When Olivia first went on a pump, I didn't even think about where she'd put it during the day, how to handle the hanging tubing or whether or not she would feel uncomfortable having a piece of equipment on her. I just wanted to allow her more freedom. Freedom to eat when she wanted rather than letting the insulin dictate. Freedom to have an extra piece of pizza or to go get an ice cream on a sweltering evening. Freedom from having shots 3, 4, 5, sometimes 6 times a day. It was a huge step and one that neither of us would undo.

I was just reading Kerri's column over on Diatribe and she discusses how she likes to conceal her pump, not out of any shame (and I've met Kerri - shame isn't really on her list) but because she'd rather be the one to let people know about her diabetes. She didn't want her pump to announce it for her.

I can respect that. Kerri's twenty-something and working out in the real world and if it were me in that situation, I'd probably do something similar (although not the bra thing. The pump would get lost in the canyon of cleavage. Never a good thing.). Olivia, however, is only 13. She seems to like having people know that she has diabetes. She's rarely embarrassed by it. She's perfectly capable of giving the hairy eyeball to anyone who gives her funny looks about her infusion site. She's also quite willing to explain about her diabetes to anyone - and I do mean anyone - that asks.

We were in line at Jo-Ann's Fabrics a few months back and a man and his wife were behind us. I heard him say something softly to his wife and caught the words "insulin pump." Olivia's head whipped around and she smiled at the guy and they struck up a conversation about pumps. Turned out the man has type 1 and had been considering going on a pump for a while. He asked her how she liked it, asked me how difficult her start was and we had a nice five minute conversation about pumping. It was very cool.

I like that Olivia's not afraid to talk to people about her diabetes. I think, at this age, at least, the more people who know, the better. The more she is at ease with talking about diabetes, the better it will be for her in the long run. If she doesn't stigmatize it or get embarrassed by it, then hopefully it won't be a problem when she's grown up and is out there working. Whether she chooses to hide her pump or not, I want her to be comfortable with who she is and who she is includes her diabetes.