Meet #MedtronicChampion Gary

MiniMed Champion and T1D Gary Balanoff has lived with diabetes his whole life. Growing up without the level of technology we have today meant extra mental anguish and often feeling left out among his peers. Hear from Gary about how he and his family met these challenges and how he still lives a fulfilling life.
 

Diabetes diagnosis as a toddler

I was diagnosed in 1959, when I was three years old.  It was my first clear memory.

“Your son is a diabetic and needs insulin,” the pediatrician at the University of Missouri Medical Center said to my parents.

I didn’t know what it meant, but the words set my life on a course of ups and downs in emotions as well as blood sugars. A diabetes diagnosis meant a bumpy road ahead. I’ve seen it firsthand through family members who’ve passed due to health conditions.

At this early age, it was my mom who was stuck with the daily chores —   boiling the original glass reusable syringes that were common in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
 

Childhood challenges

We had to monitor my exercise and diet carefully. In fact, it became a family affair and my whole family ate healthy foods. I was supported in my love of playing sports like baseball, basketball, and bowling.  Despite our careful watchfulness, I experienced more low-sugar reactions than I could ever imagine.
 

Feeling left out during celebrations

I went trick-or-treating on Halloween, at first with watchful parents, and later with friends. I brought home candy and popcorn balls glued together with sugary compounds and never ate any of it.

It was not because of potential razor blades or unwrapped goodies, but because every single one of those sweet treats could raise my blood sugar too high. It was sad knowing I was the only one in my circle who couldn’t eat the treats.
 
Birthday parties were especially challenging. If I went to a friend’s party, I could not eat the birthday cake like my friends — or anything else that was loaded with sugar, which was every foodstuff on the birthday table.

If my parents took me to dinner, every menu order was carefully scrutinized. When I was on my own, I would have to make good choices in the school lunch line, as well as before playing sports.

How much sugar is in this roll? 
Will it send my blood sugar too high? 
Will it not be enough to get me through my game?

Imagine doing this every day! With practice, you do improve. But the variability of routines and food choices is endless, and so is the chance for danger.
 

Treating lows

A clear memory was the roll of Life Savers® my parents gave me in case I felt my sugar level running low. Sometimes it would take an entire roll to snap me back to normal.
All I could think of was, “They didn’t have enough sugar to do much, taking one at a time.”

Diabetes technology makes a difference

Looking back, I am grateful for the hard work my parents did to keep me on track, especially using primitive methods like testing urine for sugar highs and lows. That was before the much more accurate finger pricks that delivered up-to-date readings of blood sugars instead of what the sugar level was hours ago.

Now I utilize an insulin pump, which automatically adjusts and corrects my insulin delivery. Even now, with constant sensor equipment, I can experience a low or a high, but I can do something about it in real time instead of being revived by a paramedic.

Treatment has come a long way. Diabetes is a relentless taskmaster, but I maintain vigilance. I’ve had two personally rewarding careers, a 46-year marriage filled with love and adventure, two great kids, four wonderful granddaughters, an active church life, and my wife and I take as many cruises to faraway places as possible, living a life filled with laughter and joy.  

Diabetes curbs excesses. It still provides moment-to- moment challenges, but I am thankful I have been able to overcome its worst calamities and live a life more disciplined than it would have been as a non-diabetic.  

As I finish this story, my pump is alerting me to a high reading and delivering a mini-dose of insulin.  Gotta go, it’s time for a walk!

By: Gary Balanoff, MiniMed Champion

MiniMed^™ 780G system with SmartGuard^™ technology with Guardian^™ 4 Sensor
 

The MiniMed^™ 780G system is intended for continuous delivery of basal insulin at selectable rates, and the administration of insulin boluses at selectable amounts for the management of type 1 diabetes mellitus in persons seven years of age and older requiring insulin as well as for the continuous monitoring and trending of glucose levels in the fluid under the skin. The MiniMed^™ 780G System includes SmartGuard^™ technology, which can be programmed to automatically adjust insulin delivery based on the continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) sensor glucose values and can suspend delivery of insulin when the SG value falls below or is predicted to fall below predefined threshold values. 
 

The Medtronic MiniMed^™ 780G System consists of the following devices: MiniMed^™ 780G Insulin Pump, the Guardian^™ 4 Transmitter, the Guardian^™ 4 Sensor, One-press serter, the Accu-Chek^™ Guide Link blood glucose meter, and the Accu-Chek^™ Guide Test Strips. The system requires a prescription from a healthcare professional.
 

The Guardian^™ 4 Sensor is intended for use with the MiniMed^™ 780G system and the Guardian 4 transmitter to monitor glucose levels for the management of diabetes. The sensor is intended for single use and requires a prescription. The Guardian^™ (4) sensor is indicated for up to seven days of continuous use. 
 

The Guardian^™ 4 sensor is not intended to be used directly to make therapy adjustments while the MiniMed^™ 780G is operating in manual mode. All therapy adjustments in manual mode should be based on measurements obtained using a blood glucose meter and not on values provided by the Guardian^™ 4 sensor. The Guardian^™ 4 sensor has been studied and is approved for use in patients ages 7 years and older and in the arm insertion site only. Do not use the Guardian^™ 4 sensor in the abdomen or other body sites including the buttocks, due to unknown or different performance that could result in hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia.
 

WARNING: Do not use the MiniMed^™ 780G system until appropriate training has been received from a healthcare professional. Training is essential to ensure the safe use of the MiniMed^™ 780G system.
 

WARNING: Do not use SG values to make treatment decisions, including delivering a bolus, while the pump is in Manual Mode. When the SmartGuard^™ feature is active and you are no longer in Manual Mode, the pump uses an SG value, when available, to calculate a bolus amount. However, if your symptoms do not match the SG value, use a BG meter to confirm the SG value. Failure to confirm glucose levels when your symptoms do not match the SG value can result in the infusion of too much or too little insulin, which may cause hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia.
 

Pump therapy is not recommended for people whose vision or hearing does not allow for the recognition of pump signals, alerts, or alarms. The safety of the MiniMed^™ 780G system has not been studied in pregnant women, persons with type 2 diabetes, or in persons using other anti-hyperglycemic therapies that do not include insulin. For complete details of the system, including product and important safety information such as indications, contraindications, warnings and precautions associated with system and its components, please consult https://www.medtronicdiabetes.com/important-safety-information#minimed-780g and the appropriate user guide at https://www.medtronicdiabetes.com/download-library.