#1850 Still a Human

Summary

Juicebox Podcast: Type 1 Diabetes

Episode #1850: Still a Human
Host: Scott Benner
Guest: Masha, mother of a young child with type 1 diabetes
Date: May 14, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode features an in-depth conversation with Masha, a mom of two boys, one of whom was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age six. The discussion delves into navigating a life-changing diagnosis just weeks before moving from Canada to Finland for six months. With candor and practicality, Masha shares obtainable strategies for embracing big life changes, living boldly with diabetes, and the importance of building knowledge and overcoming fear. The episode highlights key lessons on mindset, practical management, family dynamics, and technology—all with relatable warmth and insight.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Dual Life-Changing Events: Diagnosis & International Move

• Background: Masha’s son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes one month after turning six, just three weeks before their planned six-month move to Finland.
• Early Detection: Bedwetting was the first significant symptom. Due to a family history of diabetes (her mother’s type 2), her mother suggested testing. Early detection prevented DKA:

  “We were lucky enough that he didn’t go into DKA because my mom... said, ‘You should go and check it out.’” (02:11)

• No Regrets: Despite fear, the family chose to continue with their plan to move abroad:

  “We still went and there was zero regrets.” (02:11–03:14)

2. Facing Fear and Building Education

• Core Ideas:
  • Don’t let fear prevent “big things” like traveling or moving.
  • Education is fundamental—Masha dedicated her work leave to learning diabetes care.
  • Juicebox Podcast was especially helpful in breaking down concepts into manageable pieces.
• Quote:

  “Don’t be scared of big things like traveling… Also, education, your podcast helped tremendously in the very beginning.” (03:20)

3. Diagnosis Experience & Hospitalization

• Early Signs Misattributed: Emotional shifts and bedwetting were initially thought of as stress-induced due to the pending move and family loss.
• Hospital Experience: Mixed feelings about the lack of communication from the doctor and the hospital's food choices (“orange juice, banana muffin, and Frosted Flakes for breakfast!”).
• Introduced to Technology: Use of Dexcom G7 CGM was a game changer for peace of mind.

  “I’m the person who’s terrified of needles… but it took me a day… Thankfully gave us a Dexcom G7 on the last day.” (11:02)

4. Decision to Move Abroad & Navigating Healthcare in Finland

• Preparation: Packed months of supplies, leaned on optimism and contingency planning.
• Healthcare in Finland:
  • Communication was easier than expected: “They were texting with me, which—I’m like, it’s never happened to me here.” (18:58)
  • Re-taught basics and witnessed much more advanced diabetes management systems.
  • Supplies provided by Finnish healthcare, including free Dexcom sensors.
  • Cultural and systemic contrasts between healthcare in Canada and Finland.
• Freedom for Children: Appreciation for Finnish society’s autonomy for kids—public transit at age seven, etc.

5. Adapting, Coping, and Family Dynamics

• Perspective Shift: Insulin brought an immediate improvement in her son’s well-being and emotional stability.

  “He told me… he does feel better. The really sharp emotions went away.” (28:42)

• Family Philosophy: Focus on not letting diabetes become the center of life:

  “I’m not organizing my life around diabetes. I’m organizing diabetes around my life.” (30:58)

• Cultural Attitude: Masha credits her immigrant background for resilience and appreciating opportunities, not taking things for granted.

6. Embracing Technology & Community

• Role of Tech: Continuous glucose monitoring and potential of future AI/automation discussed in detail.
• Community and Support: The impact of connecting with others living with diabetes—older generations and peers—helped manage expectations and emotions.

  “There was a 60-something year old…he told me diabetes is the best chronic condition you can get because it forces you to live a healthy life.” (47:41)

7. Parental Roles, Sleep, and Responsibility Sharing

• Division of Duties:
  • Her husband takes on certain “technical” tasks (e.g., CGM site preparation).
  • Masha manages most night duties (alarms, corrections) due to her experience with sleep deprivation from parenting.
  • Notable difference in comfort levels with glucose targets—she is more comfortable with lows, partner with slightly higher values. (53:34)

8. Gradual Transition of Care

• Current State:
  • School nurses still administer insulin, but her son is starting to learn to use a pump himself.
  • Emphasis on building self-management skills slowly, beginning with basics like carb counting and device management.

9. Measuring Success in Diabetes Management

• Flexible Definition:
  • Success is defined by sleep, empowerment to make adjustments, and maintaining family life—rather than perfect “time in range” or numbers.
  • Early on, hesitancy about adjusting insulin without doctor’s permission was replaced with growing confidence.

  “Having pulled off that huge…move…really boosted my self-confidence and I kind of moved on from that.” (33:57)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Early Regret and Fear:

  “Yes, this is inconvenient… but we’re still gonna live. He never skipped a pool hangout with his friends… Diabetes hasn’t stopped him.” (30:58)

• On Perspective:

  “I guess I used that on him, too… there’s always somebody worse off… All I can say, yeah, perspective is important.” (29:28)

• On Empowerment:

  “I think always, yeah, just like having once a month, maybe a review… and adjusting as it goes... Not wait until your care appointment.” (57:29)

• On Not Letting Diabetes Define Life:

  “Life just has so much to offer and that's not diabetes, and you can kind of squeeze it in.” (59:57)

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Important Timestamps

• [02:11–03:14] — Diagnosis details, how fear and education became key themes.
• [06:17–07:44] — Early symptoms and initial misattributions.
• [11:02–11:29] — Hospital discharge and transition to CGM use.
• [18:58–20:39] — Navigating the Finnish healthcare system and benefits.
• [28:42–30:58] — Child’s adaptation, parental philosophy, and perspective on inconvenience.
• [33:57–37:17] — Overcoming fear, building confidence through action, preparation style.
• [47:41–48:28] — Notable perspective from experienced T1D patient; diabetes as a "healthy" chronic illness.
• [53:34–54:08] — Parental division of diabetes management roles.
• [55:25–56:23] — Pre-bolusing and practical meal management lessons.
• [57:29–59:33] — Defining success and empowerment in everyday management.

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Tone & Style

The conversation is warm, authentic, practical, and layered with both humor and realism. Masha balances analysis (influenced by her background as a software developer) with big-picture resilience, emphasizing that being “bold with insulin” means making diabetes work around life—not vice versa. Scott’s hosting is relaxed, curious, and often interspersed with personal anecdotes and self-deprecating humor, mirroring the inclusive and supportive ethos of the Juicebox community.

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Key Takeaways for Listeners

• Don't let fear define the limits of life post-diagnosis—boldness and careful planning can enable continuity of plans and dreams.
• Education empowers: Learn as much as possible, seek out resources, and trust your ability to adapt.
• Perspective matters: Focusing on what can be controlled, and appreciating advances in technology, can reframe what might feel overwhelming into something manageable.
• Community & shared stories are powerful: Hearing from others, including those with longer diabetes experience, helps ground expectations and reveals the value of modern management tools.
• Success is personal: Define it on your (and your family's) own terms—sometimes, it’s getting enough sleep and feeling confident to make needed changes.

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Final Message

Masha’s story is a testament to adaptability, pragmatism, and not letting diabetes dictate the course of life. With a blend of preparation and willingness to “just go for it”, she models both the technical and emotional resilience at the heart of thriving with type 1 diabetes—reminding everyone that, above all, "I'm still a human." (50:10)

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Transcript

[A]

Hello friends, and welcome back to another episode of the Juicebox Podcast.

[B]

Hello, my name is Masha. I'm a mom of a seven year old, well actually two boys, but one of them has type 1 diabetes.

