You are my hero, You don't need a costume, Everybody knows your name

The past two years have been full of surprises for me. Obviously, one of the biggest ones was learning I have diabetes.

After a year and two months of struggling, I learned an even bigger problem. I have Type 1.5 diabetes, not Type 2 as I originally learned.

This meant a world of news for me. I was going to have to start taking insulin. Lactic Acidosis was a problem I was facing. I was going to have to make decisions on insulin to use, if I wanted to do injections, use a pen needle or get a pump. I would need a Continuous Glucose Monitor because it was constantly ups and downs with my blood sugar. I was going to have make food choices for the rest of my life and hope for the best while trying to control diabetes at it's worst. I could face a world of complications, and I had no choice. Health insurance was no longer an option.

Since I was diagnosed correctly, I have gone through a divorce and lost my insurance as I work jobs that don't normally carry it. It's been a scary ride. I finally found a job that I loved and would cover most of the costs of at least my supplies and insulin and lab tests I do on a weekly basis. But, I lost my job this weekend because of an unfortunate turn of events. So, there goes all hopes of being able to cover myself.

One of the first decisions I made, as a newly diagnosed Type 1, was to use Medtronic as my pump and CGM companies. I had to wait until my insurance was good enough to cover most of it. And it was so worth the wait.

Right away, I was greeted by a Representative named Rebecca. Rebecca held my hand (figuratively) by teaching me how to use my CGM and my Pump. She told me I could do this and showed me she did it some times too, even though she didn't have diabetes.

My first pump insertion was guided by Cara at the Medtronic Product Assistance Line. She was so sweet and took me step by step because I couldn't remember any of it. My first site change with my CGM was guided by Matt, also at the Medtronic Product Assistance Line. He was so patient with me as I had to convince myself into pushing the little white button to insert it. Matt reminded me to keep breathing and stay calm. He was right. When I kept getting kinks, Ingrid walked me through the different products they had and believed it was because I was so skinny that my body was rejecting the needle. She was right, and sent me a whole new pack of products. When I got a bad batch of sensors, Lisa over-nighted me a new box and sent me shipping products to send it back. At lunch one day, I noticed my pump cracked and Michelle talked me through the process, over-nighted me a new one to my work, and sent me shipping to mail the old one back so they could dispose of it properly. Then, when I was at my saddest, I tweeted about losing my jobs and my insurance. Within moments, I received a phone call from Ashley, offering her deepest regards, and is sending me supplies free of charge, to hold me over until I can get a job or insurance for the next round.

WOW. I am at a loss for words. This company has never let me down. They continually impress me with their customer service and excellent people skills. Their generosity and helpfulness has reminded me that businesses aren't all business.

Medtronic isn't just about profit. They are about keeping people alive. They are about reminding us all that we all have hard times and they are there for their customers. They quite literally just saved my life.

I am so happy I went with their company. It is hands down one of the best decisions I've made as a diabetic. If I have to have this disease, its amazing I have Medtronic by my side (literally on my hip and figuratively on my Twitter) helping me out through all of this.

*Disclaimer: I was not paid to write this article. I was not bribed, or even suggested to make a blog about my experience. I was merely blown away by the fact that one company was so amazing to care what I am going through.