#1862 Type 3C in Texas

Summary

---

Juicebox Podcast: Type 1 Diabetes

Episode #1862: Type 3C in Texas
Host: Scott Benner
Guest: Tabby
Release Date: May 28, 2026

---

Episode Overview

In this compelling episode, Scott interviews Tabby, a 28-year-old woman from Texas living with type 3C diabetes following a harrowing series of rare medical events. The conversation traces Tabby’s journey from perfect health, through fertility struggles, pregnancy loss, life-threatening pancreatitis, repeated medical mismanagement, major surgery, and the unique challenges of managing type 3C diabetes. This is not just a medical story, but an emotional, resilient, and practical account illustrating what it means to fight for your health and adapt to an unexpected diagnosis.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Background & Introduction to Tabby's Story

• Tabby’s Health Before Diagnosis (03:11)
  • She was healthy with only minor fertility issues due to PCOS.
  • Successfully became pregnant via medicated cycles and IUI:

    “We used medicated cycles… ultimately we got pregnant using IUI.” (03:39)

2. A Cascade of Medical Events

• Pregnancy Loss & Postpartum Complications (05:18)
  • At 20 weeks, Tabby went into unexpected labor and lost her first baby.
  • Postpartum, she developed undiagnosed gallstones leading to months of severe pain.
• Unrecognized Gallbladder Issues & Misdiagnosis (06:54)
  • Pain repeatedly attributed to epidural side-effects; gallstone issues overlooked.

3. Pancreatitis, Neglect, and Near-Fatal Oversights

• Hospital Experience & Frustrations (10:10–13:33)
  • Gallbladder rupture led to pancreatitis. Doctors initially promised quick recovery.
  • Tabby’s condition worsened; the hospital staff minimized her complaints.
  • Notable Quote:

    “How many people have been right about what they told you in the hospital?”
    “None.” (10:19)

  • She and her husband had to advocate fiercely just to get additional scans.

Memorable Moment:

On the advocacy needed to get a scan:

“We’re just basically going to tell him we’ll go to long term care today if you run another scan.” (17:16)

4. Transfer, Real Diagnosis, and Dread

• Discovery of Necrotizing Pancreatitis (23:31)
  • At a larger hospital, a trauma surgeon made the real diagnosis:

    “For the last 13 days… I actually had necrotizing pancreatitis. Not pancreatitis. My pancreas was actively dying.” (23:31)

  • Severe sepsis and impending organ failure; a series of small surgeries ensued, spanning a 58-day hospital stay.
• Hospital System Failures (21:18, 35:07)
  • Multiple Dallas hospitals initially declined to take Tabby’s case because of its severity.

Quote on Medical Negligence:

“If you can’t figure it out, don’t just tell me, ‘I don’t know, we’ll wait another day…’” (36:10)

5. Recovery, Recurrence, and Surgery

• Chronic Pancreatitis and Setbacks (29:06–31:39)
  • Multiple readmissions, chronic pain, eventual gallbladder removal, G-tube feeding.
• Decision for Major Surgery (33:14)
  • Consulted a leading surgeon who recommended a partial pancreatectomy and splenectomy:

    “I tell a lot of them, I would not do surgery on you… I’m telling you, I would do this surgery next month.” (33:41)

  • Lost 60% of pancreas and entire spleen; also stomach tissue.

6. Type 3C Diagnosis and Diabetes Management

• Defining Type 3C (41:48+)
  • Type 3C results from damage/removal of the pancreas, leading to both insulin and digestive enzyme insufficiency.
• Gestational Diabetes and Full Diagnosis (46:01)
  • Early gestational diabetes, then confirmed type 3C after surgery.
  • Difficulties navigating the system:

    “Type 3C is not very well known… all the research… geared towards type 1 or type 2.” (48:08)

  • Felt awkward “co-opting” a type 1 identity but found support in the community:

    “It’s tricky because… I don’t want anyone to feel like I know what it’s like to be a type 1 diabetic… But, I did have quite the journey.” (50:39)

On Peer Support:

“There’s no club of type 3Cs, really… but, communally, you’re adopted in.” (51:09)

7. Living with Type 3C: Insulin, Enzymes, and Adaptation

• Pump and Tech Access (51:59–53:52)
  • Strategic about insurance and timing to obtain insulin pump and supplies.
  • After starting on a pump, A1C dropped from 7.4% to 5.3%.
• Living Without Pancreas/Spleen: Enzyme Supplementation (54:16–56:09)
  • Must take digestive enzymes with food. Adjusts enzyme dose based on meal composition.
  • Describes practical tips: pill carriers, timing, and learning body cues.

8. Healthcare Trauma and Building Self-Trust

• Ongoing Anxiety and Distrust (44:25–45:51)
  • Experiences lingering medical trauma, difficulty trusting providers:

    “No matter how hard I try not to, I now operate under a ‘what if we’re missing something small?’” (44:39)

  • Uses community (podcasts, online groups) for validation and empowerment.

9. Finding Community and Resources

• Discovering the Podcast (57:27+)
  • Found Juicebox via a pancreatectomy support group, then reached out for this episode.
  • Praises the website and resources, especially for rare-diabetes diagnoses.

10. Current Status & Looking Ahead

• Ongoing Health and Practical Advice (59:36–62:43)
  • Recently began full management with pump (since Dec 2025).
  • Reports improvement after vitamin/mineral infusions; currently monitoring iron/ferritin.
• Future Outlook
  • Scott invites Tabby to check back in for a follow-up in a few years to share her long-term adaptation.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Medical Gaslighting:

  “He believed… I was not getting better because I didn’t want to get better… ordered PT to come and take me and walk me up and down the halls…” (12:30, 36:40)

• On Near Misses:

  “They would have killed you if you didn’t leave there, by the way.” (35:38)

• On Identity & Isolation in Diagnosis:

  “Every person with diabetes has their own unique journey… I don’t want anyone to feel like I know what it’s like to be a type 1 diabetic for my entire life, because I don’t.” (51:06)

• On Enzyme Management:

  “I’m kind of used to it now… I usually take mine about 30 minutes before meals. And that seems to be a good timing for me...” (56:09)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Tabby’s Introduction & Pre-diagnosis Health – 03:04–03:35
• Pregnancy Loss & Gallbladder Complications – 05:18–07:43
• Hospitalization, Neglect, and Advocacy – 10:10–13:33
• Diagnosis of Necrotizing Pancreatitis – 23:31–24:36
• Major Surgery and Aftermath – 33:14–34:29
• Type 3C Diabetes Discussion – 41:48–50:11
• Navigating Identity and Community – 49:20–51:49
• Insulin Pump Story & Management Now – 51:59–54:01
• Digestive Enzyme Routine – 54:16–56:42
• Advice for Others/Finding Support – 62:43–68:35

---

Final Thoughts & Takeaways

• Resilience Amid Systemic Failures: Tabby’s story is a stark reminder of the importance of patient and caregiver advocacy, especially in the face of medical inertia or mismanagement.
• Type 3C: An Invisible Diagnosis: Many with type 3C diabetes may feel invisible, as tabby describes, within the larger diabetes community, but solidarity and knowledge-sharing matter.
• Building Trust (Again): Trauma lingers long after the acute episode; finding the right medical partners and peer support makes a world of difference.
• Practicality Wins: Whether it’s insurance strategy, pill carriers, or meal planning, surviving and thriving with chronic illness requires flexible, creative problem solving.

---

For anyone facing or supporting someone through a rare diabetes diagnosis, this episode is a raw, practical guide—and a testament to not giving up on yourself even when the system does.

---

Transcript

[A]

Friends, we're all back together for the next episode of the Juice Box Podcast. Welcome.

[B]

Hey, I'm Tabby and I have type 3C diabetes.

