Diabetics Doing Diabetic Dabs with Elizabeth Sacco

[00:00:00] Rob Howe: Welcome back to the Diabetics Doing Things podcast, where we're telling the amazing, untold, wacky, weird, and inspiring stories of type 1 diabetics from across the world. I'm your host, Rob Howe, and I wanted to let you know that we now have over 500 years of living with T1D on the podcast, and we're on track to be over 1,000 by the end of the summer, which is pretty exciting. I also wanted to chat about my new email series, Friday T1D Feels, where I send you a personal note, no fancy graphics or anything like that, about what I've been thinking about in the world of type 1 diabetes during that week. If you're into that, just go to diabeticsdoingthings.com and sign up. I'd also like to take a minute to talk about hashtag Coverage2Control. JDRF is raising awareness around the fact that most of us don't get to pick the insulin pumps we have, just the ones our insurance will cover. Just imagine if your cell phone was like that. Except this isn't a phone, it's what keeps us alive. So let your voice be heard and tell your insurance company that T1Ds and their doctors should decide what kind of pumps they use, not the companies. I'm looking at you, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Blue Cross Blue Shield. Let's get this right. Okay, enough chatter. Let's get back to the episode. Hello, welcome back to Diabetics Doing Things. Today we have a very special guest, actually the first guest of her kind on the podcast, Elizabeth Sacco. Welcome to the show.

[00:01:29] Elizabeth Sacco: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

[00:01:30] Rob Howe: And I think what I mean by the very special guest and the very special type of guest, Elizabeth, or Liz, rather, you're not a type 1 diabetic, but you are a mother to a type 1 diabetic.

[00:01:43] Elizabeth Sacco: That's exactly right. Yes, my oldest son, David, was diagnosed at 9 with type 1.

[00:01:49] Rob Howe: And how old is David now?

[00:01:52] Elizabeth Sacco: He's 15. We're actually just coming on to his 6th anniversary, which is March 21st.

[00:01:59] Rob Howe: Fantastic. So I think you represent and type 1 moms represent a big part of people who listen to my podcast and are in the online diabetes community. And I think it's a great and often overlooked part of a type 1s relationship because, you know, especially even up to 9 years old and sometimes a little bit older, but definitely when younger, moms of type 1s and dads of type 1s typically just take on type 1 diabetes themselves as well because they're having to do so much with their children.

[00:02:38] Elizabeth Sacco: Yes, I would completely agree with that statement. And it's almost as if, well, I don't, I certainly, I don't want to say that because I'm not living with it, of course, and I don't, I don't have the, the emotional or the physical, I should say. I don't have the physical ailments that my son goes through, but from an emotional and from a responsibility standpoint, yes, you definitely kind of take the reins when you have a child that can't 100% manage it himself. So I would completely agree with that statement.

[00:03:06] Rob Howe: it. So kind of with that in mind, let's go back to six years ago. And I'm sure at this point, six years ago, you guys were experiencing some symptoms. What was that like for you? And tell us sort of the story of the diagnosis. Sure. So the story goes that there's probably

[00:03:29] Elizabeth Sacco: about a window. My son is very active and he was very, he's very into hockey. And I remember within this window watching him, for example, at a game, he would come off the ice to go to the bathroom, which was not characteristic of him to have to leave the ice to go to the bathroom. He was up constantly going to the bathroom at night and he was, he almost had this insatiable thirst. and I think that your mother's intuition knows what's you know that something was off so we ended up taking him to the doctor just to our local pediatrician where he was actually diagnosed and from that point we were sent down to children's hospital in Boston where we stayed for a three-day duration for the educational standpoint and you know of course bringing his number down getting rid of his ketones. The good news is we caught it early enough that he wasn't so sick. I know that a lot of people, they get to a point where their child is almost, you know, God forbid, in a coma standpoint. He wasn't like that. It was just more the symptoms of constant thirst and urination. And so we kind of caught it where it was manageable. And then the experience at the hospital was, of course, very, very informative and eye-opening.

[00:04:50] Rob Howe: And that experience typically happens so fast, right? And like one minute you're at your pediatrician's office, and the next minute you're on your way to Boston for a three-day hospital stay. From an emotional standpoint, what was that like for you as a mom?