[A]

If you'd like to hear about diabetes management in easy to take in bits, check out the Small Sips. That's the series on the Juice Box Podcast that listeners are talking about like it's a cheat code. These are perfect little bursts of clarity. One person said, I finally understood things I've heard a hundred times. Short, simple and somehow exactly what I needed. People say Small Sips feels like someone pulling up a chair, sliding a cup across the table and giving you one clean idea at a time. Nothing overwhelming, no fire hose of information, just steady, helpful nudges that actually stick. People listen in their car, on walks or while they're actually bolusing anytime that they need a quick shot of perspective. And the reviews, they all say the same thing. Small sips makes diabetes make sense. Search for the Juice Box Podcast Small Sips wherever you get audio. Please don't forget that 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. Today's podcast episode is sponsored by Medtronic Diabetes, who is making life with diabetes easier with the MiniMed 780G system and their new sensor options, which include the Instinct sensor made by Abbott. Would you like to unleash the full potential of the mini med 780G system? You can do that at my link medtronicdiabetes.com Juicebox Today's episode is also sponsored by the Contour Next Gen blood Glucose meter. This is the meter that my daughter has on her person right now. It is incredibly accurate and waiting for [e-mail] Juicebox hello, my name is Masha.

[B]

I am a mom of a seven year old, well actually two boys, but one of them has type 1 diabetes. He was diagnosed when he just turned six, maybe a month after. And we were lucky enough that he didn't go into DKA because my mom, she has type 2 and she was like oh, the symptoms, you should go and check it out. So like this is how we found out early and of course it did change our lives upside down. But also I guess like why I'm here, like what the main idea I want to share is what happened in our life. We were planning to move abroad to Finland for half a year and my kid was diagnosed three weeks before Our flights. And so this was this kind of like two life changing events stacked side by side. So I want to share that things are possible and like diabetes didn't stop us from going. And even though it's like super scary, super terrifying with the new diagnosis, like, we still went and there was like zero regrets.

[A]

Okay, so you think you have like these two core ideas you need to share?

[B]

Yeah, just like lack of fear and like education, like your podcast helped tremendously in the very beginning. So, like, I was just adamant. I thankfully, again, just like, things kind of worked out in this weird, ironic way that I had three months booked off work because I really needed a break for other reasons. But, like, I dedicated this time not to myself like I intended to, but to learning everything I could about diagnosis diabetes. So I guess the main two ideas is like, yeah, don't be scared of big things like traveling or anything like that. Or like we moved for six months overseas to a country where I didn't speak the language in.

[A]

No.

[B]

With a kid with diabetes. And also education.

[A]

Okay, let's start at the beginning then, and we'll get. And then we're going to unpack all of that. So you said you have two children. One of them has type one. How long ago were they diagnosed?

[B]

This was in 2024, in July. So it's a year and a half ago.

[A]

Okay. And were there any reasons to think that diabetes might be in your future prior to that day?

[B]

Not at all. I wasn't. It wasn't even on my radar. All I knew is that my great grandmother had diabetes. Nobody knows which type. I remember my mom telling me. No, sorry. Yeah, my mom telling me that she was injecting herself with this huge old school syringe. It was in Soviet Ukraine. So, like, God knows what it was like, but that was it. Like, I didn't know anything about type 1. I only heard it's the bad type, the bad diabetes. Like, that's all I knew.

[A]

That's how they talked about it. Yeah, you're not the first person to say that. And how about other autoimmune issues in your family? People have celiac or ra, thyroid issues, anything like that?

[B]

No, nobody has anything else. I know you'd be asking this question, so I kind of thought about it and no, I couldn't come up with anything. Like, my mom has type 2, but she has a lot of things, so it's. Yeah, I don't think it's autoimmune. It's like lifestyle and stress and whatnot.

[A]

And I mean, how about just generalized health? Is this like a situation where you're a young family, you've got a couple young kids, and everything's going great, and then all of a sudden, whack, this happens? Or do you even have any, I guess, history with other things going wrong? Any reason to feel like you'd be good at this or, you know, have some practice at the very least?

[B]

No. Like, things are going really well. And I was always about healthy eating. So my kids eat vegetables and they pick salads on their own without me priming them. And, like, I always, like, three cornerstones of health. Good food, sleep and exercise. But in, like, in terms of kids, exercise is basically just like running around. So, yeah, this was totally out of the blue, and I did not expect this at all.

[A]

Okay, all right. Well. And then there you are. So what is the first sign and how do you know to pay attention to it?

[B]

So the first and pretty much the only sign was that he started wetting his bed, which hasn't happened because he kind of trained himself out of a diaper at 2, and he's never had any accidents since. Well, okay, maybe one in five years. But that was a big sign. And we thought, okay, this might be stress, because we were talking about, like, moving to Finland. This was always a dream of ours. And so we thought, okay, maybe this is stress. So we went to the doctor. The doctor says, oh, it's probably stress. And also, I used to sleep in his room because he was like, five at the time. And we took away the mattress, and this started happening, like, a week after. So we thought, oh, maybe it's the stress of mom not sleeping in his room anymore. So we tried everything. Nothing went away then. He was generally a cranky kid from the very beginning, but the level of crankiness just a month before diagnosis was almost unbearable. And so my mom said, wetting the bed is a sign of diabetes. You guys should go check his blood sugar. And then we did do the blood work, but my doctor, who I'm really, really mad at, we didn't get a call from a doctor. We got a call from the lab. This is how we found out. The lab called us on a Saturday, and we went to the hospital on Monday morning where the diagnosis happened. But thankfully, he was not in decay. He didn't even need any IVs or anything like that. So we caught it early.

[A]

They said, what was that time? You said that time was difficult. How was it difficult? His health or the way he was acting or what part of it?

[B]

Maybe all I Guess just like, emotions. He was always a very emotional kid. And he's an older brother. He's four years older. And they were always fighting, even from when the youngest one turned two. I feel like that's when the fights just escalated. And then Covid happened. So there was a lot of emotions in general. So he would get upset really easily. He would be yelling, screaming, throwing things. But I kind of thought this was sort of normal because, like, the. They both got on each other's nerves all the time. And so. But, like, prior to diagnosis, he would just, like, come up to me and just, like, cry out of. Out of the blue, basically. He would say, oh, I don't want to grow up. I want to be a baby, and things like that. He would just, like, start crying when he was looking at his old pictures. Like, it was really.

[A]

He was really emotional.

[B]

Yeah, like, really emotional. But, like, he's usually emotional, like, in a rage manner, but, like, not in this very sentimental and kind of sad, but. But then, of course, the rage was also there. It was just like, very, like, much more frequent. It was like, not once a day like before, but, like, I don't know, three or five times. Yeah. Okay.

[A]

Do you recall what you thought was going on before you realized the diabetes?

[B]

Like, it's really hard to say. I just remember thinking, like, we must have messed it up somehow. Like, maybe he's really stressed about Finland. And also, like, at the end of May, just like, when the symptoms, like these symptoms were showing up, like, my grandma died. So, like, I was really sad, and I was just thinking, yeah, something like, emotionally must be going wrong. There's like, it's a lot for a five year old to know that he's going to be moving abroad and mom was sad and all of that.

[A]

Gotcha. Any anxiety in your family?

[B]

No.

[A]

No. Okay, well, so what happened in the hospital? What did they tell you? And how did everything begin? Did you get good technology? Did you get good direction, or did you feel adrift?

