Last Saturday I went to a friend’s son’s Bar Mitzvah (a Jewish rite of passage ceremony, not the name of a bar, although drinking is involved). It was the first time since getting an insulin pump that I wore a shirt tucked in. My pump, hooked on to my belt was exposed but I didn’t care. (I’m much more worried about looking fat than diabetic). One of the first decisions I made when diagnosed was that I wasn’t going to hide having diabetes no matter how uncomfortable it may make some people.
At the Bar Mitzvah, I found myself talking about diabetes. This happens to me at these kind of gatherings either because I’m asked about my own diabetes or because, it seems, people have a need to tell me about the diabetics in their family (this doesn’t bother me and I’m sure I’m not the only one this happens to). At some point in the conversation I started to explain something about my pump. After being asked, I flashed my infusion site. As this was happening, someone said, “Oh, I was wondering who the hell uses a pager these days.”
It was the first time I’d gotten that line, but I’d heard other pumpers’ stories so I wasn’t surprised and didn’t think about it again until I came across the news about Cellnovo’s new mobile patch pump receiving CE approval (the European Union equivalent of FDA approval).
Cellnovo, a British company, has developed a mobile patch pump that includes an insulin patch pump, a wireless, touch screen handset with a built-in blood glucose monitor, and an extendable applications set. The pump, that goes by the same name, Cellnovo, looks like one of those must-have gadgets you want to get, even if you don’t really need it. (I really do need it!). I’ve only seen it in pictures and I haven’t tried it but, if you believe what the company says, it sounds like the most promising and exciting product in the future of diabetes devices. It’s everything you would want in a pump and more. Well, there is one thing that’s missing – a CGM.
Don’t get me wrong, I like my Medtronic Minimed pump. It’s easy to use, and has changed my life. But in a world with iPads, iPhones and Samsung Galaxies (my friend has one and loves it) my pump looks like a dinosaur.