[00:05:07] Elizabeth Sacco: So it was very, very overwhelming, of course. I mean, it was completely new to us. We not only did we not have diabetes within our family, but even within our social circle, we didn't you know, we don't have friends that had children that had type 1. I remember thinking to myself, to myself, rather, that I had to be strong for my son. Of course, he was scared as as was I. However, I didn't want to make the matter worse. So I just, you know, I pretty much try to hold it together and provide the strength. And I do remember at one point finally going into a room with the nurse, and it was probably the first time I had left his side and completely, like, breaking down emotionally. But it was, you know, I wanted to be that strength for him when we were face-to-face. But, yes, it's very, very overwhelming. It's very scary. I think at the same time, though, you have to have the mindset, like, you know, make it work. I remember saying to him, like, we're a team now, Dave. Like, well, you know, we're going to go through this together. I'll be there for you. Like, we're going to make this okay.

[00:06:10] Rob Howe: And you bring up a good point. And, you know, I think oftentimes when I talk to type ones who are a little bit more grown up now than when they were diagnosed, whether it be they were diagnosed as a child or a teenager or even a young adult, they sort of make that decision as well. And they talk about, as we look back, hindsight sort of being 20-20, you think, okay, yeah, I had this moment where I said I can do this. but for you you know Dave being you know nine years old parents typically have to kind of take that role on when did you know like in the diabetes education process when did you get a sense that you guys were going to be fine that everything was going to be okay

[00:06:54] Elizabeth Sacco: I remember being in the hospital and I I don't think I really understood it from the standpoint I don't think I thought I'm going to be okay because I understand exactly what's going on because I didn't. And I tell a funny story that I asked the nurses were terrific. We had terrific, terrific staff. And the nurses and doctors were so patient because I really it was so new to me. And it's almost like learning a new language. And I just remember asking them the questions because I just I couldn't really get a grasp on what was kind of going on with his body and how to manage and treat it. But I remember laying, it was, I do, it was like five in the morning. He was asleep. I was next to him and just thinking like, we're going to make this okay. Again, I was still really new and I didn't fully understand what was happening, but I knew that we just had to make it okay. We just had to, right? But that was, that was our only option that we were going to be okay. And we were going to certainly be faced with this whole new chapter of our life. And it was going to to be a learning curve and it was going to be a process. But I think that mindset's really important on how you tackle challenges and just laying, it was, we were still in the hospital where it was kind of like my mind just made the switch. Like we're just going to have to make this okay. And we will learn it as we go and, you know, deal with whatever comes our way.

[00:08:19] Rob Howe: And as you guys started going through that process, you know, you mentioned that you have any type ones in your family and also not in your social circles. Did that change? Did you seek out other families with type 1? Where did you find sort of in your moments where you're looking for information and couldn't talk to your doctor, whether online or otherwise? Where did you go to find information?

[00:08:48] Elizabeth Sacco: so I think that once you're kind of exposed to this new chapter it's the universe works in funny ways where all of a sudden then you know in conversation all of a sudden people know somebody that has type 1 and is giving names out and I think that the community as a whole has such a great support system and you meet these amazing people that want to help you and try to educate educate you. So just really by word of mouth, the more that people realize that David was just recently diagnosed, it's funny how all of a sudden they're like, oh, as a matter of fact, you know, my niece has type 1 or just, you know, and then there's locally a lot of support groups in the area. And I just think that through the word of mouth and kind of reaching out to the various avenues online too as far as you know of course people such as yourself that have blogs in the community there's a lot of things accessible when you're newly diagnosed as far

[00:09:50] Rob Howe: as people and support it is it's sort of uh years ago i was exposed to this idea called spidokas and it was like a southern term where uh you know once you you don't know something's happening but But once you learn about it, then you start seeing it everywhere. It's like when you buy a car, right? And then you start seeing everyone driving it. So let's talk a little bit about that first, you know, I mean, really six years in, a challenge that came up. Talk about how, you know, as a standpoint of a mother and a type 1 guardian, how did you guys overcome those? What was something that you had to work through or something that David wanted to do that you guys had to plan extra for? I want to hear a little bit about that.

[00:10:43] Elizabeth Sacco: Well, I think that especially when you're newly diagnosed, until you kind of get yourself into a routine and a real grasp of what your day-to-day looks like, every day was a little bit of a challenge, you know, trying to figure out as simple as breakfast in the morning. I remember the first day coming back and he was going to school and just trying to figure out, you know, how to cover his car. I mean, everything, there's just so many extra steps in a given day now when, you know, he lived with type 1. And I think as far as, you know, from a parental standpoint, letting him go to school or go to friends or go to, you know, you just have a whole different, it's a whole different worry. I think you worry as a parent regardless, but then you throw on top of this like, okay, now I'm living with someone that has this chronic disease and I have to educate our social circle of how to manage it. And I think that a lot of it from a parental standpoint is the challenge of still instilling independence, but still making sure that you're managing his numbers.