[B]

Well, when we. On the Saturday when we got the call from the lab, we kind of knew that this is what it is. We did the research and we like, okay, this is her life. My husband, coincidentally, about a month ago, he read an article about somebody with type 1 describing diabetes, like, how hard it is and how it's a lot like playing flappy bird, you know, when you can get too high and you cannot get too low. And so that was the idea. And I thought, oh, this is. It gets hard. But I didn't know what to expect. And in the hospital, they basically measured his blood sugar. They said, well, this is type 1, but wait until we get all the blood work done and stuff like that. And, yeah, he was diagnosed. And then they said, oh, you have to stay in the hospital for a couple days until we teach you what it is, what to do. They were doing finger pricks before every meal. And the hospital food here. Holy moly. Like, I'm still scarred by the breakfast. Like, for a type 1 diabetic, it was orange juice, banana muffin, and Frosted Flakes or something. I'm like, what are you doing? How is this a diabetic breakfast? So, like, thankfully, my husband was able to go home and bring us some proper foods and, like, omelettes. I don't know. Like, food is. I'm really obsessed about healthy food.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So, yeah, this was kind of funny. And so two days we were doing the finger pricks, and they were doing injections, and they were teaching us how to do injections. They gave us pens. And I'm the person who's terrified of needles. I don't even have my ears pierced. So I was like, oh, how ironic that now I have to do this. But it took me a day to basically adjust. And they thankfully gave us a Dexcom G7 on the last day before they let us go home.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And so this was. I think this was crucial for me to not just go insane with worry, because I was like, okay, we see the numbers. We kind of know, like, very roughly what to do, how to control them. I'm really thankful to the nurse who just gave us a whole bunch for free, because I think there were testers, like, I don't know, marketing material maybe. Yeah. So this is how it all started. Then we had to make a really big decision saying, okay, we have these tickets to Finland to fly overseas. So, like, we consulted the doctor, we consulted the nurse, and they all say, well, it's really up to you.

[A]

Nobody was helpful. Hey, how far before your planned move was the diagnosis?

[B]

So we had tickets in the middle of July. So we. Yeah, we planned it probably, like, March, where I registered them for school and all of that. And he was diagnosed in the middle of June, so, like, three and a half weeks, maybe. Yeah.

[A]

Did you end up going?

[B]

We did, yeah. We just figured it was really hard, but we figured, you know, Finland is a civilized country. They have some basic health care. We'll figure it out. We just packed a whole bunch of insulin, and we packed a whole bunch of Dexcom, and we said, well, worst case scenario, we're just going to be back in a month and we said we're just going to use that as a traveling opportunity with insulin and Dexcoms.

[A]

Did you sell your home or were you renting?

[B]

We wanted to rent it out, but then the opportunity fell through also a week before the flight. So thankfully my partner's mom came to like help out with the house.

[A]

Okay, so you had a place to come back to if this whole thing blew up. You could have. Okay, you could have come back because

[B]

we only were going to. The plan was to go for six months because I didn't want to lose my job.

[A]

Oh, well, aren't you interesting? What makes you such a a free spirit with the let's go some. Let's go to Finland for six months. Where's that come from?

[B]

Oh boy. Do you have time for long story?

[A]

I have time for long stories. Don't worry. Go ahead. Contour next.com juicebox that's the link you'll use to find out more about the Contour Next Gen blood glucose meter. When you get there, there's a little bit at the top you can click right on. Blood glucose monitoring. I'll do it with you. Go to meters, click on any of the meters, I'll click on the Next gen and you're going to get more information. It's easy to use and highly accurate. Smart Light provides a simple understanding of your blood glucose levels. And of course, with Second Chance sampling technology, you can save money with fewer wasted test strips. As if all that wasn't enough, the Contour Next Gen also has a compatible app for an easy way to share and see your blood glucose results. Contornext.com juicebox and if you scroll down at that link, you're going to see things like a Buy now button. You could register your meter after you purchase it or what is this? Download a coupon? Oh, receive a free Contour Next Gen blood glucose meter. Do tell. Contour next.com juicebox head over there now get the same accurate and reliable meter that we use. Unlike other systems that will wait until your blood sugar is 180 before delivering corrections, the MiniMed 780G system is the only system with meal detection technology that automatically detects rising sugar levels and delivers more insulin as needed to help keep your sugar levels in range even if you're not a perfect carb counter. Today's episode of the Juice Box podcast is sponsored by Medtronic diabetes and their MiniMed 780G system, which gives you real choices. Because the MiniMed 780G system works with the Instinct sensor made by Avid as well as the Simplera Sync and Guardian 4 sensors, giving you options. The Instinct sensor is the longest wear Sensor yet, lasting 15 days and designed exclusively for the Mini Med 780G. And don't forget Medtronic Diabetes makes technology accessible for you with comprehensive insurance support programs to help you with your out of pocket costs. We're switching from other pump and and CGM systems. Learn more and get started today with my link medtronic diabetes.com juicebox okay, so

[B]

I moved to Canada from Russia all those years ago all by myself as a student. So I was always, oh, I want to travel. I don't care about physical possessions or owning anything. Like, I just want to experience the world. And so I was in Toronto for the longest time and then I met my husband and we had kids. And then my husband had an idea to move to the States. So we moved for a year, hated it, and returned to Canada. But then Covid started and so we were kind of. We didn't have a house in Toronto anymore and we ended up in a suburb of Toronto.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And the suburbs are really foreign to me. Like as a Soviet child, the cars were a luxury in the Soviet Union. So like all of the cities were built for public transport or walking. And so we were stuck here in the suburb during COVID with like a car and nowhere to go. And so the idea was to just like move away from the suburb to somewhere that's more human, like people oriented. And so we thought, we thought, okay, Finland has a program for visitors. Like they had a startup visa. And so my partner had a startup, so he applied for a startup visa. And this is how we basically pick Finland. And the other reason was I really wanted my kids to experience one of the best schools in the world, as they claim Finland has. So the two reasons I like that

[A]

you didn't want possessions, but you picked up a boy and two children, you can't sell them like a vcr, so.

[B]

Well, those are. Yeah, I don't know. Those are human. Like, I don't want to have a pet because a pet would always need my care. But like, you know, the children, they grow and they take care of themselves.

[A]

Yeah. Masha, I know that humans are not like possessions. I was just joking. But it's an interesting line to cross. Right? What happened? You fell in love? Is that what ruined your plan?

[B]

That's also another very complicated story. Like, my mom and my grandma were always on my case that like, I have to have children. I have to get married. This is what makes a woman happy. You know, how, like the Soviet patriarchy, Russia does it to you. And I was like, okay. And those were the last words that I heard from my grandma over the phone, saying, masha, you have to have children. Yes, but what about me? But then I don't know. The last words from my grandma really, like, convinced me, and this was my goal. So, like, here I am. No regrets. No regrets here, though.

[A]

Can I ask you, was she right? Did it change your life in a way that feels measurable and commiserate with her opinion?

[B]

I do not agree that in order to be a fulfilled woman, you have to have children. I do not agree with that. And I think my grandma was wrong in that, because they claim every woman, like, that's the happiness.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

But for me personally, yeah, I think it was the right call. It definitely changed me in a lot of ways. Made me more patient and made me appreciate more things.

[A]

Okay, that's awesome. What happened when you got to Finland? Like, you had your. Your satchel full of insulin and whatnot. Were you able to find devices, medical care? How did you work your way through all that?

[B]

Yeah, so I had a friend in the city in Finland that we moved to, and she said, just, like, email the hospital. And so I emailed them, and turns out that Finland is so much more advanced. So they were texting with me, which I'm like, it's never happened to me here. I never texted with a doctor, but I basically was setting up an appointment with a clinic describing our situation. And they said, yes, just come in at the time. We'll do the assessment, and we'll see what to do with you. And so, thankfully, everybody spoke some level of English at the hospital.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So this is how we were able to talk to them. The doctors, of course, had impeccable English. The nurses, it was a hit or miss, but with Google Translate, we were able to get by. So we get to the hospital, they're all terrified of, we should keep you here overnight. This is diabetes. This is serious. But we're like, we've gone through that a month ago. We don't really need to be in the hospital. I guess for bureaucracy reasons, they still had to take us through the entire education series, like, what to do, what to do with lows, what do you do with sickness? So they kept us there for a couple of days, not overnight. They'll say, let us go home. And they also wanted to make sure that we know how to dose. So they brought us Food for my kids specifically. And they watched us calculate, and then they watched us do the injection, say, do we do it correctly or not? And once we passed their test, they were like, yeah, we'll see you in three months. And since we were there legally, like on a startup visa, we registered there and registered with the municipality that we are now kind of citizens of that place. And that gave us access to the basic healthcare, including type 1 diabetes care.