[A]

If you're new to type 1 diabetes, begin with the Bold Beginning series from the podcast. Don't take my word for it. Listen to what reviewers have said. Bold Beginnings is the best first step. I learned more in those episodes than anywhere else. This is when everything finally clicked. People say it takes the stress out of the early days and replaces it with clarity. They tell me this should come with the diagnosis packet that I got at the hospital. And after they listen, they recommended to everyone who's struggling. It's straightforward, practical and easy to listen to. Bold Beginnings gives you the basics in a way that actually makes sense. If you're looking for community around type 1 diabetes, check out the Juice Box Podcast. Private Facebook Group juice box 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 juicebox podcast type 1 diabetes on Facebook. 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. I'd like to thank the Eversense365 for sponsoring this episode of the Juice Box Podcast and remind you that if you want the only sensor that gets inserted once a year and not every 14 days, you want the Eversense CGM. Eversensecgm.com JuiceBox 1 Year 1 CGM Today's episode is also sponsored by the Tandem MOBI system with Ctrl IQ Technology. If you are looking for the only system with auto bolus, multiple wear options and full control from your personal iPhone, you're looking for Tandem's newest pump and algorithm. Use my link to Support the podcast tandomdiabetes.com Juicebox check it out. The podcast is also sponsored today by Touched by Type one. Please take a moment to learn more about [e-mail] on Facebook and Instagram touchedbytypeone.org check out their many programs, their annual conference, awareness campaign, their D Box program, Dancing for Diabetes, they have a dance program for local kids, a golf night and so much more to touchedbytype1.org you're looking to help or you want to see people helping people with type 1? You want touchbytype1.org hey, I'm Tabby and

[B]

I have type 3C diabetes. I've had that. I've been diagnosed since November of 2025 after a rare medical event occurred in June of 2023.

[A]

You had a rare medical event?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

All right, we'll figure that out. Prior to this. Well, how old are you now?

[B]

I am 28.

[A]

Okay. Prior to this rare event, how had your health been throughout your life?

[B]

Perfectly normal.

[A]

Yeah. Nothing remarkable happened?

[B]

No. I was battling a little bit of infertility due to some pcos, but otherwise very healthy. No concerns, no doctors, really?

[A]

What weapons did you use to battle infertility?

[B]

We used medicated cycles, so. And then ultimately we got pregnant using iui.

[A]

What's that?

[B]

Intrauterine insemination. Okay, so it's one step before IVF.

[A]

Do you ever think of trying GLPs?

[B]

I did, but it was not recommended by my medical team for some reason, and now I'm not able to because of my pancreas.

[A]

Oh, wow. Yeah, you. But you know what I'm talking about, right? That's that group of ladies online who all have PCOS and seem to get pregnant after using a GLP medication.

[B]

Yes, there. There definitely have been a lot of success stories linked to those.

[A]

Yeah, well, you slowed down, as if you. This was something you were hoping for, but your medical team didn't like. Was it disappointing when that turned out that way?

[B]

A little bit. But it all worked out the way that it was supposed to.

[A]

Yeah. Cool. Got a baby out of it.

[B]

Yes, I did.

[A]

What's that kid's name?

[B]

His name is Forrest.

[A]

Oh, that's awesome. How old is he?

[B]

He is 14 months.

[A]

14 months. Oh, wow. What a time. I like that time. People say they like them a little bigger so they can move around, but I think it's fun when they're like a little football with a personality in a face.

[B]

Yes. This is my perfect. This is my favorite age.

[A]

Yeah, well, they're all going to be until they it's a boy, right? Until whenever the hormones kick in, you'll stop. You'll stop liking it as much around then. Whatever that is. Don't worry, it wears off when they're, like, in their mid-20s. So what rare medical event happened? I guess we. We can't stretch this out. Like, what happened to you.

[B]

So in 2023, I was pregnant with our first son. After a successful medicated cycle and IUI through the fertility clinic, at 20 weeks, I went into labor. I did not know that I was in labor because I didn't know that you could go into labor at 20 weeks, but you can. I had that baby, and we lost him. Because he was unfortunately just a little smaller than what the hospital had the capabilities to be able to work with in the nicu. After that, I had a very odd hormonal fluctuation through postpartum from that that caused my gallbladder to fill with gallstones. That does happen after pregnancy for some women, and a lot of times it gets caught pretty quick. And they can have a quick surgery to get their gallbladder removed, and then they're on their way. That is not what happened in my case. My gallbladder was giving me trouble for about a month. I had been to the ER three different times, and it was never identified that I had any gallstones.

[A]

When you say that the gallbladder fills with stones, how long does that process take?

[B]

It can kind of depend on the individual, but in my case, they suspected that it happened in about two weeks.

[A]

Oh, my gosh. No kidding.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

What's that. What's that feel like while it's happening? Are you aware that it's happening?

[B]

So I did not know what was happening. I was having extreme sharp pain in the center of my shoulder blades in my back, which is part of the reason that it wasn't identified, because they look for abdominal pain. And so I would have these events randomly in the middle of the night where I would just be in excruciating pain. So much so that we would end up having to go to the er.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And looking back on it, there was a component there of it was related. The severe episodes of pain were related to what I was eating or what I was drinking. Um, and so I would eat something that would flare it up and then I'd have that pain. But I didn't know that that's what was happening because it was so random at the time.

[A]

Kind of a referred pain from maybe like a fat content of something or something like that, Right? Yeah. Okay.

[B]

So I was going through with that. We were going in and out of ERs. Every time I would go in, they would kind of send me back to postpartum because I was still within that six week window. And they would check everything out. And ultimately it was decided that it was most likely some sort of residual back pain from receiving an epidural. I did not know what is normal after receiving an epidural because that was my first time ever delivering. And so I was like, okay, well, this is just part of it. It'll go away soon and we'll go from there.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And we just kind of were dealing with the pain episodes at home after that. And things were smooth sailing. About six weeks postpartum, I was working from home on my computer, and I got very sick very fast and had very excruciating pain everywhere. Not just my back, my abdomen, my. My entire body was just out of nowhere. Something was not right. I ended up having to be ambulanced from my home to the nearest available trauma medical center, the one that I was taken to. They reviewed everything and they determined that I had the gallstones and that my gallbladder had actually ruptured. And those stones essentially got stuck in all of the ducts in my body. Normally when that happens, they pass on their own in about 24 hours, and you're kind of good to go after that, and then you start the healing process. One of the ducts that my gallstones were stuck in was my pancreatic duct. That does cause pancreatitis. And so they diagnosed me with pancreatitis. They had the gallstone there. They basically were like, this gallstone is going to pass in a couple of days. The pancreatitis will heal in a couple of days. It'll probably take four to six days in the hospital, but then you should be kind of back to normal on your way back home. You may have to be on a little bit of a lower scale diet for a little bit and build your way back up, but you should be good to go in a couple of days.

[A]

Okay. So kind of sucks. But you have a plan that seems doable, right? Yeah. Okay.

[B]

That is not what happened.

[A]

I was going to say they were wrong about that. Hey, by the way, in that time frame, how many people have been right about what they told you in the hospital?

[B]

None.

[A]

Okay, There you go. That's fine.

[B]

Unfortunately, that's fine.

[A]

Everything's fine. Don't worry.

[B]

They were correct that I had pancreatitis.

[A]

There you go. Look.

[B]

They did get that right? So. So yeah. So the three to four days goes by and I am substantially worse. I can hardly move, have developed pneumonia. Pain is. So I can't even describe the pain that pancreatitis causes. We're going back and forth with the medical team quite a bit because I want them to do some more testing and figure out why I'm getting worse, not getting better. I guess there were a few of my blood markers that were going. Trending back towards normal, so they were under the impression that it just needed more time and they. We didn't really need to do anything. We just kind of needed to give it a minute to let the rest of them catch up. I had an instant with that medical team where they believed and they voiced this opinion that I was not getting better because I didn't want to get better. They noted that I wasn't getting out of bed. I wasn't trying to walk up and down the halls to help with my respiratory. I wasn't doing all these things. So they ordered p. PT to come and take me and walk me up and down the halls multiple times a day. I ended up on oxygen through that because I couldn't. I literally physically couldn't walk up and down the halls. And finally we got to a point at about day eight of hospitalization where I'm still very bad off and very much struggling to breathe and in the severe amounts of pain where we went back and forth and we were trying to get the doctor to just run another scan and see if they see anything that might look different from when we first came in. We went back and forth with him for a total of five days. He was insistent that I was fine and that they were ready to discharge me, but I clearly wasn't ready to go home. So they wanted us to pick a long term care facility for me to go to until I could transition back home. My husband and I were very hesitant to do that. We, we did look at them. We found one that worked with our insurance and we, we basically decided that we were going to push and push and push to get another scan, but that ultimately if we had to go do this long term care thing, that, that we would. And we were prepared to do that at this point.