[00:11:51] Rob Howe: Definitely. I think you hit it right on the head. Because eventually, he's going to be totally in charge on his own of the numbers. So giving him that independence, but then also finding a way to manage it as a mom. Do you guys use any technology now, a CGM, or any sort of monitoring where you can see his numbers on your phone even when you're not with him?

[00:12:13] Elizabeth Sacco: We've tried the CGM, and he actually did it for a couple weeks, although he didn't love it. So he's very good about managing. He's super independent. He manages it. Of course, I'm always overseeing it per se and asking for it. But he's very good, of course, about doing the day-to-day management. He is on the pump. So I'm kind of probably a little bit more of the old-fashioned where I'm just looking at his meter because he was not a huge fan of the CGM and having that attached to him. So as of now, it's just monitoring the meter and his numbers through the pump.

[00:12:52] Rob Howe: Cool. And, yeah, I think, you know, I talked to some parents and I talked to some actual, actually some teens at a JDRF Type 1 Nation event last year, and there was conversations just about, you know, the stress on a teen from having their parents watch every blood sugar from their phone with some of the monitoring systems. And I just wanted to know if you guys had encountered any of that.

[00:13:17] Elizabeth Sacco: yeah so like i said i it was great for me i was all excited originally he was all excited too about the cgm and from a parental standpoint and a mindset it was like oh it's nice especially at night you know alarms if he's low and whatnot but i think he just it was just a little too cumbersome to have the two attachments to him so right the short limbs but it from a from my standpoint i would love it if he would maintain it because yes it is very nice from a peace of mine to have to be able just to look at the phone when he's not with me or like I mentioned at nighttime and know exactly where he's at but unfortunately it was short-lived in my house

[00:13:58] Rob Howe: so now David's in his teens he's 15 so a lot of type ones go through I mean along with the changes that they're going through in their body as a teenager sometimes that affects their relationship with type 1 and occasionally will go into, you know, a few different either rebellion or not or sort of just denial or, you know, that affects their relationship with diabetes. Have you guys seen any of that? If so, you know, how do you guys approach those conversations? So I'm very

[00:14:32] Elizabeth Sacco: fortunate because I have heard from quite a few people kind of that burnout phase. I don't know. I think that's the word that they use. And he hasn't necessarily I haven't seen him really get down or kind of try to break away from the type 1 or, you know, the denial standpoint. But I will say that he's probably not as diligent as testing his numbers during the day as he was, you know, as he was younger. So the obstacle with today is just making sure that he's testing on a regular basis. and that's just monitoring him and ask you know asking i try not to be super hovering but at the same time you know as we mentioned it's kind of a catch-22 you want to give him the independence not hover and just berate him about his numbers but at the same token he's kind of going through that well he just doesn't want to be bothered with testing and then of course his numbers are all over the map so then you do kind of have to step in and you know say you got to start testing So from an emotional standpoint, I've been fortunate because I don't think emotionally I have to deal with a lot of the resistance to diabetes as a whole. But there's certainly been now that he's 15 and there's a whole lot going on, it's almost like he doesn't want to be bothered with testing the sugars.

[00:15:55] Rob Howe: Right. Right, and it's kind of, like you said, it's just a balance of, you know, one hand you don't want to be, you know, overbearing, and on the other hand you want them to test. And sometimes, you know, there's just a lot going on as a teenager, like you said, and you just don't want to be bothered with it. Right, right. So I want to shift gears just a little bit because this conversation is going really well, and your insights are really fantastic. I want to talk a little bit about diabetic dabs. And for those of our listeners who aren't familiar with diabetic dabs, tell us what it is. Kind of tell us where the idea came from and what you guys are doing.