[A]

Nice.

[B]

So that was a really nice surprise. And that made us really confident, like, okay, this is going to work out, because they also provided us with free dexcoms for the six months that we were there. You just basically order a thing online and a package arrives with however many dexcoms.

[A]

Did you ever consider staying? Did you like it enough to think we should move here forever?

[B]

Yes, and I still dream about that. I really liked it there because I grew up in the north of Russia and like the Finnish culture and the Finnish nature, it smells like the forest, smell like my childhood, basically. I would love to stay there, but I don't know. My. My family, they're still in Russia and they say, you know, Russia is unpredictable these days and Finland has a border, so just like, stay away, stay across the ocean for now until that whole situation figures itself out. But, yeah, my oldest really loved the school. In Finland, there is so much freedom. The kids are allowed to go to school on their own and take public transit at the age of seven, which is unheard of in North America.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

So I think I would really love to move. So maybe in a couple years, you

[A]

guys do the kind of work that allows you to be mobile like that.

[B]

Yes. We both are software developers.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So even though my company, I'm only allowed to work outside of Canada for 90 days, it's still 90 days. Like, we can travel and work anywhere pretty much. No kidding.

[A]

You know, it's so bizarre that that's what you said, because you might turn your nose up at this, and I would understand if you did, but all morning I've been. I'm sure you hate this word, but I've been vibe coding an app that allows you to put food and insulin onto a timeline and slide it around to see how changing the bolus changes the peaks in the valleys.

[B]

Wow. You're not going to believe it. My husband did an app like that and there's a thread on Reddit somewhere about that.

[A]

Really? It's just such a great. Like, I trained it on, like, the War Saw method and, you know, understood ideas about how insulin works and different Insulin timings and stuff like that. Let me say this. It's not something you would dose off of, although I imagine if you got it correct, you probably could. It is just very visual and I think allows. I think it would easily allow people to say, like, oh, I see the value of where I put the insulin and how long the food impacts my system. I think kind of for visual people, it might be a lot easier than some other stuff. Anyway.

[B]

I totally agree. I'm so happy you're doing that. I hope you share with the world.

[A]

Oh, I'm trying. I swear. The. The. I know, it's such a. I hope they come up with a better phrase than vibe coding, because it sounds. I feel. Can I just be honest? I feel like a douchebag when I'm saying it, but at the same time, that's not what's happening. Like, I'm talking to it about what I wanted to accomplish, and it is accomplishing it. It's making me like a lot of different things are possible. All of a sudden. It makes me want to create an app that. That not only can house the audio from the podcast, but maybe one day also have a community right inside of it. You know, a dictionary of diabetes definitions and then links to take you back to longer explanations of it. Like, I honestly, like, I have the whole thing pictured in my head. I just don't have any actual skill. So I'm. I'm waiting for AI to either kill us or catch up with my idea. That's my hope.

[B]

I think the latter is going to happen. Honestly, it's so good these days. Like, I don't code anymore. I just basically type in English or sometimes even talk to it, you know, with voice recognition and stuff. It's bizarre.

[A]

My son is just starting in the world. He's only 26, but he's got one of those jobs where, you know, he had to teach himself a lot of coding. And then all of a sudden one day he was like, I don't really have to code that much anymore, but I still am. And I was like, yeah, he works for a company that basically rents him out to other large corporations that need back end stuff done, but, you know, don't want to hire people or have the expertise to walk through the project. So he's been doing that for a while. I think he likes it a lot, actually.

[B]

It sounds really fun. We all got into this job, I guess, for the pleasure of coding, and now we're going to have to find pleasure in problem solving overall, not just coding.

[A]

Something Else, Right. I'm gonna get back to your kids diabetes for a second. But to your point about it, it's getting better so much more quickly. I've been using, like, deep research tools to just research the podcast transcripts and then to turn it back into content that will reach people in different ways. It's just. It's so good at it. It's incredible. I used to sit around and think, there's so much in the podcast that I think just goes dormant and could be reused. But what am I gonna do? Am I gonna sit and transcribe it and then put it together in a written form? I'll have to live six lifetimes to do that, you know, and now suddenly I'm just like, hey, here's 25 episodes of the Bold Beginning series. Can you break out all the important diabetes tips in it? And like, 10 minutes later, it's like, here. Oh, okay.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

Really, just live in the future. Yeah, it really is awesome. Anyway, that's all. I hope it doesn't take your job.

[B]

That's okay. I also bake bread, so I'm like, people are always going to eat, so I'll just be a baker.

[A]

I love that you're like, if it takes my job, I'll just bake bread. That's great. That's fantastic. Well, I also think, like, you know, it's nice to be able to put something down. I think the podcast works for a reason. I think the talking through it is really valuable. I don't think that'll ever go away, But I do think, like, you know, even just having like, a. I don't know, like a. Like a touchstone app, like a daily reminder. Like, just imagine opening up an app, and in the minute, in the morning, it just tells you, like, just some little tidbit about diabetes or your personal wellness or care that just kind of keeps you grounded and. And focused on what you need to do for the day. And then there's a community back there if you want to go talk to people. I don't know. It seems like it makes a lot of sense to me. So.

[B]

Yeah, especially if you give access to the data to the app. And, like, in the morning, it's like, has a small analysis of your overnight graph or something. Like, that's just invaluable.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

Because lives are busy and we don't have time to do that, like, daily. But are you saying.

[A]

Are you saying that my app should open up, look at your last 24 hours and say, hey, I just wanted to remind you to pre bolus for your meals. It looks like we might have gotten away from that yesterday.

[B]

Something like that would be amazing.

[A]

All right, you're hired. I have no money. Let's go. Have the whole thing done in three months, please. We're on a schedule. So funny.

[B]

With my little quad, I'm sure we can do great things.

[A]

Yeah, that's the kind. I had somebody approach me at a. I did an event over the weekend, and a person walked up to me and said, you know, I'm. I'm an electrical engineer and wanted to show me this thing they made, which was like, it was crazy. It was this. It was a little tiny screen. It was maybe four by two or four by three. And it was just plugged into a. Into a little battery pack. And as he got within Bluetooth distance of it, it just populated with his Dexcom information. And when he walked away from it, it just went away. And when he walked back, it turned back on again. It was fascinating. And it looked like something you bought at a store. It was so nice. I said, how much did that cost? She goes, it was about $30 worth of parts I bought online.

[B]

Crazy.

[A]

And built the whole infrastructure and flashed it onto it. And then he was looking at something on my website, a bolus estimator. And he's like, I could turn that into an app if you wanted to. And I was like, yeah, okay. So anyway, I. I love people that are just excited to. To help and do things and, you know, have some expertise. Okay, so how does your child handle the diagnosis? I'm going to ask about how you handle it in a minute, but is it a tough thing? Are they young enough that they kind of go along with it or, you know, what. What ends up happening in that situation?

[B]

Overall, I think he felt much better after he started getting insulin. And I think he told me at some point in the very beginning that he does feel better. And he, like, almost overnight. Well, I guess over two nights at the hospital, like, he. The emotion. Like those really sharp emotions went away.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And yes, he was really annoyed with the finger pokes for the couple first days until we got on the Dexcom. And he was really annoyed with the pens, too. But also I showed him the syringes that they used to use before pens, I guess, came on, and he was like, oof, yeah, the pens are so much better.

[A]

And so I think there's your eastern bloc upbringing. You're like, how would you like to get stabbed with this instead?