[A]

Are you pretty aware that you're not being helped? Yes, you are. You start, you. They leave the room and you and your husband are looking at each other and going, these people don't know what the hell they're talking about. Right?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So just for reference of like how down I was, I could not even physically check my phone for nine days.

[A]

Didn't have the energy to pick it up. Look at it. That's. That's how beat you are. Beat up.

[B]

And I was out of it and I just like, couldn't. Yeah, I just was not functioning. And I just did not have the energy to even mess with it, which for me is saying a lot because I'm always on my phone. Everybody knows that.

[A]

You're like, listen, I'm at the right age. They got me with that phone. Okay. I'm just gonna say, let's just admit to that right now. Yeah, I'd love to know more about those. I don't want to stop your story, but I do want to understand those conversations alone with your husband, your new baby. Right?

[B]

And you're so I didn't have baby at this point.

[A]

Oh, this was after the first. Excuse me. So. So it's the two of you and you are clearly degrading and they're going, hey, it's time to go home. What do you do there? How do you get to some sort of an answer? Or do you not? Let's talk about the Tandem Moby insulin pump from today's sponsor, Tandem Diabetes Care. Their newest algorithm, Control IQ technology, and the new Tandem Moby pump offer you unique opportunities to have better control. It's the only system with Autobolus that helps with missed meals and preventing hyperglycemia, the only system with a dedicated sleep setting, and the only system with off or on body wear options. Tandem Moby gives you more discretion, freedom and options for how to manage your diabetes. This is their best algorithm ever and they'd like you to check it [e-mail] Charlotte Juicebox when you get to my link, you're going to see integrations with Dexcom sensors and a ton of other information that's going to help you learn about Tandem's tiny pump that's big on control. Tandemdiabetes.com juicebox the Tandem mobi system is available for people ages 2 and up who want an automated delivery system to help them sleep better, wake up in range and address high blood sugars with Autobolus, why would you settle for changing your CGM every few weeks when you can have 365 days of reliable glucose data? Today's episode is sponsored by the Eversense365. It is the only CGM with a tiny sensor that lasts a full year. Sitting comfortably under your skin with no more frequent sensor changes and essentially no compression lows for one year, you'll get your CGM data in real time on your phone, smartwatch, Android or iOS, even an Apple Watch. Predictive high and low alerts let you know where your glucose is headed before it gets there. So there's no surprises, just confidence. And you can instantly share that data with your healthcare provider or your family. You're going to get one year of reliable data without all those sensor changes. That's the Eversense 365. Gentle on your skin, strong for your life. One sensor a year. That gives you one less thing to worry about. Head now to eversensecgm.com juicebox to get started.

[B]

My husband was a very Good advocate for me when I wasn't really able to be one for myself. He wasn't really taking that as an answer. He kind of came to the conclusion that will essentially kind of backend our way into forcing them to get a scan.

[A]

Yeah. Because they're gonna see a pocket full of stones when they look Right.

[B]

Well, so at this point, they'd already identified the stones and the pancreatitis. We just wanted them to see if there was something more going on because the pancreatitis should have already resolved itself.

[A]

I see, I see. I'm sorry.

[B]

Yeah. So my husband says, you know, we've got this long term care facility we found, the one that we're okay with using. It works with our insurance. Let's just sit him down one more time, explain our concerns. Tell him we want another scan. If he wants to fight it, he said, we're just basically going to tell him we'll go to long term care today if you run another scan.

[A]

Okay. You're like a squatter. You're like, listen, if you give me one more meal, I'll get out of here, I promise.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Yeah. Okay.

[B]

So we did. And that is how we got our scan. And they took me back for that CT scan. I got back to my room and my husband and I were talking and I just told him, I said, you know, something is, is really not right. And I said, I don't know what it is. I don't know what they're going to come back with. I said, but this is. Something's not right. Twenty minutes later, there were about three doctors that walked in, none of which were the medical team that I had had. I never saw that doctor again.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And one of them stepped forward. Literally all he said to us was, you're getting significantly worse. We're transferring you to a higher level of care. And then they walked out. They didn't give us a chance to ask what was going on. They didn't give us a chance to understand anything. They gave no explanations. All they said was, you're getting significantly worse. We're transferring you to a higher level

[A]

of care within that hospital or into

[B]

a different building to a different hospital system.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And my first thought was, I'm dying. Like, why else would they have said it like that and not given any context or told us what was going on and came in so quick and left so quick. So I was paranoid that I was dying.

[A]

Yeah. No, I mean that. Or like, unless you have enough wherewithal to go. These idiots figured out that they can't do this. So they're going to move me somewhere else, which is hopefully what happened. And I like that they gave you the oopsie switcheroo with the doctors. Like the. Yeah, the guy who's been, you know, dragging you over the coals for days and days and days. Like, we. We're not going to let you talk to him anymore. We'll go get somebody else now.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So they did that, and they went out and it was hours before we got an update on anything. And even then, it was because a nurse finally spoke up and told me when she came in the room to give me medicine for pain. My husband had been going out to the nurse's desk to ask, speaking to the doctors. Nobody would give us any information on where they were transferring us, why they were transferring us. All we knew is that they were needing to send us to a bigger hospital and they were trying to figure that out. I was very confused by that because I know that typically in those emergent type situations, it doesn't take 10 hours for them to finally get the approval to transfer you to a trauma center. And so I was very confused about that. We. We kept asking, we kept begging. Nobody would tell us anything. We both were just, like, terrified at this point. And then we're also just sitting in the room basically speculating, like, great, well, now I'm getting significantly worse. And I'm just sitting in this room getting worse.

[A]

And they haven't shown any propensity to rush so far?

[B]

No.

[A]

Am I going to sit here for five more days getting worse or five more minutes or like that feeling, Right?

[B]

Yeah. And they didn't, like, change any of my meds. They didn't, like. So it wasn't like they acted like they were treating it until I got transferred. It was literally just like, okay, you're doing pretty bad. We're going to move you. Okay, bye. That was what we knew for the next 10 hours.

[A]

10 hours, yes. Geez.

[B]

A nurse came to give me my pain medicine, and I finally just kind of broke down and. And told her. I said, you know, I just. I just need to know what is wrong with me. I was like, like, I don't. I don't understand why they didn't tell me. I don't understand why we haven't moved yet. I don't understand. I've told you four times, I want to go to Medical City at this location, because that's the hospital that I know. That's the hospital that I trust. That's where some of my, My other medical team is already here. I don't understand why it's this hard. She was like, I know. And she was kind of hesitant. And the way she said it, I knew that she knew something. And so I called her on it. I said, you know, something. And she was like, what do you mean? And I was like, you're not telling me something and I want to know what it is.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And she finally said that they had been trying for hours to get me transferred to another hospital, but that two of the three major medical centers in the Dallas area had turned down the case because they were not willing to assume responsibility, and that if the third one also turned it down, then they were going to have to helicopter flight me to Houston.

[A]

Really? So nobody had the balls to help you at this point. So you, you were at the place? Yeah, yeah. One of the places didn't have the knowledge to help you. The rest of them didn't have the nerve to help you.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh my gosh. So now she's telling you that and you're thinking, I'm done. Right?

[B]

Right. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. Okay.

[B]

Pretty much. So luckily, the third hospital did accept the case. They did pull me over there. I got moved at like 10, 11 o' clock at night. They moved me over, like, right during the time frame that I was supposed to get the pain medicine. So I was in excruciating pain. They. They couldn't do anything at the new hospital as far as treatment goes until they had all the scans and the records and everything to see exactly what they were dealing with. And so it was probably another two to three hours at that first hospital before they could even give me any kind of medicine to help at all. Because they wanted the trauma team and

[A]

the surgical team to see the way you were.

[B]

Not all see exactly where it was. Yeah. And so they did. They came in, I want to say it was like one or two o' clock in the morning, and the lead trauma surgeon on the case came in and she, she had a bunch of residents and interns and all kinds of stuff with her, which they did throughout my hospital stay. End up kind of using it as a teaching case. I. I saw all kinds of medical students and.