[00:16:38] Elizabeth Sacco: Sure. So when David was diagnosed, as everybody knows, you test your blood sugar multiple times in a given day. and I realized there was a missing component in the testing process, which was so simple, but it was, yeah, I always thought it was like it was such a simple problem, but there was really no simple solution, and that was just the excess blood that was left on his finger after testing, and ultimately, if I wasn't there handing him a tissue, he would either put it on his clothes, all over his pants or the inside of his case. And as I searched the marketplace for a product that would just fit right into his case, I realized there wasn't one. So I went ahead and patented and developed what we call, of course, Diabetic Dabs. And very simply, they're just booklets of absorbent sheets. Very much, I like to kind of compare them to a post-it note, like a two-by-two post-it note where you simply just tear off and it's almost like a paper towel grade material that's durable enough to be torn off from a stackable pad and highly absorbent for the excess blood and then you just dispose of it with the test strip and we designed it that it has an adhesive backing so it attaches right to the kit for convenience and it's always there and then of course we started this business and being part of the diabetes community and being so passionate. Not only did I want to provide a product that would bring value to the testing process, but we also donate a portion of our proceeds to diabetes research.

[00:18:17] Rob Howe: That's fantastic. And I think, you know, type ones, you know, we all start out with our alcohol swabs and we all start out with, you know, keeping our fingers very clean when we test. And then, you know, six months in, we're like, no, I'm just going to lick this blood off my fingers or whatever the case may be. Very unsanitary, right?

[00:18:39] Elizabeth Sacco: Reality sets. I say that all the time. And then it sounds great when you leave the hospital that you're doing all of this. But then reality sets in, right? And you have a nine-year-old boy that's running around and the likelihood that he's going to stop and wash his hands, which, believe me, I'm not advocating. But that's just, that's reality. I think that that's what you find is that they're not probably. and the alcohol pad, he never really used the alcohol pad. And then even some people that I speak to, the alcohol pad for post-cleanup either stings or dries out the fingers. So, yes, like you mentioned, reality sets in, and they're not doing the process exactly the way that they were taught in the hospital.

[00:19:23] Rob Howe: Well, and I think, you know, part of it as well is just having a viable solution that you have so much to carry with you anyway, just something easy to pull it. So is it fairly easy to carry around? For the diabetic on the go, are they going to find that this sort of integrates really well with their existing supplies?

[00:19:46] Elizabeth Sacco: That was the goal, and that's why we designed it with the adhesive backing because it attaches right to the case, the inside of the case. So it's right there with all the other components, the lancet and for the testing. So it just fits right inside the case. So then there's always a clean and safe way to remove the blood. Because as you alluded to earlier, the sanitary, you know, as a mother watching your child constantly wiping his finger somewhere that was not clean, it was very concerning. So that was the purpose of how we designed the DAPS is that it just incorporated right into the testing routine.

[00:20:20] Rob Howe: That's fantastic. And I think I spoke with another type 1 last week, and we were talking about the just the bad design in so much diabetes processes, whether it be the way a meter is shaped or the way a case is laid out or just a strange misnomer in the design process of some sort of some testing process or pump process or whatever the case may be. And so I love that this is really, with functionality and form, fit for a type 1. Somebody who tests five, six times a day and leaves an option to safely and sanitarily wipe their fingers.

[00:21:09] Elizabeth Sacco: You got it. That was our goal.

[00:21:11] Rob Howe: So where can people learn about Diabetic Dabs?

[00:21:16] Elizabeth Sacco: So we have a website, which is diabeticdabs.com. And on the site, of course, there's a video that, of course, kind of just highlights the dabs and how they work. And then, of course, it also lists the various stores where you can find the dabs in addition to the website.

[00:21:35] Rob Howe: Perfect. So we'll definitely include the link to Diabetic Dabs in our show notes so that people can find that product and check it out for themselves.

[00:21:46] Elizabeth Sacco: Well, thank you.

[00:21:48] Rob Howe: so um so liz i want to talk a little bit about um you know back to you know being a mom uh raising a child with type 1 um and i want to give you a chance to kind of speak to other moms out there who are going through you know what you guys went through six years ago um or even living with a diabetic teen um so if you had this if you had to give one piece of advice to a parent raising a type 1 child right after diagnosis? What do you think that would be?

