you know, when I have two or three hour stretch in the night of a sticky low and seizures, and frequently—that’s not...optimal.” – Domino [43:25]

• Gratitude for the Podcast and Community

  • Domino attributes learning how to “survive” post-pancreas removal to the Juicebox Podcast and its practical “senseful, sensible, and balanced” approach.
  • “I would not—absolutely not—be where I am now if I didn’t start listening to the podcast.” – Domino [40:25]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Living With a Rare Disease:

  • “My pancreas had an overgrowth of cells, so it was overproducing insulin...flooding my body with insulin and causing seizures and severe hypoglycemic episodes.” – Domino [04:05–04:19]

• Dark Humor in the Face of Adversity:

  • “If I die in my sleep choking on gummy bears, please just say I died in a bear attack. Just give me some dignity.” – Domino [47:41]

• On Community Support:

  • “I believe in what you’re doing and I do not put my name on stuff...if I don’t believe in it. This is life.” – Domino [34:35]

• On Medical and Emotional Upheaval:

  • “It feels like you’ve been lifted up and dropped a lot of times.” – Scott Benner [25:48]
  • “Absolutely.” – Domino [25:50]

Timeline of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Summary | |--------------|-------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:15–05:19 | Total pancreatectomy, nesidioblastosis diagnosis | | 08:02–09:22 | Decade of illness, recovery after major infection surgery | | 15:36–16:27 | Misattribution of symptoms; life as a boxing instructor | | 18:09–19:41 | The breakthrough doctor visit that leads to the diagnosis | | 22:40–24:51 | Reflecting on the “diaversary” and post-pancreas life | | 28:30–29:47 | Losing her endocrinologist right after starting on a pump | | 31:54–33:27 | Domino discovers and joins the Juicebox community | | 43:12–44:04 | Repeated hypoglycemia and misleading A1C | | 47:41 | Bear attack / dark humor about gummy bears and lows |

Tone and Style

The conversation is candid, often alternating between dark humor and raw vulnerability. Domino’s spirit shines as she balances honest descriptions of hardship with comedic asides and a drive to help others. Scott’s empathetic, conversational style makes for both informatively detailed and emotionally resonant listening. The episode serves as a powerful reminder of the complexity of rare diseases, the pitfalls of misdiagnosis, and the lifesaving power of real community and patient-led knowledge.

Conclusion

Part 1 of “Bear Attack” chronicles Domino’s medical odyssey and determination to advocate for herself, despite unrelenting obstacles. The episode is essential listening not only for those managing complex diabetes, but for anyone seeking courage, humor, and hope amidst daunting health challenges. Listeners are encouraged to continue into Part 2 for the next chapter of Domino's story.