[A]

Awesome. You're like, at least my death is going to help somebody. Yeah, yeah. Jesus.

[B]

And so she, she sat us down and she. Very calmly but very direct. And I mean, I had told her, you know, I said, I want to know exactly what is going on. I don't want you to sugarcoat it. I don't like at this point, I just need to know exactly what is happening.

[A]

Sure, sure.

[B]

So she did. She sat us down and she told us that for the last 13 days in that hospital, I actually had necrotizing pancreatitis. Not pancreatitis. My pancreas was actively dying for 13 days.

[A]

Oh. How are they able to figure that out so quickly when nobody else could?

[B]

They had the scans that they had finally taken that 13th day.

[A]

Hey, the end of this story, does it end with your name being on the side of the hospital? Now, what's going on exactly with that?

[B]

I wish.

[A]

Okay. All right, so now you have that. By the way, necrotizing. Sounds scary.

[B]

So I was in active organ failure. Blood flow was cut off from my pancreas due to that gallstone still being stuck in there. They never confirmed that it passed, and it didn't. So it just had been shutting everything off in there. I was in severe sepsis. I had over a liter of abdominal fluid on my pancreatic area, and I basically was in septic shock at that point.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[B]

Normally, what they would do in that case is they would take you into the OR and they would drain that fluid off and they would start some pretty strong antibiotics, do a small procedure endoscopically that would remove at least the major dead portions of the organ, just to try and get it to a point to where the part that is still functioning can function fully. She basically told us all of that information, and then she said, you know, I would love to take you in right now and do that. And she said, but if I take you into the OR right now, you're not going to make it out.

[A]

Oh.

[B]

It ended up taking them about three weeks to stabilize me enough to take me back for a procedure. They took me back for about 15 minutes and drained off the fluid and did a little bit of pulling the dead pancreas and brought me back out. And then I healed for another one to two weeks, went back in for 10 to 15 minutes so they could pull a little bit more of the dead pancreas out. That repeated for quite a while. I ended up in the hospital a total of 58 days.

[A]

I wish you could see my face right now. I'm mortified. And this didn't happen to me. Yeah, 58 days.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But I imagine you popped out on day 59. You're right back to your life. Right. No problems. You're really not suing anybody.

[B]

I probably should have, truthfully.

[A]

I mean. Right. I'm not a proponent of it, but, like, this seems like that was kind

[B]

of my thing is I was very adamant that, like, well, they made a mistake. I don't want to ruin the doctor's life. I don't want to make a big deal out of it. And at that point, we were still kind of being told that things should go relatively back to normal. I mean, there were going to be a few things that I was going to struggle with long term, but it shouldn't have been anything major.

[A]

Oh, okay.

[B]

And so I. I left it, and I convinced myself that it was going to get better. It was going to get better. And every time something horrible would happen, I would just tell myself, well, it's going to get better. And then finally, by the time I realized that my life is completely different and completely altered and my health is to a detriment because of it, it was too late. Because you only have two years from the day that the medical event starts in the hospital in order to.

[A]

So it did occur to you at some point to look at. Look into that?

[B]

It did, yeah. It was just too lazy.

[A]

I can't imagine otherwise. Wow. Okay. I'm sorry. So they nurse you to enough health to do the surgery? Yes. What all does that surgery entail?

[B]

So basically, they just would go in and scrape out a small portion of the dead pancreas and any fluid collections that built up from the sepsis.

[A]

So some of the pancreas is still operating?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Okay. All right.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

That's all. We'll just do that. Just a little scrape. Scrape. But by the way, what caused all this, though?

[B]

So that that gallstone that was stuck in the pancreatic duct, it never passed?

[A]

That's the one thing?

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Jeez, that's some bad luck. I'm not gonna lie to you, honestly. Yeah. There you go.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh, my goodness. Okay, so procedure's over. They send you home. What's the recovery like?

[B]

Yeah. So it's day 59. I'm home. We're told, kind of maintain my softer food and more so liquids like smoothies and protein shakes and things like that for a couple weeks. And then I could build back up to regular food, and slowly but surely it should heal, and I should start feeling better, and I should be a lot stronger. And, I mean, I did go home on a lot of different medications to help with various things that were going on in my body just from the procedures and the sepsis and antibiotics and all of the things. So we got home, and things were actually really good for a little over a month. I didn't have Any issues? We. We actually ended up taking a trip to Chicago. My husband and I did, just because we had flight miles. And between the. The incident with. With our first son, and then immediately going into this and fighting for my life and then spending the two months in the hospital, it just kind of felt like we needed a break.

[A]

Yeah, I'm going on vacation for a while, if I'm you.

[B]

We took a little. Just a little weekend trip because we were scared of my health and everything. We. Chicago. And everything was great.

[A]

Big Chicago.

[B]

Yeah. And then we came back, and within a couple of weeks, I ended up back in the hospital with severe pancreas pain. And essentially I was having another flare of pancreatitis. And they were kind of like, well, that's not completely uncommon, but it's also not something that we anticipated. So I had, like, a weak hospital stay. I was stuck there. I had to go back to liquid diet, kind of start that process back up again. Ended up getting to go home, was doing good for a little bit, and then that just kind of kept happening for a couple months.

[A]

Oh, like you ended up in the hospital multiple times from that?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Yep. So at that point, they determined that I had chronic pancreatitis, and. Or they suspected that I had chronic pancreatitis. And in October, they ended up going ahead and finally removing my gallbladder. They didn't want to perform that big of a surgery before because I was still kind of septic, and there was just concern with going into that big of a procedure. So we finally got that done end of October of 2023. Very shortly after that, I had another hospital stay due to just nausea, vomiting, pain, all the things. They finally looked at everything. They determined that it would be best if we. If I went on pancreatic rest for a minimum of eight weeks, did a surgical procedure to put in a G tube. I used a feeding tube with only the formula in the feeding tube. It ended up being nine weeks total through the end of the year, essentially. And the hope was that since we gave my body that nine weeks to really heal with no food being processed through the pancreas, through anything. It was just that G tube formula. That was what my body needed to kickstart and get going. Well, I got that G tube removed on my birthday of 2024. Things just did not get better. I kept having those hospital stays. Each dent was like a week at a time. It was a minimum of one a month, if not more. It was very back and forth. So we finally went to my medical team in March of 2024, it was very end of March of 2024, and told them that it was time for us to figure out what my options were to kind of fix this problem.

[A]

Because they had mentioned the repetitiveness of what was happening.

[B]

Yes. And they had mentioned, like, possible larger procedure to kind of help with things. They said there were a few different things that we could. Could do and try, and we had tried all the kind of little things. And so we knew that there were some big things that you could try, but we hadn't made it to that point yet. And so we did officially get to that point. My husband and I did, where we were like, okay, this is like, we want to at least know what the bigger options are. So we got a referral to an incredible surgeon at Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas. We ended up getting to speak with kind of the head of transplants there. We sat in his office, and we did a consultation. He had already looked at all my medical records, so he was kind of familiar with what was going on. My. My GI surgeon had kind of briefed him on how things had gone the last 10 months. We sit in his office for our surgical consultation. He goes over the options, talks about partial pancreas removal, full pancreas removal, what those would look like, where he thinks we're at, what he thinks he could do. We are sitting there with him, and I asked him, I said, you know, what do you feel is your kind of recommendation on this? I know you're saying that you think you could. Could do it this way or could do it that way, and these are the. The repercussions of both. But what would you, as a surgeon.

[A]

Yeah, and tell me what to do.

[B]

And he looked at us, and he said, you know, I can't make this decision for you. And he said, but what I will tell you is that I have a lot of people come and consult with me, some people from all over the world. And he said, I tell a lot of them, I would not do surgery on you. You don't need this big of a life change based on what's going on. He said, I'm telling you, I would do this surgery next month.