[B]

Yes, I guess, you know, like the. I grew up with always being reminded that there is starving children in Africa. You know, there's somebody. There's always somebody was worse off. And so I guess I. Yeah, I guess I used that on him, too. But we also. We really tried, like, me and my partner, we really tried to not be heartbroken about it visibly, like we were for a little bit. But then, I don't know, like, something shifted in me. Maybe it's like the last years with the war and just, like, knowing about a lot of really bad things and, like, I don't know. All I can say, yeah, perspective is important.

[A]

It really is. You know, it's funny, I was just listening to a commentator this morning talk about. He said, I don't keep artwork in my home, but I have this photograph of Anne Frank's father, and he's standing in the attic after he's lost his entire family and the war's over, and he's reflecting and in this photo. And the guy said, every night before I go to bed, I look at that picture for 10 minutes, and I try to imagine what he's thinking about. And then in the morning, I look at it again for 10 more seconds, and I try to remember that my worst day is a lot better than most people's best day. And then just. I don't have. I forget how he said it. I don't have problems. I have inconveniences, he said. And I thought that was really something. And it's interesting that I just heard somebody say that. Now you're saying the same thing.

[B]

I totally agree with that. And I think we did try to talk to him in this vein, that, okay, yes, this is inconvenient. Yes, this is very annoying, but we're still gonna live. He never skipped a pool hangout with his friends. He never did. Diabetes hasn't stopped him. We made sure that diabetes doesn't stop him from anything. Yes, it adds a lot of inconveniences, the things we have to now think about, but it doesn't mean that we cannot do those things. So, like, from the get go, we kind of said, this is our life now. Let's just move on. We're gonna eat everything. We're gonna travel, we're gonna see. We're gonna, I don't know, go to water parks and whatnot, deal with those things, but let's not focus on diabetes. I forgot it was your podcast. Like, I heard this somewhere, that I'm not organizing my life around diabetes. I'm organizing diabetes around my life. And I really like that.

[A]

Yeah, you just have to. You just have to find the T shirt slogan that works for you, basically.

[B]

Pretty much, yeah.

[A]

And. And your attitude, do you. Is it cultural? Because I've been doing this a very long time now and you're not the first person from Russia I've spoken to. And I've had some people on from Czech Republic and just that kind of part of the world, and I find their attitudes all seem to match up with what you're saying.

[B]

Probably. It's really. Yeah. Like, if I had to guess, like, especially people who have immigrated, they've decided to leave like the bad parts behind and like we have a much better life here, like wherever you move. Like, even if I move to Europe or like to a more stimulus country than Russia, like, we just value and appreciate things a lot more, I find.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And take less, like fewer things for granted. That's. That's what I've noticed.

[A]

Yeah. Just nice. Not freezing your off, I would imagine.

[B]

I mean, I'm in Canada.

[A]

Yeah. Why'd you do that, by the way? Why did you go. Why don't you go somewhere warmer?

[B]

I don't like war. I don't. I grew up on the White Sea and White Sea is the part of. The part of the Arctic Ocean, and I just don't deal with the heat. Like, I don't like it.

[A]

Oh, that's interesting.

[B]

My winter.

[A]

Yeah. So it's not just, it's not just psychological. You don't think your body does well in warmer climates?

[B]

I just don't enjoy that. I don't enjoy sweating and I don't.

[A]

Yeah, nobody enjoys that.

[B]

Yeah. So, like, even in Toronto, the summers used to be like really hot and humid and I don't like that. I'd rather be cold, warm.

[A]

So you can come stay in my house because there's two feet of snow outside. It'll keep you nice and cold. I don't know why it won't stop snowing here. It hasn't snowed like this in the last 20 years of my life. And then all of a sudden, here we are.

[B]

Something for sure.

[A]

So now we understand how your son adapted. Did you have luck applying? Because, you know, it's all well and good to have ideas, something about best laid plans. Right. But did you have luck following that in your mind? Like you were not going to let it hold us back or did the emotions of it get to you?

[B]

I think that us moving and kind of seeing that it's working, it really, really, really helped me psychologically to process all of it because now looking back, I'm like, you know, even when we were in Finland, like we first flew to London, we stayed in London for a week, then we flew to Finland. So it was like already kind of traveling, like taking airplanes a lot and being in airports. So doing that so close to the diagnosis, it really helped me see, like, okay, we're doing it. It's working. Of course, there's highs and lows and it's terrifying. It's like those emotions. Sometimes there's an interrupted night of sleep, which is also very annoying. But like we managed to pull off this overseas move. He was really happy in school. He made friends, he tried all sorts of weird Finnish foods. And I think that really helped me see, like, okay, it's really. It's not just like the word is not just a slogan and a T shirt, but we're living it. And I always, not always, but like sometimes I wonder what have happened if we didn't have this. It would probably have been much harder on me. But having pulled off that huge like undertaking with moving our kids overseas and trying to arrange a new life, even temporarily with diabetes and talking to people, to the new doctors, like kind of navigating the new system and we managed to do that successfully. I think that really boosted my self confidence and I kind of moved on from that. Like we moved back and I never even looked back. Like, yes, diabetes is annoying. It's scary. I try not to think about what ifs because what's the point? I'm trying to focus on like, what can we do today? But my brain does go sometimes. Like, oh, the teenage years when the sleepover starts, like, what if he's going to, like, I don't know, forget to do his insulin or something. But I'm like, he's seven now. Let's focus on today and then maybe the next month. And I'll manage whatever happens.

[A]

Not going to worry about things you can't control that you're not even sure if they're going to arrive or not. So I'm hearing a lot here. This is really interesting. So my first question is, was the move to Finland so pre planned that you couldn't back out, or could you have backed out if you wanted to and it was a decision you made to go.

[B]

We totally could have backed out. There was nothing, like, there was no money involved. The only thing we've done is I pre rented an apartment for the first couple weeks and I registered them to school.

[A]

So you could have eaten that cost if you wanted to and stayed behind and not left.

[B]

Yeah, pretty much.

[A]

Okay, you made a decision to be bold and then you got some early wins and then you built off of those wins. Is that right?

[B]

I think so, yeah. Yeah, I think that's what happened. And because we also have said like, okay, worst case scenario, we don't have anxiety. I don't think I'm anxious person, but I, maybe that's how my anxiety manifests itself. Like, I always need to know all the what ifs. Like, I just need to be prepared. Like, the worst case scenario, this is what we're going to be doing. So we're like, okay, what's the worst case scenario? There is no doctor, there is no Dexcom, there's no access to insulin. And we were ready to pay for insulin and turned out that we had to pay for it, but it was really cheap. It was, I don't know, €90 for six months supply. Like something like that.

[A]

Okay. It's interesting, isn't it? If you worry about something and then get your answer and continue to worry, you're anxious. But if you worry about something, get your answer and let it go, you're prepared.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. That's a good distinction. Yeah. Like, I don't worry about it if I know what I, what my options are. I worry when there's a lot of unknowns. So like, I kind of need to at least come up with some ideas. So, yeah, like, worst case scenario, we would just be back in, in time for school year to start because we school in Finland starts in August and school here starts September. So we're like, okay, you guys go to school for a month, see what it's like. And if things don't work out and we have to be back, we'll just be back.

[A]

I tell this story a lot on the podcast. I hope it's not boring for people, but I once was somewhere with my brother in law and I said, I don't know how it came up, but I was like, you don't have an escape plan if your house catches on fire and you're on the second floor and you can't get downstairs. And he said, no, like, are you anxious? And I'm like, I'm not anxious, I'm ready. And then I described how I would get out of my house on my secondary egress and all that stuff. And I said, but I've never thought about it since then. Like, I don't sit around wondering, oh gosh, what am I going to do if the house catches. I assume my house isn't going to catch on fire. I had kids, and I thought it was important to think, well, if we get trapped upstairs, how would I get people out? And now that I've got my answer, I'm never going to think about it again. But you've never thought about it. He said, no, I would never think about it. But the whole family's littered with anxiety, so I just feel like they're wasting their worry in the wrong places is how it feels to me. I know anxiety is not that simple, but it's neat to talk to you about it because you're like, oh, I have a lot of things I was concerned about. I figured them out, and that's that. Now it feels like you have a book that you. You put your ideas into, and now you're just believing that they're going to work the way you set it up or the way you thought.

