Factory Recall

"Don't forget to bolus for that."
"Me? Don't worry, I am making my own insulin these days!"
"Yeah right!"
"Seriously. Why couldn't my pancreas just start working?"
"Can you grow a new heart? A new lung? A new leg if I cut it off?"
"I don't know. "
"You don't know? Of course you can't. When they are gone they are gone just like your pancreas. Does not work.  Stick up the out of order sign. Done. Finished. Capput!"
"Yeah, but I was only two! What kind of a pancreas gives up at two?"
"I wish I knew."
"Well that's just stupid. I only had a pancreas for two years and it will never work again??"
"Be thankful you got two years. Some people get less than that."
"Well that just isn't right."
"You are right."
"There has to be a reason."
"If we knew the reason then they may have cured diabetes by now.  We just have to live with it."

That was our conversation the other day. It started out as a bit of a joke--my son producing his own insulin so he didn't have to bother bolusing on his pump. His pancreas restarting? As if.  Sadly, it became a lot more serious.  He was outraged at his body. He could not believe that he could be made with faulty parts.

I agreed with him.  It was not fair. It did not make sense.  Why do some people get a lifetime out of a pancreas and others only get months? Shouldn't there be a factory recall and they send us back the working pancreas? Yes, like GM recalling the steering column on my old car.  I got a letter.  I took it to the garage.  It was replaced.  Its good as new.

Can you imagine?...Oops, we messed up on that pancreas.  Can you come in and we will give you a new one? It will only take about an hour. Just drop in and we will have the new one up and working well before lunch.

Yes, that would be a great solution!