[00:22:23] Elizabeth Sacco: My advice would be to ask as many questions as you need until you feel comfortable with whatever it is that you're dealing with, whether it's if you're emotionally struggling to seek out support groups, if you're struggling with kind of understanding, which I did the whole management process and different terminologies as far as figuring out the correction just to really be your own advocate and ask ask for what you need because people are there to help you and they want to help you and don't be afraid to just be vulnerable to the situation because everybody in that situation is vulnerable you know and whether it's a parent or the child itself there's so many vast emotions that you're dealing with when you get this diagnosis is to just really be your own voice and speak up and get the answers that you need. And I think that the more answers you get and the more comfortable and educated you get with the disease, the easier it is to

[00:23:28] Rob Howe: handle the challenges that you're faced with. I could not agree more. I think, you know, people have uh they get so in their head about asking for help um i think you really hit the nail on the head just being genuine and everyone knows uh what you're going through but i think my experience as well just with diabetics doing things um and the type 1 community is if you ask for things people are so giving and so open to helping you and to just either to connect you with someone or give you the information that you need um i would absolutely echo that sentiment to Ask as many questions as you can because if you don't ask, you'll never know. And the worst thing that anyone can say is that they don't know or that they can't help you. Agreed. Agreed.

[00:24:17] Elizabeth Sacco: And it is. It's a wonderful community. I think it's a community that we all wish we weren't part of. But when you're part of this community, you meet the most amazing, supportive people along the way. So, yes, certainly I'm in agreement with just people want to help for sure because everybody is going emotionally through what you're going through. So they can relate.

[00:24:41] Rob Howe: They definitely can. And I think the other thing, the other question I wanted to ask you, what's your best tip or trick or hack or just process or whatever the case may be that has gotten you to where you are today with David and working with your son, working with a child towards sustainable type 1 health?

[00:25:08] Elizabeth Sacco: Well, I will say one of the takeaways that really hit home for me that I read somewhere that I found myself doing is trying not so hard to focus on the numbers. Because I think when he was first diagnosed, it was kind of like, oh, the number was high. Of course, I wasn't disappointed with him. it was more I was just disappointed in the number but I think sometimes emotionally like with your body language it got to the point where it was almost like he thought he did something wrong if his numbers were high or you know what I'm saying so I remember reading something that said you know don't focus so much on the specific number of course manage it don't get me wrong but don't become so number number number oriented that it affects how your child is managing his disease and I try to always kind of keep that advice in the back of my head and just so if he is having a bad day where his numbers are kind of all over the place to kind of reserve the like I said it wasn't a disappointment in him it was just more you're disappointed because as a parent you're thinking of his health and as a kid he's not thinking that and all he's thinking is oh god i gotta tell her my number is high right so to really just focus on the overall management and to stay positive and not to really be so wrapped up in the figures the numbers i think that's

[00:26:34] Rob Howe: really really really important um not just for parents but also for type ones right is you can eat the same thing at the same time every day with the same activity and you're going to have a different number sometimes. It's just, it's not exactly the same day in and day out. And I think, you know, sometimes it's hard, it's hard to accept that. But also, you know, it's just admit that it's sort of hard. And you have to say, you know, like, this is not perfect. This is some some days are not going to be perfect. And I there is no such thing as a perfect diabetic. and so you know just just adjust and you know get bolus when you need extra insulin or give yourself a correction when you need when you have a low blood sugar and then try not to beat yourself

[00:27:20] Elizabeth Sacco: up over it absolutely absolutely and that would be the my big takeaway especially as a parent because it's like you said it's frustrating it's a constant balance and you just want to try to stay positive and accept, like you said, accept what it is because there's nothing perfect about

[00:27:39] Rob Howe: diabetes by any means. Definitely not. Yes. So Liz, I know that a lot of people are going to really love this episode and potentially want to reach out to you. Are you on social media? Where can they reach out to you if they want to have more conversations or have questions for you?

[00:27:58] Elizabeth Sacco: Sure, so we're on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. And then, of course, right through our website, there's a contact page if anybody has any questions. I'm always here to just be an ear of support, so they can reach out to me via the website as well.

[00:28:18] Rob Howe: Perfect, and we'll include all the links when we launch the episode.

[00:28:23] Elizabeth Sacco: Excellent. Well, thank you so much for having me. It was wonderful speaking with you. And what you're doing for the diabetes community is terrific. I applaud you greatly.

[00:28:31] Rob Howe: Oh, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. I couldn't do it without all the people who are giving of their time and telling their stories as well. So I love doing it.

[00:28:41] Elizabeth Sacco: Wonderful. Well, keep it up. You're doing a great job.

[00:28:43] Rob Howe: Thank you, Liz. You have a fantastic day, and we'll talk to you soon. Thanks for listening to Diabetics Doing Things. Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly emails and behind-the-scenes content. And if you or someone you know has an amazing story to share, send an email to rob at diabeticsdoingthings.com.