[B]

Pretty much, yeah. Or if they don't work out, like, at least I know where to go. I know who to ask.

[A]

You can just adjust. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Because life is so unpredictable in a lot of ways, so.

[A]

Because how. How could you be anxious while you're coding? Because you're sitting there writing, writing, writing, and you know, you. You press Enter, and then it's. Something breaks, and then you got to go find where it broke. Like, you have to almost want the problem to do that job. Do you know what I mean?

[B]

Yeah, yeah. There's something to it. I also thought, like, if. I suppose being in software affected how we dealt with diabetes because we always get praise from the diabetes team. It's like, oh, like, you manage it so well and like, you asked such good questions and like, probably our systemic and maybe like, lot. I don't want to call it logical. It's not like other people are illogical, but, like, there's some structure that we bring to diabetes itself, probably due to our profession.

[A]

I had to do something where I had to choose between some entrance on something, some entries, and I was like. At first I was like, I'm just going to do it randomly. And then I thought, well, some of these are. They have more impact than others. And, like, I don't know how to. Like, I just. And I sat here, I was just. I was just. Just making myself crazy trying to figure out how to do it. My son comes in and goes, what are you doing? I said, I'm thinking about doing this a different way. And he's like, oh, yeah, well, you could just, you know, list out all of the things, then add a point system to Them and then, like, add it up and weigh it and then. And I was like, oh, is that how your brain works? I was like, well, that was interesting. He just. He didn't even pause. He just rattled it right off. And I thought, oh, my gosh. That's. That's the part of him that's not from me, is what I thought while it was happening. And that's exactly. It must be what my wife does, too, because they. They think very similarly. So you and your husband have a similar brain. I just have to ask for a second. Is that fun or is it annoying sometimes?

[B]

It is annoying sometimes, but I think it's more fun because, like, we understand each other, and, like, we can talk about work as well in depth, which I really enjoy. Like, I learned a lot from him. He's working in crypto now, and I don't know anything about crypto, so, like, learning about that has been fun.

[A]

Okay. But you never. Do you ever feel like, I wish one of us had a different side so we could like. You almost have wanderlust, don't you? You said you. You're dreaming of going back to Finland.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Oh, yeah. I. I find it hard to settle, but, like, you know, with kids. Kids need stability. All of those things that people tell you. So, like, we do travel a lot.

[A]

All those things that people tell you. I like that you're raising your family based on something your grandmother said and other things you've heard from people, but if it was up to you, you guys would be walking around the planet with a satchel over your. Over your shoulder, maybe, right?

[B]

I totally would. But, like, now I do drag my kids to travel a lot with me, and sometimes they complain because, like, when we were in Finland, we took a lot of, like, smaller trips across Europe, and they said, oh, can we please not travel for a little bit? I'm like, you spoiled little brats.

[A]

You're ruining my life. I got plans.

[B]

Yeah, that's really something.

[A]

Do you worry about your other child getting type one?

[B]

We did do a test. I forgot what it's called, but when they test your antibodies, trial net. Yes, try that. We did it after we were back from Finland, so a year ago.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

He is negative for now. But of course, I do worry about that sometimes. But it's one of those things. It's like, if it happens, it's not really preventable. Like, yes, there's this new drug that can postpone it. I'm already doing what's under my control. Like, I. I make sure that they Eat well, they exercise. Sleep is really hard in this house. They never slept as babies, but I do try my best. So I'm like, this is all I can do. I cannot control other things.

[A]

Yeah, no, I agree with you. People talk about what is that tz old, that drug that you just brought up. But it's something like 13 infusions, 13 days in a row. And it may stave it off for a certain amount of time, but they're not sure. And, mm, it's a tough hill to climb. I just interviewed somebody the other day who had got an eyelet cell transplant in one of the studies that's going on out of Chicago. And I don't think the episode's out yet, but. And she's got to get an infusion every 21 days to keep the, you know, keep the cells viable and so that her immune system doesn't attack and whatnot. I mean, Arden is just about. She's going to be 22 this summer, so she's 21 and a half right now. She was diagnosed right, right after her second birthday. Arden's had diabetes solidly for 19 years. Last night was the first time I told her about anything like that. I was like, hey, I interviewed this lady and she got this, you know, this thing. I said, would you do that? And she said, I don't feel like I would do it until people had been doing it for a while. And I was like, you sure? And she said, yeah. And I said, you know, that's it. Like, you know, maybe no more diabetes, no more giving yourself insulin. All the other things that come with high low blood sugar is just gone. She said, no, I still think I'd want to wait a little bit and see how, make sure it's okay. And then she joked with me and she said, and what's the protocol for the stuff? I said, well, they say it's like an infusion every 21 days, but woman told me they're hopefully working on like a once weekly injection be able to do at home. I said, of course, this is like, you know, in the testing phase. So this isn't like it's retail or anything like that. And she, she joked and she said I would just forget to take the shot and then those cells would die and I'd be right back here again.

[B]

Oh, that's so interesting. She must feel like it's really under control then.

[A]

You know, that's. It made me feel really comfortable because she wasn't in like a mad dash. She didn't say, yeah, like she didn't lean over to me and go, hey, can you in that podcast, get me in that study? Like, you know what I mean? Like, she wasn't. Which, by the way, I don't know that I. Maybe that I couldn't, like, but I. But at the same time, like, she never. I wouldn't ask and she didn't offer. She didn't even offer up as an idea. So, yeah, that. That's what I thought too. Like, my gosh, she must be pretty comfortable, you know, and that made me feel good that she felt that way.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Really did. I hope it makes other people feel good, too.

[B]

True. The technology these days, it's. It's really incredible because I did talk. Like, when my kid was diagnosed, I got a few connections from people who also have either kids with taipan or taipan themselves. And I did talk to a lot of them. And for example, there was one family whose kid is now. He was 18 at the time, so now must be 19, whatever. And he was diagnosed at 4. And so the mom told me she couldn't work because she had to be in school around. And he got low at school, and of course there was no cgm. So it was a whole new thing. I'm like, these days, I would call it easy compared to what people had to do even 10, 15 years ago.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, I tried to be respectful of people coming in later to this, where the technology is much more advanced. They don't have any perspective for long needles that had to sharpen. A woman just left a comment on one of my Instagrams the other day, and she said that the big needles she used to give herself insult a long time ago, they had to be boiled. And that sometimes she. She was so hungry, she couldn't wait for them to cool off. And that was one of the things she thought about. Like, she would use warm needles because she was just, you know, just starving and wanted to eat. You know, most people don't have that perspective. If you were diagnosed a year ago and somebody, like, slapped a CGM on you, that works so good. But then later you hear those people complain, like, oh, the CGM didn't last 10 days. And I was like, oh, wow, that's that. It almost felt like. It almost sometimes feels to me like your kid going, I'm tired of traveling. You know what I mean? Like, oh, no.

[B]

Yeah, boohoo.

[A]

Are you. Not that I don't. And I want to be clear. Not that I don't think the thing should last 10 days if it says it lasts 10 days or whatever the hell, you know, and I want companies striving towards that. But if that doesn't happen, I do wish people had, you know, I don't know, a time machine or a crystal ball so they could see what it could be like. And maybe that could help them feel more comfortable or happy instead of feeling let down or, you know, burdened. I don't know.

