Brandon's Glucose Monitor

At Brandon's last endocrinologist visit, his A1C numbers were a little high. His doctor recommended wearing a continuous glucose monitor to see if we could figure out why his numbers were high. The monitor will check his blood every 5 minutes so we will find out what is going on between the times when Brandon pricks his finger to check his blood. So, this past Wednesday, we went back to the doctor to have the monitor put on. Brandon had decided that he wanted to wear it on is belly, but they recommended him putting it on his back instead. They mentioned that it would be out of sight and out of mind back there. Also, they said some of the monitors that they have put on other people's stomachs have come off and had to replaced. Well, Brandon was already dreading this procedure, and when he found out he'd have it on his back he was very upset. But, we managed to get through all the tears and get the monitor put in place. It was about a 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inch needle that inserted a tiny straw into him. Then the needle was pulled out through the straw. We had to wait 5 minutes for it to settle into place and see if it was getting blood readings. Well, it didn't work. So, we waited another 5 minutes and it still didn't work. So, they had to pull it out and try again. This time Brandon got his wish of having it in his stomach, and it worked this time! The straw is hooked up to a compter chip, and then it is covered with hard plastic. Then they put a piece of waterproof tape over the whole thing so he can take a shower or swim or whatever. He says it hurts every once in a while, but for the most part he goes on with normal life and forgets about it. He will wear it for a week and then we'll go have it taken out and find out the results. Here he is with his new robotic part....we tell him he's kind of like a transformer!