[A]

Oh, good news. More good news. Jesus. And that's sobering, huh?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And he did. He did that surgery. I ended up. I mean, technically that. That appointment was end of March. And then I got scheduled for end of May procedure. I went in and I had to have a major abdominal. Abdominal surgery. I have a scar that goes from the middle of my Breastbone down to below my belly button. And they had to take out about 60% of my pancreas. They took out my entire spleen. And then they ended up also having to take about 15 of my stomach because it was all messed up in there with. With dead and necrotic tissue.

[A]

Oh, my gosh. No more McDonald's either, right? You can't do the grease anymore. Yeah, it's okay. Wow. Wow, wow, wow. And still you didn't sue anybody?

[B]

No.

[A]

I gotta get you for a neighbor. You seem awesome. You. You're in Texas, is that right?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Whereabouts in Texas do I not want to move? Can you put a finger on the map for me?

[B]

I can tell you from a medical standpoint, I would not move to Mesquite, Texas.

[A]

Okay, thank you. That's what I was wondering as a person who's been like, nudging his wife about moving south. And one of the things she says to me is, like, we going to make sure we're near a good hospital? I was like, yeah, yeah, sure. Because I'm, like, trying to get a little more rural.

[B]

I've had great experiences with the ones closer to downtown Dallas.

[A]

Okay, so if I was thinking Tennessee, like stay closer to Nashville. Is that what you're saying to me? I think something like that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. Okay. My goodness. Oh, my, my, my. Hey. She looks really sick. What do you think we should do? I don't know. Maybe it'll stop. Let's wait nine or 10 days and just see if it goes away first. No, it's not going away. What do you want to do? We'll give her to somebody else. They don't want her. Oh, no. We waited too long. They would have killed you if you didn't leave there, by the way.

[B]

Oh, yeah, well. And fun fact, I actually, whenever I did look at the possibility of talking to a lawyer, I actually found a case that also happened in Dallas where a man was in the exact same situation as me, and he did end up going to long term care instead of kind of pushing back.

[A]

Ended up being real long term.

[B]

Two weeks later, he died and his family did sue, I would imagine.

[A]

My goodness gracious. I mean, listen, it's. It's a tough job being a doctor, but like, you know, Google it. If you can't figure it out, don't just tell me. I don't know. We'll wait another day. We'll see what happens. We'll wait and we'll wait. We'll wait. It's going to be fine. Jeez. And Then as you're clearly degrading, nobody's doing anything. I mean, really, it sounded like they were all just dumbfounded, you know?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That's got to be so hard for me, too, because I truly was struggling so much physically.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And just, like, mentally being able to kind of stay in and out of it. Whenever he came and told me that I wasn't getting better because I didn't want to get better because I wasn't, what, walking up and down the halls and trying to.

[A]

He told you, you need to go for a walk.

[B]

I was like. I felt so defeated. And then he's so sorry.

[A]

I'm so sorry. I'm laughing. I'm so sorry.

[B]

What a. Yeah, honestly. And he scheduled that pt, and I'm, like, trying to walk up and down this hall, and I feel like a failure the whole time I'm doing it because I can barely make it three doors down. And looking back, I'm like, this guy. That's literally insane. What happened?

[A]

Oh, no, no, no, no, no. You. You TP His. His house, like, at Halloween, though, right?

[B]

If I knew where it was.

[A]

I mean, you know, something. Something harmless, but I. You know, maybe an egg or two in a window. I don't know. My goodness. Okay. I'm so sorry. I lost track of your thing. They. They took out all your business, and then what happened?

[B]

Yeah. So he told us prior to that surgery that there was about a 50% chance that I would develop type 3C DIA that some people do, some people don't. It just really depends on how much of your pancreas is still functioning and how well it's working and all of those different things. That goes by percentage of pancreas left and other health factors and all the things.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So essentially, with my risk factors, there was about a 50% chance that I would develop type 3C in the next five years.

[A]

I mean, the way things are going, I would have just assumed it was going to happen if I was you, but. Yeah. Yeah. I would also think a tree is about to fall on me almost constantly.

[B]

Well, so then the. The funny thing is, after that surgery, I actually did feel so much better.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I really did. That summer, I went on two cruises with family, and it. I was tired and my stamina was very low. Just by nature of everything that had happened.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But I was truthfully, genuinely doing better and feeling better. Recovery time for that surgery was supposed to be 8 to 12 weeks. Apparently. What we learned at about the 8 to 9 week mark in recovery is that when they did surgery to remove everything. They also apparently somehow magically sprinkled some fairy dust in there and cured my infertility.

[A]

Hey. Well, it's something good. Oh, you got pregnant before. You should have.

[B]

Because I ended up pregnant. Yes.

[A]

Ended up pregnant. You know how it happens, though, right? It's just. Yes. You don't just end up.

[B]

We are aware.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

We know exactly when it happened.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I would. I would imagine

[B]

so. Yes. I'm nine weeks post major abdominal surgery, already have a completely wrecked abdomen that is nothing but scar tissue.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I felt very off. And because I was on a lot of different medications from healing, from the procedures and from the surgery and all of the different things, I just was kind of. I don't even know why I took a pregnancy test, but in my head, I was just like, you know what? Something doesn't feel right, and if I am pregnant, I don't need. I don't want to take all this medicine. Like, I'm.

[A]

Oh. So let me just check real quick. Yeah. Yeah. But that's not gonna be it. That's probably what you're thinking, right? Like, this won't be it.

[B]

Yeah. So I took that pregnancy test. I literally took it and then went back to working on my computer at home and forgot that I had even done it.

[A]

Well, I mean, I would imagine in your situation, you play those games with the goalie pulled all the time and nobody ends up pregnant, Right?

[B]

Correct.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So.

[B]

So it's just like. We just were kind of like, okay, I didn't think much of it. I'm working on my computer that day. Whatever. Everything's fine. And I go back to the bathroom to go to the restroom again, and I saw it on the counter, and I was like, what?

[A]

I guess if you leave it, sit here too long, it shows positive.

[B]

Yeah. And so. And. And they even say, like, when you've gone through infertility and you've. You've been a little line crazy, as we call it, you're, like, trained to look for those. And then everybody says, like, if it's been longer than this time, you can't trust it. It could be in your accurate whatever. So that's what I told myself. I was like, well, this has been sitting here for three hours.

[A]

Truly, I love that you took it and didn't think it was a possibility. So much so that you never went back to look at it again.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I was like, there's no way. So then I was like, oh, well, I'll Just take a digital test because that'll really tell me. Like 15 seconds later, it popped up and said pregnant. And I was like, oh, okay.

[A]

What was your internal reaction like? Because I think I would have gone with, you have to be kidding me. What got you?

[B]

It was. I mean, that. And I was genuinely terrified at that moment because I was like, you got

[A]

robbed of being happy too when that happened. You know what I mean?

[B]

Exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it was just one of those things where, like, I just felt like in my head immediately, I was like, okay, I couldn't even fully sustain the first pregnancy. And now my body's been through all this and I'm post this major surgery and now I'm pregnant. Like, there's no way I'm going to be able to. To sustain this pregnancy.

[A]

Yeah. How does it feel when that scar stretches too? Itchy.

[B]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[A]

Itchy, right? Yeah, yeah. Oh, God. So now you tell me you didn't have to consider terminating the pregnancy. You've been trying your. Okay. Okay, good. I don't want you having to go through that.

[B]

My medical team, my object B is incredible. She was very good from the very start of it. She was my same OB with the first pregnancy. So she knew what had already happened. She knew what I was going through medically, and she was very quick to. I mean, she was honest with me and she told me, like, this is not going to be easy. It's going to be a very hard pregnancy and there's going to be a lot of things that we're going to. We're going to check from a high risk perspective and we're putting you into basically the highest risk category.

[A]

So.

[B]

So I was treated almost as if I was someone who was pregnant with like twins or triplets. There was so much going on. And so she actually, because she was actually through a different hospital than all my pancreas had been through. And so she actually got with my entire medical team at the hospital with my pancreas and had the GI teams there send all of my records and their notes and just general profile summary of health to the GI team at the hospital that she was at in case I ever had to be admitted. So that there was a pink, like a GI team on standby that knew my case and was familiar with it that she could pull in to help. She coordinated everything from my pain management team to my GI to everyone, all the specialists. She made sure that every doctor I had at Baylor University Medical center, she made sure that there was a doctor of the same Specialty and level of confidence that. That understood my case at her facility in the event that I ended up having to be impatient throughout my pregnancy.