[B]

It's, you know, totally, I know. I totally agree. And I think those conversations that happened early for me really, really helped. There was also this 60 something year old that I talked to. He also lived with type one for 40 something years, and he has a grandchild who was one and a half when he was diagnosed. So, like, he knows a lot about diabetes. And he told me that diabetes is the best chronic condition you can get because it forces you to live a healthy life, it forces you to eat healthy, to exercise, to keep track of your vitals. And it really stuck with me. Like, yes, yes, that's a really good outlook. So, yeah, I tried to put as many things on a T shirt as I could because these really help me when things get tough and always go back to them.

[A]

No, no, I've, I've said that before and I believe that too. Just, just forces you to pay attention to things that can only be good. All the health issues that come from a slow, you know, I don't know, years and years of neglecting something or not knowing something's important or whatever. And then you get to the, you get to the part where it's a problem and you can't go backwards anymore. At least you're up and you're looking at it and trying to be healthy, you know, at the very least and make good decisions. I take his point that it does focus you on that stuff. I'm interested because now you and I have been talking for a little while and there's a certain part of you that I get why you like me and why you might have listened to the podcast. And I am very comfortable with you because I think of your cultural background and it makes you kind of think more along the way, the lines in the way, I think, because I grew up kind of broke here in America and so, like, I'm having a very comfortable, happy conversation with you, but I cannot, it can't not ask you, like, when you have a, like a, like a software engineer's brain. Like, how, how do you find me palatable? Because aren't I all over the place to you?

[B]

I guess when you talk to people Just like, I guess people like myself when it's not focused. I really liked your episode with Jenny that you did. They are laser focus on the diabetes stuff, right? And those, I have to admit, yeah, they are a little more. A little easier for me to.

[A]

I was going to say, like, you must not be okay with, like, these rambling. I'm wondering how you're making it through this right now.

[B]

To be perfectly honest, I'm still a human.

[A]

Okay. I'm still a human.

[B]

I do enjoy talking to people. Yeah. I also listen to a lot of podcasts that are kind of like just people talking on 2x. But so when I was again, like, one of the people I was connected to, she has a son who has Type one as well, and she's. She's a nurse, so she's obsessed. I'm not as obsessed as that lady, but she gave me your podcasts with the series. She said you have to start with this. I already forgot what it's called. Like, Basics of Diabetes, where you talk about all the definitions and all of the terms. Then she said you have to move on to the pro tips. And then when we were about to get an Omnipod, because in Canada, you have to wait for a year on MDI in order to be able to apply for a pump, unless you want to pay for it yourself, which we didn't want to do. So when we were getting ready to get on Omnipod, she sent me all the Omnipod series where you talk to people about Omnipod. So those. I. I'm so thankful to you for putting them out because those are perfect learning material, especially coming from a person who is a parent. And also, like, in case with Jenny, like, she has type one, like, those perspectives are invaluable.

[A]

Yeah, for sure. I would hold up those serious any. When people say to me, I think you have adhd, I'm like, no, I don't. I can concentrate if I need to. Don't worry. I just. I just find talking this way more entertaining to me. I also find that very linear conversations also seem boring to me sometimes. Like, I like. I like hearing keywords that seem interesting and taking turns and going down little rabbit holes and talking about stuff.

[B]

Yeah, I agree. It kind of shows, like, opens up a person for you, and then you're not just a diabetes day because there's a lot of diabetes in our lives anyway. And sure, this is a nice way to go deeper on to the.

[A]

I completely. The person is like you or your husband. I'm sorry, you've been referring to him as your partner. But you, you and that boy that you let make those babies with you. Like are, are you guys kind of co parenting diabetes or does it fall one way or the other? Or do you guys have certain jobs that you know, one person does certain jobs the other person does. How do you do it?

[B]

He is my husband. I just, I don't know. I really like the work partner so that's why I've been using it. But he. So my kid had a rash for Dexcom and now like for omnipotent, like we dealt with rashes here and there. So I never learned to put on Dexcom. I don't know how to do that because the process is that we put hydrocolloids, something, something, okay thing on top of his arm with a little pre cut hole and then we put a Dexcom on top of that. And this really protects his skin. It's been working really well. But I. He figured out the system. I never learned to do that, so I never do that. I do sleep with all the devices, so like if there's an occasional high or low sugar. So I deal with that mostly just because I lost sleep when they were born anyway. So like, what's another?

[A]

You're like, I'm used to it.

[B]

I lost sleep pretty much, yeah.

[A]

Oh, you know, I interviewed a woman recently and she's like, listen, my husband can do it, but he just gets very grumpy and he complains about it. So I just do it so that doesn't happen. I was like, oh, no kidding right? Now it falls to you. Please take my word for it when I tell you it's not sustainable long term. Like you really do need to sleep.

[B]

Yeah, no, but we've been sleeping mostly. Like that's now a rare occasion. But I do have to wake up, which I'm really thankful for the system we have figured out. And also what's interesting between me and my partner, I find that I'm more okay with the low blood sugar. So I'm always like giving more insulin and sometimes like there's an occasional low and he is more comfortable to be on the higher side. So like, oh, that's also like a very interesting dynamic. I find I don't have any solutions yet. Like we keep kind of talking and discussing the situations when they do arise.

[A]

Oh, oh, interesting. Okay. How involved is your child in the care? Are you guys making all the decisions? I mean, still pretty young, right? So are you making all the decisions? Are you doing it together in hopes that The. The understanding grows. What's your. You mentioned, you know, worrying about the future and not being worried about it, but you must have some sort of a plan for building this out.

[B]

Yeah. So when he was an mdi, we did everything, and there was a nurse who came into school for two lunch periods, and she administered insulin. Now she still comes, and she now uses a pump. And so we are planning this summer when he goes to camps for him to finally do it himself. He does it. He gives himself insulin. So he knows how to use a controller. But the calculation, like, the amount of carbs, I just, like, he knows it's an apple. A medium apple is like roughly 15 grams. So, like, those basic things, when there is complicated stuff, we usually do that. And I do not always have it in me to use every interaction as an education session, but that's the idea. Like, we're going to start slowly build that muscle for him. I don't know how many years it's going to take because even, like, our carb counting is not perfect. And there's so much more to count for than just carbs.

[A]

Yeah. One of the issues that people are tripped up by most are just estimating their meal correctly and, you know, understanding the impacts of the. The entire, you know, concoction sometimes and, you know, yes, where fat is and stuff like that. But I think it's carb counting and pre bolusing. I think those are the two things around meals that. That cause people the biggest concerns, you know, and. And get in the way of success over and over again.

[B]

Yeah. I just wanted to bring up a little point about pre bolting because I learned about it from your podcast as well. And we started doing it pretty much right away. Like, we got home and this is. He first gets insulin and then he eats. And I think when we're in control, like, we try to do the 15 to 10 minutes depending on the thing. But now I feel like he built a muscle so, like, he's always going to have first insulin, then maybe run around the house and then food. So thank you for teaching us about pre bolting in the beginning.

[A]

Oh, you're welcome. It's a. It's a pleasure. I find it really changes things for people and, you know, it's just incredibly overlooked at the education level in a lot of. In a lot of doctor's offices, so.

[B]

Especially for children, because I feel like doctors have way more fear of lows and they're like, oh, like, you'd better be high than low. But I don't think that's the right attitude to teach from the very beginning.

[A]

Me either. Yeah, me either. You know, I found myself asking online the other day because I've been thinking about it a lot is like, what are predictors of success? I think my two from my conversations are people who are interested and continually trying to learn. I think that's a great predictor for success. And I think also having the autonomy and the knowledge to keep your settings up to date is the other one. Those are my two that I think, I think are one and two. But I'm wondering, you've been at it for a little while now. Have you gotten any insight on things you do that lead to successful outcomes?

