How do you explain?

How do you explain to a 6 year old that going to an insulin pump is a better option?  I'm finding that there really isn't an easy way.  I shouldn't be upset, or complain, or even be surprised because for a year and a half after diagnosis I wasn't sold on it myself.  It took me that long to warm up to the thought of having something inserted into you continuously for 3 days.  Needless to say though, through a seminar and a chat with a pump rep I was able to experience it first hand.  And I finally understood that it wasn't as bad as my mind made it out to be.  I've been able to have two different types of pump sets inserted and wear them around and realized that these will make life so much easier!  Control will be so much better and the idea of one stick every three days is so much better than 15 that we currently have with shots! 

Our two year anniversary was in April and annual blood tests came back normal, so I am thankful for that!  I wanted to start the pump process in hopes of having it in time for school to start, but no such luck.  First was the disappointments about the "classes" that the doctors office requires you to go through.  I'll spare the details, but I'm sorely disappointed with the two "classes" we've had to take so far.  But the best thing to come out of the second one is that we were finally able to insert a set on Ellee to see how she would react to it. 

The reaction was not good, but we are told that it is typical.  While sitting in the doctors office with a nurse showing us how to set these, Ellee flips out.  We get the pump rep in there to help us offer what we hope would be words of comfort, but El is so freaked out that she doesn't hear anything we are saying.  Unfortunately it comes down to having her sitting on my lap and holding her arms, dad holds her legs and the pump rep quickly inserts it into her thigh.  After she calms down, I hope that she will realize that it's not that bad... wrong!

After getting lunch and heading home, it's a typical evening with the girls playing.  At bed time as I get them in bed, Ellee informs me that when we had gotten home, she went into her bedroom and removed it, then stuck it back on.  As she is telling me this, she pulls it off and says she doesn't want to wear it.  I'm devastated because *I* am ready for the pump, but also because we have to go back to the fights about the night-night shots of Lantus.  She *HATES* this shot, she says it hurts and it's the only time she freaks out when we have to do a shot.  We have told her repeatedly that we can get rid of these shots if we go on the pump.

The girls were at their dad's last week, so once I got them back, I talked with Ellee.  What is it that she didn't like about the pump thing?  To my surprise, it wasn't the metal needle that inserts the cannula (plastic tube that stays inserted in the skin that delivers the insulin) but the cannula itself.   I can't say that I'm surprised because that was my biggest concern.  Then I asked her what does she like about it?  Less shots and NO night-night shot!!! 

When I dropped the girls off at Mom's house on Monday morning, I had Mom sit down with her as we went over this again.  I told her that I wanted to try a set one more time and asked her to try as hard as she could to leave it alone.  It was a fight to get her still enough to insert it on her butt, but I did it. Mom held her across her lap, I inserted it and detached the tubing. She cried for a few minutes, saying that it hurt but then go engrossed into her cartoon and forgot about it.  I wondered the whole day at work how she was doing with it, but resisted the urge to call because I didn't want her to be reminded of it in case she forgot she had it on.

I picked the girls up for soccer practice and Mom said she did good about it!  She said a few times that it hurt, but it was a brief complaint before going on to play with something.  At practice, she came off the field crying and holding her middle back.  I worried that she got hit or kicked there, but she said she fell and the pain she showed me was higher up.  Whhheeeeewwww!

She left it alone all of last night and this morning when I dropped the girls off, Mom asked about it.  Ellee proudly stood up and raised her night gown so that we could see that it was still on there!  Mom and I were so excited!  I'm not going to hold my breath, there is still time for this to go wrong, but it's a step ahead of where we were two weeks ago!!  I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and call the pump company to see about getting the ball rolling!