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Was a good day ... gonna be a bad night

Melensdad

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
Melen competed today in a regionwide fencing tournament, 3 person teams competed against other teams. Melen's team took the Bronze medal home. Everyone was happy, our little school stood up well against some of the fencing dynasty teams in the region and we beat most of them. To celebrate we got Chinese food.

But being a Type 1 insulin dependent diabetic, she has to test her blood regularly, especially after eating food like Chinese food.

So tonight after testing her blood she needed to take an insulin 'correction' and found out that her insulin pump has failed. So now every 2 hours we will wake up, test her blood, inject her with insulin, and wait. Wait for a new insulin pump to arrive.

Medtronics, maker of the pump, initially told us the could get us a pump on Tuesday . . . then they said Monday . . . then they said I could drive to Kentucky and pick one up. Now they are saying that they will deliver a pump tomorrow (Sunday).

This is probably the 5th pump failure that she's had, which is something that is a big problem. But I have to say Medtronics has always come through with a replacement pump in less than 24 hours.
 
Sorry to hear that your daughter has to put up with all this . I pray for her . Also please pass on my congratulations for here Fencing skills She sounds like one tough kid !!!:clap: Prayers for you all !
 
Well more good news . . . we just got a call from U.P.S.

They plan to deliver the new insulin pump about 5am. I'd prefer that they do it at 7am, or maybe 8am. But given the choice between 5am Sunday and sometime on Tuesday, I'll gladly take 5am Sunday!!!

BTW, I don't know where it ships from.
 
That is pretty good to get UPS to ship on a Sunday morning like that. Has to be a big expense to do that.

Bob if you have had failures before would it not be a good idea to have a backup?
 
These insulin pumps cost the amount of a small imported car. Insurance covers the cost of the pump and Medtronics actually covers the cost of shipping out the replacement.

We keep back up supplies of syringes and other things for manual dosing of insulin.
 
I agree you should have some sort of backup if you don't Bob, and I am sure you do (good :D)
Nice to hear Melen's team did well.
Not so much about the pump failure.
I hope everything works out and they get it to you ASAP.
 
Last edited:
thcri said:
Bob if you have had failures before would it not be a good idea to have a backup?
Click to expand...

Bob, it doesn't sound like you not to have a back-up, especially after all the failures. I'm sure you have a good reason.

By the way, I'm glad she did well at the tournament and is hanging tough until the new pump arrives.

I type too slow. I see that you already answered.
 
Congrats to Melen and her team mates for picking up the Bronze....with all she has to cope with she is for sure a inspiration to others.
 
Congrats on the fencing results. Medtronics has some quality issues for sure. I have one of their ICD's implanted along with their suspect faulty wires. The next test of the device is coming up Dec. 23 and I do have a home test unit they sent me 2 years ago that I use every 90 days. Kind of ironic that you bet your life on something with a hit or miss track record for quality. That is one of the reasons the wife refuses to get a pump implant. Their history makes it a crap shoot but so is living without it.
 
Muleman, good points all. These Medtronic devices are really life savers and life quality enhancers, but as rugged as they may be, they are not rugged enough. I give them a lot of credit for getting replacement devices out quickly but also question why they fail so frequently.



Well the new pump arrived at 4:30am so all in the house are now resting comfortably . . . except me . . . I'm up with a migraine and brewing a pot of coffee. Oh well.

As for a "back up" we do have a "back up" for the pump, but its a non-mechanical/non-computerized system. Its the old method. Pull out needles and give yourself insulin injections. We keep a supply of syringes on hand for just such occasions.

The problem is the pump uses a fast acting insulin (humilog or similar) and if you are a Type 1 diabetic giving yourself insulin you typically take 2 different types of insulin. Generally you take 1 dose a day of a slow acting insulin (Lantis or similar) and then you take about 4 to 6 doses of fast acting insulin. If the pump breaks and you can't get a replacement then you follow the old pattern of both slow + fast insulin. BUT if there is a chance you can get a replacement pump in less than 24 hours then you DO NOT want to take the slow acting insulin. If that is the case then you need to take small injections fast acting insulin doses at a far high frequency, every 2 to 3 hours. But you can't start using an insulin pump until all the slow acting insulin is out of your system.
 
I sure never was aware of how complicated all that is MD , I,m glad you got the back up pump & are on top of everything Kudos to Ya , thats a lot to remember & keep track of no wonder the migraine :wink:

Congrats to the daughter on the fencing tournament . :flowers:
 
Well a lot more credit goes to my wife, she and my daughter slept together last night so she got up a few times to do the blood testing with my daughter and injections. I was the one who had to go outside at 4:30am in my PJ's and fuzzy bunny slippers to sign all the papers when the UPS special delivery guy showed up in a car with 1 tiny box.

. . .

As for Melen and fencing, I think the girl's saber team is going to do pretty well this year. Last year the team was Melen + Laura, with a couple others randomly thrown in to fill the open slots as needed for "team" events. This out of a squad of roughly 35 to 40 total fencers at the school. Melen + Laura took home a combined 50+% of all the awards for the entire school. By the end of the season a girl named Miranda became a regular on the team, she didn't win many bouts but she really began to take an interest, she joined the same club that Laura and Melen fence in during the off season. Yesterday Miranda did very well, much better in her first outing this year than she did in her best effort last year. We also picked up another girl, Holly, her first tournament was yesterday and she did shockingly well. So we now have 4 girls for our 3 person saber team and I think if these 4 stay with it (all are Sophomores) this will be a very strong team that will bring the school a lot of medals/awards.