[B]

I also don't know how to count success. Our time and wage is not the best. And we have a kid who's a snacker and he doesn't always tell us we're working on that, but he at least tells us he ate something. So I think I consider success as of right now at this stage in my life is that we have more or less. We have sleep, maybe we wake up like once every three, four weeks. Which I find is way, way better than the first month after diagnosis. And yes, the kind of the feeling empowered to change our care because I remember after diagnosis, I think they gave us a really large, long insulin dose and he was always constantly falling and I was afraid to give less insulin. I had to talk to the doctor or we have to email. So I had to get a hold of the doctor to be allowed to change that number. And I think after two weeks of trying to do that, I'm like, I'm not doing this anymore. I am managing this thing. I have the numbers, I have all the data to make my own decisions. And I felt empowered after that. So I think always, yeah, just like having once a month, maybe a review of what's happening and adjusting as it goes, because it changes all the time. Like for example, we had about a sickness in January and some of the sickness is really visible, like the fever, the runny noses. But some of the sickness, like something is going on, but like you're kind of okay, just like low energy and that my type 1 kid had it and we could not figure out what was happening. But then it turned out that if you had a very light virus or something. So just being able to adjust and not wait, I guess until your care appointment, because it only happens once for us, it happens once every three months.

[A]

That's such a great answer that I think I'm going to start asking that Question more often to people. And I like that you started with, I don't know. Well, you know, how are we measuring success? But I think it's important to say that you should measure success however you measure success.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

Yeah. Not based on somebody else's idea of it. Well, that was really great. Thank you. When you hear me ask other people in the future that just know that that answer is a big reason why I kept asking them. Thank you.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Yeah. That was awesome. Am I missing anything? Have we forgotten to talk about something? Is there something that's come up that I have directed you away from or, you know, that we haven't gotten to?

[B]

No, I don't think so. Like, the main points I wanted to share it is that I'm super happy that we didn't get scared off from the big plans. And I hope people do not get scared. Like, it is a scary disease. Like, I totally understand that. I am scared half the time as well. But being scared and doing things because life just has so much to offer, and that's not diabetes. And you can kind of squeeze it in. I always joke that now I have a little tiny brain growing in my main brain that's diabetes, only focused. But the rest of my brain can kind of focus on everything else that's going on in life.

[A]

Your brain has an AI agent that's only thinking about one task. Is that what you're telling me?

[B]

Oh, I never thought about that.

[A]

It's exactly what's happening, right? You're like, I'll just task this bot to think about this over here. I'm.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

Do you see? I mean, I didn't ask you what kind of software you develop, but obviously you know a fair amount about all this, so I don't know that. We're not that close to all this, by the way. Like, I've already seen people just drop their graphs into a chat GPT kind of a situation without any context. And I've seen it give back rather valuable input. So I'm talking about without knowing insulin sensitivity and, you know, and that kind of stuff. But I mean, if you could get a prompt to think about, you know, how the insulin is, you know, breaking down and. And being used and how food's digested over time, you know, based on its fat, protein content, sugar, that kind of stuff. I don't know that you can't at some point just say, like, look, this is what I'm thinking of eating. Where do I put the insulin? This is my insulin sensitivity and my carb ratio and it can't just tell

[B]

you, and it can't even tell the time because, like, you can. Like it has all those data points. Like, you can tell, like, oh, for this, don't do like a long pre bowl, do like a three minute. For this food, do like a half an hour or something like that.

[A]

Yeah. Because, I mean, listen, not that everybody wants to live their life that way, but if I really also buy into the idea that people really eat about the same 20 or 30 things over and over again. So if you walked through it the first number of times until it became a muscle memory thing, it's not like you'd have to go back to the prompt over and over again. You could then eventually say, all right, I know I'm about to eat this. I'm going to put in this amount of insulin, wait about this long, and then I'm going to eat and it's going to work. And I actually think it's all here already, which is somebody needs to package it together. The algorithms that are, you know, coming from the companies, I don't think they're considering it quite as much. But if you look at like, loop and trio and like, the ability to, like, you know, tell it that you're eating fat and it to, you know, set up extended boluses and. And, you know, touch points in the future where it's trying to address those sorts of things, obviously those systems are doing that already. I don't know, it just feels like it's all there. Just somebody needs to do it and then have the nerve to release it. And that's maybe the biggest problem, you know.

[B]

I agree. I agree. I always say that the future looks bright if only people stop fighting with each other.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Because I feel like that takes away a lot of energy from trying to solve the other, the more important humanities issues.

[A]

No, that's for sure. Okay. Well, you were terrific. I really. No, I really enjoyed this and I'm really learning something about myself. I should probably move to where you're from. I think I'd love everybody. I mean, seriously, everyone who comes on from that part of the road. I'm like, what a sensible person and lovely to speak to. No bullshit. This was awesome.

[B]

Yeah. We never learned how to do small talk. That's true.

[A]

That's okay. I keep up that side of our relationship. It'll be fine. Just nod at me and go, there he is, he's talking. It's fine. We like him. Other reasons. Well, I really, I genuinely appreciate you adding, you know, your story to this to this whole thing as we, you know, climb towards 2,000 episodes of, you know, stories and, and people's lives, I think it, it already has and will continue to come together and be helpful for others. So, you know, the time you took today will be invaluable for others going into the future. So thank you very much.

[B]

Thank you, Scott. Thank you for all that you do for the diabetes community.

[A]

It's, it really is a pleasure. You have no idea, like, how happy it makes me. So thank you. I appreciate you saying that. Hold on one second for me. Okay. I'd like to remind you again about the mini Med 780G automated insulin delivery system, which of course anticipates, adjusts and corrects every 5 minutes, 24 7. It works around the clock so you can focus on what matters. The juice box community knows the importance of using technology to simplify managing diabetes. To learn more about how you can spend less time and effort managing your diabetes, Visit my link medtronicdiabetes.com Juicebox Having an easy to use and accurate blood glucose meter is just one click away. Contour next.com juicebox that's right. Today's episode is sponsored by the Contour Next gen blood glucose meter. Okay, well, here we are at the end of the episode. You're still with me. Thank you. I really do appreciate that. What else could you do for me? Why don't you tell a friend about the show or leave a five star review? Maybe you could make sure you're following or subscribed in your podcast app. Go to YouTube and follow me. Or Instagram TikTok. Oh gosh, here's one. Make sure you're following the podcast in the private Facebook group as well as the public Facebook page. You don't want to miss, please. Do you not know about the private group? You have to join the private group. As of this recording, it has 74,000 members. They're active, talking about diabetes. Whatever you need to know. There's a conversation happening in there right now and I'm there all the time. Tag me. I'll say hi. How would you like to share a type 1 diabetes getaway like no other? Join me on Juice Cruise 2026. You may be asking, what is Juice Cruise? It's a week long cruise designed specifically for people and families living with type 1 diabetes. It's not just a vacation. It's a chance to relax, connect and feel understood in a way that is hard to find elsewhere. We're going to sail out of Miami and the cruise includes stops in Cococay, San Juan, St. Kitts and Nevis aboard the stunning Celebrity Beyond. This ship is chosen for its comfort, accessibility and exceptional amenities. You're going to enjoy a welcoming environment surrounded by others who get life with type 1 diabetes. I'm going to host diabetes focused conversations and meetups on the days at sea. There's thoughtfully designed spaces, incredible dining and modern amenities all throughout the Celebrity Beyond. Your kids can be supervised and there's teen programs so everyone gets time to recharge, not just the kids going on vacation. But maybe you get to kick back a little bit too. There's going to be zero judgment, real connections and a whole lot of sun and fun on Juice Cruise 2026. Please come with me. You're going to have a terrific time. You can learn more or set up your [e-mail] JuiceCruise get a hold of Suzanne at CruisePlanners. She will take care of everything. Links in the show Notes [e-mail] have a podcast? Want it to sound fantastic? Wrongwayrecording.com.