[A]

It makes a big difference to be with somebody who understands what to do, doesn't it?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Oh, yeah. She was. She was phenomenal. And so she did. And she dealt with me the whole pregnancy. I mean, I was. I was terrified the whole time. I kept calling the OB office, like, you know, I think something's wrong. I think this doesn't feel right. And she'd bring me in, and they do an ultrasound and they check, and most of the time it was just a no, this is. You just got scar tissue. It just feels a little different than last time, like. But, I mean, I did have a few instances throughout that pregnancy where. Where I had to be impatient, and the struggle was real.

[A]

How hard is it to trust people at their word after you've gone through all that, though?

[B]

Very.

[A]

Yeah, right. Like, you must. You must second guess everything constantly.

[B]

I do.

[A]

Is it stick with you since then? I bet you the pediatrician's not getting an easy go, huh?

[B]

No. Well. And honestly, and this is something I've been working on personally, just from a healing perspective, because truthfully speaking, I now. No matter how hard I try not to, I now operate under a. Well, what if we're missing something small?

[A]

I live most of my life thinking nobody knows what they're talking about. I think that's a baseline survival skill, to be honest with you, because, I

[B]

mean, to me, we missed something that should have been as quick as a simple gallbladder procedure after pregnancy.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And we missed those gallstones, and because of it, I almost died.

[A]

It's fascinating that it's not the thing that, like. Like, we did this, it didn't work. We should go back and check again to make sure we got the gallsons. Like, how do you. How do you skip over that part? I don't even know a good way to say this. If you have a bucket leaking and it's got a hole in it, and I say, hey, patch the hole and. And I patch the hole and it keeps leaking, I don't start looking for other reasons why the water's coming out of the bucket. I go, we must not have patched the hole correctly. It's fascinating that they didn't just go back and say, maybe just this didn't work out the first time the way it was supposed to. Let's double check. It seems like common sense beyond a medical thing.

[B]

Yeah, we thought so. But my gosh, so yeah. Go through all that. Got my pregnancy test. Everything is, is moving.

[A]

Yeah, we're pregnant.

[B]

Things are moving pretty quick with the, the high risk OB and my regular OB and we get going. And then, as one would expect, I got diagnosed with gestational diabetes at about 11 weeks. I didn't even have to do a blood glucose or the, the gross drink thing.

[A]

The fast things, they were like, no, it's okay. We know.

[B]

It was like, yeah, this is. We already know.

[A]

Did you think it was just gestational or did you think, oh, no, I'm gonna have type 1 diabetes?

[B]

I knew that it was gestational, but I felt very strongly they would. They kept telling me that gestational goes away generally after you're pregnant, and it does for. For that, for a normal person. I knew when I got diagnosed that early with gestational that it was not going to be long before I got diagnosed. Type 3C.

[A]

Yeah. You don't bother buying lottery tickets, right?

[B]

Oh, no.

[A]

Yeah, you do.

[B]

I'm like the. The most unlucky person.

[A]

I was going to say I was you. I would just look left, right, left a couple of times and cross the street very carefully and. And never waste it. Never waste a dollar on a scratcher. I don't think it's going to go your way.

[B]

Oh, yeah, we joke about it all the time, that if you do, if it can only happen to one person in the world, it's probably happen.

[A]

So listen, guys, if. If a asteroid ever hits the planet, be sure you know it landed wherever you are.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Honestly, everyone died. But I got to go first. Scott. Don't worry. My gosh. Do you have any brothers or sisters?

[B]

I do. I have a lot of siblings.

[A]

Any of them have any kind of, like, odd health issues?

[B]

Nope, just me.

[A]

You have a lot of siblings. You're like, my mom made a lot of babies. Is that what you're saying?

[B]

Well, no, I have. I just call them all my siblings, like the family that I nannied for. I ended up moving with them, moving in with them during college.

[A]

And a lot of people in your life, none of them are sick. That's what you're saying? That's what you're saying. You don't have any autoimmune issues, Right? Like, you weren't going to touch diabetes or autoimmune without. Without this. Okay.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

My goodness. How do you learn about type 1 when you dropped into it from this perspective?

[B]

Honestly, it was. It was very difficult for me because type 3C is not very well known.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So it was all the research and the things that you see online and all the, the things that you can use to help with diabetes are all geared towards a type one or a type two. And so I would go to these appointments and I had no idea of like, okay, am I more like type one? Am I more like type two? I didn't, I didn't know, I didn't fully understand. And a lot of the, like, online, even when you sign up to get like an omnipod or this or that, like the option is type one or type two. So it was, it was very, very challenging to navigate. I have a good endocrine team and, and they were very, very helpful throughout it and they did a great job. But even their office, I mean, they knew, we knew that I was going to have type 3C and that it was going to be diagnosed a year before it was officially diagnosed. And they still, the appointment where I was diagnosed, they still put it in as type 2. And then I had to have em update my records and they did, but it was like they still, it's just not something that, that really many teams are, are used to seeing.

[A]

And the naming structure ended up being complicated for you because, I mean, listen, you don't have a pancreas anymore. You're gonna get treated like a type 1 and you're gonna need to manage like a type 1. But because type 1 diabetes means what it means and type 2 means what it means, does it feel like you're co opting something? Cause I've heard people say that before. Like, I didn't want to call myself type one. I mean, I am, but I'm not. I don't want to offend people. Do you have all those thoughts?

[B]

I do. Generally if somebody asks me, I say type 3C and then they inevitably always ask what that is. And so I have to explain it and that's fine. But it is weird because it's. And then the other thing is like, I do still have a little bit of my pancreas, so it's like there is still a little bit functioning in there. It just will never ever again be able to sustain how much insulin production it needs to.

[A]

You actually need. Yeah.

[B]

So yeah, it's going to sound completely

[A]

ridiculous, but it's like the stolen valor thing, right? Like, you know when you ever hear people like they kind of make up their military service and it's a very offensive thing to do. Like, you're like, you weren't really there. Like, it almost feels like you're like Whatever it is that a Type one goes through.

[B]

Yeah, that's exactly right.

[A]

Yeah. You can't take credit for it. They're all the wrong words, but do you know what I mean?

[B]

Yeah. Yes, I know exactly what you're saying.

[A]

Okay. I'm glad because I wasn't doing a good job.

[B]

No, I got it. Yeah, it's. Yeah, it is weird and it's odd too, because it's like every person with diabetes has their own unique journey and it's been very challenging for pretty much everybody that's had it. And so it's like, it's tricky because again, I don't want to step on any toes and I don't want anyone to feel like I know what it's like to be a type 1 diabetic for my entire life, because I don't.

[A]

But there's also no club of type three three Cs, really.

[B]

Right. But on the same coin of that is I may not have had the learning how to work a pump at 8 years old and dealing with it at school and all those things, but I did have quite the journey to.

[A]

Well, yeah, people are still. I mean, people are still diagnosed at your age and other ages, but I would just think like, if communally you were adopted in, that's how I would see it. Like, I. I can understand. I mean, I can understand someone looking.

[B]

That's mostly how it's been.

[A]

Yeah, I would imagine. I would imagine it's mostly been a reasonable experience for you, but. Yeah, yeah. Every once in a while you get somebody surly about it, like you don't have type one, like, eh, I don't know, we both need insulin or the same thing happens. So.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. Wow. Interesting. I'll be damned. So tell me how it's going. Like, what'd you figure out? How are you been able to manage it? You know, Have. Have you?

[B]

Yeah. So thankfully my endocrine team was. Was very good and we had a conversation kind of middle of last year, really. Right. Right. When my son got out of the nicu, we sat down and I, I basically told her, I said, you know, I'm pretty sure that this is gonna go south fast. And so I checked on my labs, we had everything on record, and I told her, I said, you know, this is gonna sound bad, but I've hit my out of pocket max on medical for the last three years and I've already hit my out of pocket max for this year. So I know it's harder to get qualifications for pumps and things like that based on my diagnosis, I said, but we know that that's what I need. So whatever data or labs or whatever we have to collect between now and the end of the year to get that official diagnosis. So I qualify for a pump at the end of the year.