Our team is pretty much a casual team. No real money to support it from the school. The head coach fenced in college but I gather was never really competitive? She coaches Foil along with one of the Nuns from the convent. The Nun, Sister Dorothy, also fenced Foil in college (40 years ago?). Sister Dorothy has been known to fence in her habit. I'll need to take some photos of that. For our Epee fencers we have a retired museum archivist who volunteer coaches and just does it because he loves to fence. For Saber we have the father of one of the boys as our coach and he really wants to make the team a competitive team. He also fences at Melen's club. He and I work together and I act as the semi-assistant for the Saber team, offering a bit of direction but mainly keeping order when he is giving individualized instruction. I've also been recruiting others to come in and help and got a commitment from our Club Coach to show up at the school 1 day a week to help the Saber team (as his schedule permits) and I got a commitment from a former team captain to help the team at least 1 day a week, again schedule permitting.

I actively promote club fencing to the other parents as well. Club fencing is really a lot more competitive than what we do at the school, which is why Melen and Laura (last year as freshmen) won so many awards. Both Mel and Laura have been club fencing for about 4 years, both fenced in college tournaments before they got into high school, etc. We now have Miranda fencing at the same club and her dad told me she wants to get a lot more serious about fencing and she will be getting her own equipment for Christmas this year. Holly, our newest team member, did so well yesterday that I thought she was going to burst open with enthusiasm. I expect to see her joining a club. She was all smiles and honestly I've never seen someone do so well with so little experience. But if these kids want to win anything at the high school level, they really need to fence off season and practice more than 8 weeks a year. Its simply impossible to be competitive without some level of additional training. Think of golfers, if the only time they actually practice is right before a tournament how many tournaments should they expect to win?

Wish I could say the same about the boys team and the other blades. But its building.

Our Fencing program is about 6 or 7 years old now. Mostly a social club and the kids expectations are very low. Of the 35-40 members, only 4 or 5 actively fence at a club. 2 of those are team standouts (Laura + Mel), the others will prove themselves this year as team standouts too (Miranda and 2 freshmen boys named Billy and Philip). We are hoping an example has been set by these club fencers, it started last year, its growing this year, and as others want to win they need only to follow the lead of the club fencers. I expect that Laura will be one of the top fencers in the conference in her senior year, Melen a few places behind Laura. Philip, only a freshman, is faster and stronger than either Melen or Laura, he is a rated fencer already and participating in Jr Olympic tryouts today. He has the potential to be among the very best Saber fencers in the conference in the next 2 years.

So we are getting there. Slowly. But its building.
 
damn, sorry to hear about the kids health emergency:sad:
unhappy.jpg



Great to hear of the great job fencing !! I have a friend who's so in NC is pretty big into fencing.
Got pics of the event?
 
I got no photos except one camera phone snapshot. I do triple duty at matches. Team medic, team amorour, and in a pinch asst saber coach so I have little time at some tournaments but at others I have plenty. Just depends on the schedule of events and how everything goes with equipment and injuries. Yesterday I was coach for the girls saber and assisted girls foil too. Only one minor injury but 4 broken weapons.
 
I understand your concern about your daughters diabetic condition and
from previous posts on the subject I am aware it's going to be with you
as a parent. And not to cast gloom on this episode a thougnt comes to my mind, "people don't live forever", are you and your wife showing Melen
how to handle a situtation like this in the future and not relie on
"Mom & Dad". At some Melen will be off on her own, and unless your planning on keeping her there at home, bad deal.

Oh congrates on the fenceing awards I know Melen worked very "hard"
to accomplice this again CONGRATS.

As with any electroic & mechinical devise failure will happen and in
this case test strips and meter are your back up. Don't forget batteries.
Being a Type 1 for 62+/- years I've delt with highs many times using
regular insulin, my choice, for correction.

Now IF any of you keybangers want to bash me for my comments
proceed. :whistling: :whistling: :whistling:
 
ncroamer65: Melen knows how to give herself her own injections and she usually does it, but she is also a very sound sleeper so when the pump fails we tend to wake up and get her up for our own piece of mind. During the day she is 'on her own' with care. She manages very well. But your questions and concerns are very good ones and valid.


SShepherd: A Foil is a short weapon with a button on the tip. The only 'touches' that earn a score are those that 1) have priority and 2) inflict a touch within the electrified target area (torso) that sufficiently depresses the button on the end of the weapon with a stabbing or poking action. Action of most Foil matches are often painfully slow followed by quick lunges.

A Saber is a slashing weapon and has a blade that is slightly longer. It has no mechanical button on the end as the entire blade is valid for achieving a 'touch' against the opponent. Target area is the torso, the arms, and the head of the opponent. Saber is the fastest of the 3 different blades and a match of 5 touches can literally be over in a minute or two with opponents being chased off the strip or rushing at each other into near high speed collisions.

Epee blades look and function similar to Foil blades, except the Epee is longer and stiffer than the Foil. Its also an electrified point weapon and only touches by the tip of the weapon count. Target area in an Epee bout include the entire body from top of head to tip of toe. Unlike Saber and Foil, there is no need for a fencer to establish priority of attack to it is possible for both fencers to score touches simultaneously in Epee while that is not possible in either Saber or Foil.

Generally you will find that Saber fencers have the more aggressive or Alpha type personalities, Foil fencers are the most meek, and Epee fall in between. At least that is my observation at the club level and the high school level in this area.
 
Like I said, I know the historical differences in the swords ( and alot of their variations). I didn't think a traditional saber would be used in competition as it would tend to injure pretty easily.
You should see the armor we wear in kendo:shiner:
 
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