Monday, May 21, 2012

Purple Pump Pride!

Articles - Diabetes Articles
Tuesday, 11 January 2011 04:21
Smiths Medical stopped making my pump, the Cozmo, almost two years ago now.  Scott J lost his job; I lost the manufacturer of my favorite pump by far.  In a year or two, I will most likely be getting rid of my dear, beloved Cozmo for something less satisfactory.  In the meantime, I'm still covered under warranty.

And may I just say that dear Lord, I have needed that warranty several times now!  No offense to you, Smiths Medical, but I think maybe your diabetes business could have fared better if you had chosen better manufacturers for your plastics.  I have

suffered at least two, possibly three cracked cartridge caps during my pump's lifespan.  I have had to exchange my pump for a refurbished one at least one other time that I can remember.

This week, I had to exchange my pump yet again for the same reason that I exchanged the previous pump.  The part of the plastic that is under the cartridge cap, basically the threading for the part that secures the insulin reservoir, was cracked.  Having an engineer for a husband, I recognized that this was stress cracking.  (Wikipedia offers a relatively scientific explanation of stress cracking here.)  Stress cracking, for lack of a better description, is basically any crack you see in plastic that isn't caused by a direct blow.  Ever see a crack in a clear-ish piece of plastic or glass that isn't caused by dropping it?  It's the kind of crack that looks like it started on the inside. 

Well, I will tell you, it certainly does not belong in my insulin pump, a life-saving medical device!  If this particular crack went any further, a part of my pump would certainly just fall off.

I called Smiths' customer service line yesterday and talked to a fellow who sounded like he was moments away from taking a nap.  Despite his lack of vocal variety, he was relatively helpful.  He made sure that I would get a replacement pump sent out to me overnight.  He also informed me they were out of blue pumps the same color as mine.  I could choose from "green, a different blue, black that looked like a pager and, uhhh....purple."

Tonight, I go home and program my new purple pancreas.  It doesn't do anything the old one doesn't; it is merely a crack-free version of my current pump.  I can't say I'm terribly excited, but hey, it's purple.

And it beats the pants off of having to switch to the competition's pumps.  I'm not ready for that yet.  I am not ready for the limited choices due to reservoir size and having to take multiple boluses at mealtimes because bolus maximums are too small.

Deltec Cozmo is dead; long live Deltec Cozmo.

 
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