[A]

Yeah, let's get to it. So it doesn't, I don't have to pay more money the next year. Right? Like, you're like, everything's free right now. I need it now. Right, yeah.

[B]

And so they did good. They did, they. We got everything we needed. My blood sugar had to get kind of bad, honestly, before we officially did it. And so we did. My A1C ended up at like 7.4, I think. And at that point we had enough data on my libre and things that had been monitoring and I was doing the injections at home and I was up to a relatively high amount of insulin for, for someone who was doing injections. And so they submitted the claim November 27th with my insurance to get prior authorization for the pump and insulin and everything. And it was accepted. And I ended up getting a 90 day supply of insulin and omnipods right before the end of the year.

[A]

Good. That's good.

[B]

So it was, it was really good.

[A]

How are you doing? Like, how's your A1C and your time and range or how are you adjusting to it, like, emotionally?

[B]

So my A1C did drop down to 5.3 at my appointment in. It was either end of January or early February. And so that would have been about two months on pump.

[A]

What do you, what do you eat? Like a dust and kale. How do you, what's your diet like?

[B]

I have been very cautious of what I'm eating. And don't get me wrong, I still eat some sugar sometimes. Like, I still like sweet treats, but anywhere that I can make a swap, I have made a swap.

[A]

Okay, but if I see you going for the digestive enzyme, something's going on, right?

[B]

Well, I, I actually have to take digestive no matter what, every time I eat.

[A]

Yeah, no matter what. What, what about, like, you had dinner, it's all good. It's two hours later, you're cruising through the kitchen. On the way back to the television, you grab four hard pretzels out of a bag. You need to put an enzyme in

[B]

with it that I wouldn't.

[A]

Okay. Okay. But otherwise no gallbladder.

[B]

Yeah. So the way it works is I'm supposed to take 1, 1 to 2 with snacks and then 2 to 3 with meals. And so it just kind of depends, like if I'M getting a snack that's. That's like pretzels or almonds or something relatively fairly normal, then I usually will not take any or only take one. But if I'm getting a snack that's like an ice cream Snickers bar or a piece of pizza or something like that, then I'll definitely do the higher dose of the digestive enzymes.

[A]

What happens if you don't take them?

[B]

My body really struggles to digest food in general.

[A]

Belly pain and.

[B]

Yeah, very uncomfortable abdominal pain, Pancreatic pain.

[A]

When they explain that to you after the surgery, did they tell you it's all about the gallbladder, or did they also mention that the pancreas had something to do with it, too?

[B]

It all started with the gallbladder, but. But yeah, I mean, the pancreas didn't really help out.

[A]

Didn't help as things started to kind of go south. Because, you know, people with ACT, you know, with type 1 diabetes, I mean, the pancreas does more than just make insulin and, you know, so you lose some other functionality and digestion is part of it too.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So, yeah, when you lose everything, then you're stuck. Is it a pain in the butt, or are you getting used to it, the taking the enzymes?

[B]

I'm kind of used to it now. I mean, I know what foods I definitely need them with and what foods I can kind of get away with without taking them. I know when to take them before meals because I usually take mine about 30 minutes before meals. And that seems to be a good timing for me on when to take it. I've kind of learned. Learn my body on the digestive enzymes.

[A]

I take some too myself, by the way. I don't have any of your problems, but I take them once in a while, too. I mean, I'm sure yours are prescribed and minor over the counter, but.

[B]

Yes, mine are prescribed.

[A]

Yeah. But I'm an old man who shows up at a diner with a pill in his pocket. You know what I mean? My wife's like, can you get something to put those in? I was like, my pocket works fine.

[B]

So they. They make these things on Amazon that are actually, like, really small. It's like a little silver.

[A]

Very small. No, I mean, I realize I'm a. I realize I'm a dirt bag. I. I know it

[B]

because I have. I have them hooked to my wristlet.

[A]

Oh, it's a good idea.

[B]

And each one holds three.

[A]

Yeah, it's a great idea because when you pull a loose pill out of your pocket, people look at you I'm not gonna lie. They're like, that guy's getting high right now. I know for sure. But, but no, I, I, I don't know. I find them helpful, to be perfectly honest. But anyway, so. Okay, I'm sorry, how do you know who I am? Like, how did you end up on the podcast?

[B]

Yeah, so I actually saw a, A post was recommended to me or something was in my pancreatectomy support group, Facebook group, and they had shared your podcast of one that you just reshared recently of somebody who had type 3C from years ago that had passed away. And so you had shared it and re. Shared it in in her honor.

[A]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[B]

And so I listened to the whole podcast and I thought it was incredible. And I just thought it was really cool that she was willing to share her story and her experience and, and I thought it was really cool that you were sharing the conversation to begin more unique circumstance.

[A]

I've had a Number of people with 3C on over the years.

[B]

Yes. Yeah, I've listened to a lot of them now, now that I have found it. Yeah, I was talking to a friend about it and you know, your phone's always listening. So then on Facebook later, it had come across my page that you had the thing where you were.

[A]

I was looking for, looking for people to come on. Yeah.

[B]

Or you had some openings.

[A]

Yeah. That's awesome. I'm glad.

[B]

And then that communication started between you and I and yeah, her mom reached

[A]

out to me to tell me that she'd pass away and we were going back and forth, talking a little bit, and we came up with reposting the episode in her honor. I'm glad I found you.

[B]

Yeah, me too.

[A]

My gosh.

[B]

Yeah. Because I've already, I mean, even just listening to your podcast, the little bit that I've been able to since that transpired, I've learned a lot of different. Just even little tips and tricks that like, I don't think I ever would have known if I didn't listen.

[A]

That's awesome. I'm glad. I'm happy whenever it helps somebody. Is this the end of the bad stuff or did more happen? Like, you're good now, right? Like, yeah, there's nothing else health wise happening or, or let me ask you, are you still run down? Like, how long has it been? Like, tell me, like, how much time has it been since you've were like, okay, I have type 1 or you know, I have type 3C now. I'm managing fully with insulin. How long has it been since then

[B]

to now, fully managing with the diabetes and on the pump since December. Middle of December 2025. 25. Okay.

[A]

Not that long then.

[B]

No.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And things. Things are getting better. We are finding things that. That work and that help and we just identified a few health things that I was having some deficiencies and things like that. So we got supplements on board and I had to do an infusion and. But Honestly, I felt 10 times better after that, so that was good.

[A]

Iron infusion.

[B]

So I haven't done the iron infusion yet, but I most likely am going to have to do one of those here very quick.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

The one that they had me do was more so like almost every vitamin and mineral under the sun because I was depleted in like all of them.

[A]

Do you have low ferritin?

[B]

I do, yeah. I do have very low. Yes. Which they said that can. It can be common after splenectomy. Okay.

[A]

Do you know what your ferretin is?

[B]

It was 11.

[A]

Oh, no. You need the. You need the juice. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've done it a couple times in my life. It's awesome.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Why are you not getting it? What's happening?

[B]

Well, so they wanted to try supplementation first.

[A]

It's not going to work. Just tell them you want the other thing. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

Well, my doctor, thankfully, he's very good about kind of working not around my insurance, but with my insurance.

[A]

I hear what you're saying.

[B]

Yeah. He has kind of learned what they're just going to deny without him having

[A]

to trying something else first.

[B]

Yes. And so we were trying this for three weeks and then literally I'm supposed to go on a cruise in a couple weeks. And so he basically said before that to just call him and we'll get blood work done. And that way if it's still low, then we'll go ahead and abuse before.

[A]

I wish you would have found me sooner. I do a cruise in June with a bunch of listeners.

[B]

No. So I saw that actually it popped up on my Facebook too. And I also was like, man, I wish I would have known that.

[A]

But hopefully we'll do it again next year. It's not a thing that makes money, so it's a labor of love for a lot of people. Like, it's a lot of. A lot of hard work that goes into making it happen. And then hopefully we can get it to go for a third year. So it is really awesome. I'll tell you, to get everybody together all, you know, different, you know, races, religions, ages, type ones, parents off and watch them Just effortlessly blend together in a happy little group. It's very interesting. It's very cool.

[B]

Yeah, no, I would. Honestly, I thought it was so cool. I was looking at it to see, but I just can't make it happen before June.

[A]

It's a good ship, too. It's. I don't know if you've ever done that one. It's a celebrity beyond. It's really good.

[B]

I haven't. We haven't done a celebrity yet, but we love cruises in my house.

[A]

Well, I can tell your story. You're in a cruise. Every time you look up, you're on a cruise.

[B]

Yeah, that's true.

[A]

They go out of Galveston, so that's not bad at all. Right?

[B]

Yeah, no, it's. That's where we usually go out of.

[A]

That's where our first one went, out of Galveston. It was a good time. Is there anything I haven't asked you about or anything that I've forgotten or. I don't want to miss any of your story because sometimes I get chatty and I redirect the conversation.

[B]

No, you're good.

[A]

I did all right.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's all I heard. I heard I did. Okay. Do you. Have you tried the management stuff? Have you tried, like, Pro Tips or Small Sips or any of those series that are about insulin?

[B]

I have not yet, but I want to do it.

[A]

Try the Small Sips first as an entree. They're literally like 10 minutes long, each of them.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And those are on your website, right?

[A]

Yeah, you can get them there. You can go. I mean, do you have an iPhone?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Apple Podcast. Just, like, subscribe to the podcast and type in Juice Box Small Sips. They'll all pop up.

[B]

Oh, okay. Perfect. Yeah.

[A]

But my website. I'm actually. My website's getting pretty damn good. It took me like a decade, but I'm really getting on top of it now. I'm just going to tell you about this because I don't know who else to tell. So I added this webpage. It's. It's Juicebox podcast dot com. But then it's. I think it's jbfaq. Is that right? Yes. Okay. And so what I did was I took this list I had from listeners. It was a struggles list that originally was like 80 or 90 pages. People just sent in all the things they struggled with, and we kind of synthesized them down to, like, common themes, things that people struggle with over and over again. And we blended that. And by we, I mean me and my friend Claude, we blended that with the top 350 most googled questions about type 1 diabetes and then blended that with returns from this, this Facebook post that really blew up well with advice for parents of a newly diagnosed kid. So I took the advice for the parents and I synthesized them. I basically reversed engineered them into questions, combined them all together, and then I took all of the management episodes of the podcast and mapped all those questions to episodes that are valuable for. If you have those questions.

[B]

Oh, that's. Yeah, that's great. I'll definitely check that out.

[A]

There's like a search bar at the top and you start typing and it just drives you towards content. So if you're. I don't know if you're having trouble, like, you know, I can't set Basil right. Boom. It just sends you to episodes that help you with it. It's really cool.

[B]

Yeah, that is really cool.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so I do think I listened to a few of the small steps because I definitely listened to some smaller, like, shorter episodes, shorter podcasts.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Through the thing. And then I went on your website and was looking at all the resources and honestly, like, I was just so impressed by everything on the website.

[A]

I appreciate. That's me.

[B]

And so many resources that I was like, okay, I have not. I don't know what to do to look at first.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's me and AI, by the way. We work together.

[B]

I love AI.

[A]

Yeah, no kidding. I've had these ideas about my website for years and I never, ever, ever could figure out how to take care of it. And no kidding. I was starting to get there with Google Gemini, and then I don't know what happened, but Anthropic updated Claude about a month ago, and I was like, oh, we're ready for primetime. I know what to do. And I've been like, head down working on my website for like a month and a half now, and it really looks awesome. So. And it's functional.

[B]

And I'm not. I mean, I'm no expert and obviously this is not technically a product, but my background is in product engineering and innovation and product marketing. I'm very impressed by your website.

[A]

Thank you.

[B]

I think it's great. I think it's resourceful and I think it's going to help a lot of people.

[A]

I appreciate it. I was telling. Well, right now my basement's being turned into a podcast studio. So there are people down there working and they're people I've known my whole life. So they're not just. Not like, just guys down there swinging hammers that I'VE never met before the people I've known a really long time. And I was standing with them the other day and they were, they kind of, you know, it's like a two worlds thing. I think it's hard for people to believe you make a living making a podcast, you know what I mean? Like, it flips people out. And anyway, and so we kind of asking questions, going back and forth about a little bit, and I said, you know, it's going to sound crazy to you. I was like, but this is as close as I think I'll ever feel to a job like yours. Because I start with ideas in my head and with tools, even though they're not physical tools and physical materials. I take tools and digital materials and build something out of my imagination. And I was like, it really. I think it's as close as I'm ever going to come to like, you know, putting up a wall or doing something like that. I'm seeing you guys do right now. I don't know if they believe me or not, but I really feel like that, like I've had these ideas for so long and I just didn't have the right tools to put them together. But I had all the material, which is my data and my, you know, and my content, and I just, I just needed to be able to like, hammer together into something. This did it, so hopefully it won't

[B]

blow the world up. And I actually, I've been thinking about that a lot too, because I've, I've started sharing my story a little bit on, on social media and just kind of am. Have a growing community, small community on TikTok, just of other moms that have had health challenges, other moms in general and other people who have chronic illnesses. And, and I've been sharing like, my different experiences at the hospitals and sharing about my story a little bit. And really my hope is that, that I can raise awareness for, for some of these things and, and help someone. And I think that's a lot of what I've gathered. A lot of the, the people who, who run these types of podcasts want to. Yeah, and so I'm thankful that you're, you're putting the time into it because I've, I've learned a lot through it and I think that, that it has helped me and it's given me an avenue to be able to, to kind of share what happened to me.

[A]

And thank you.

[B]

That's great.

[A]

I, I appreciate and I wish you luck doing the same. It's just, it's A. It's lovely to get out there and. And share stuff and let people feel like they're not alone. It's really actually incredibly important. Okay, well, we've been at this enough. I can hear the editor right now. He's saying, stop right now. We've got a good length. Keep going too long and we're in trouble. Seriously, I appreciate you spending the time sharing this with me. I wanted to tell you there's no pressure here, but I am interested in you, like, two years from now, if you want to try to come back on at some point. Like, really in the future. Yeah, I'm interested. Because right now you're talking about diabetes. Coming out of the lens of having all this happen to you. Getting diabetes is almost. I'm not going to say it's good news, but at least it's the end of all your pain and your suffering and all that stuff. I wonder if. If you'll sound more like a Regular Old Type 1 a few years from now where you'll be like, scott, this is grinding on me. Like, you know what I mean? Like, I'm wondering if you'll. If you. If that experience will happen or if this part will carry you further. It's. It's in the back of my mind. But if you. You wake up a couple years from now and you want to be on a podcast, contact me back again.

[B]

Oh, for sure.

[A]

Cool.

[B]

I absolutely will. Thank you.

[A]

I really appreciate it. Congratulations on the baby, too. Farce is a cool name.

[B]

Yes. Thank you.

[A]

Yeah, you're welcome.

[B]

And thank you for. For the opportunity and.

[A]

Oh, it's a pleasure. You don't have to thank me. Please, I need something to put my ads on. You don't have to thank me.

[B]

I feel that.

[A]

All right, hold on one second. Thanks. This episode was sponsored by Touched by Type One. I want you to go find them on Facebook, Instagram and give them a follow. And then head to touchedbytype1.org where you're going to learn all, all about their programs and resources for people with type 1 diabetes. Are you tired of getting a rash from your CGM adhesive? Give the Eversense 365 a try. Eversensecgm.com Juicebox beautiful silicone that they use. It changes every day, keeps it fresh. Not only that, you only have to change the sensor once a year. So, I mean, that's better. Today's episode of the Juice Box podcast was sponsored by the new Tandem MOBI system and control IQ+ technology. Learn more and get started today at tandomdiabetes.com Juicebox check it out. 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 take 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 record 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. 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. If you have a podcast and you need a fantastic editor, you want Rob from wrong way recording. Listen, truth be told, I'm like 20% smarter. When Rob edits me. He takes out all the, like, gaps of time. And when I go and stuff like that and it just, I don't know, man. Like, I listen back and I'm like, why do I sound smarter? And then I remember because I did one smart thing. I hired [e-mail].