The Pebblebee

Organization is not my strong suit. I'm a "piler". I have piles of things. Oh, I generally know where stuff is, as long as no one messes with my piles. Ironically, I've been "accused" (complimented?) of being organized by people that have clearly never visited my house. Perhaps they heard me talk about a great new idea I had for organization that I had one day (and discarded as too much effort).

Type 1 Diabetes, though, well, that requires that I become more organized at least concerning diabetes things. I do have it in me, it just doesn't come naturally. See, T1D requires a lot of "stuff" and all that stuff has to go everywhere that person with T1D goes. Some of that stuff is VERY expensive cutting edge technology. Losing these things would be disastrous.

Before those of you with no T1D connection tune out (yawn - "she's talkin' about di-uh-BEE-tus again), listen in. I'm going to tell you about a product that everyone should have. And, by the way, I am in no way connected to the company nor receive anything from the company to review this product.

Pebblebee Honey is a small disc that can be attached to anything you don't want to lose. I have attached one to William's continuous glucose monitor (CGM), and one to his remote control for his pump (PDM). It uses bluetooth technology to communicate location to an iPhone. Using the Pebblebee app, he can locate the misplaced device by causing it to either chirp a sound, or by flashing a light. The display shows if you are getting closer or farther away. Should it have been left somewhere (agh!!!), it will tell you the last place you and the Pebblebee were in the same place. Those of you with a pancreas, you could attach one to your keys or your purse instead of an insulin pump.

Connected with a key ring to the CGM

Hidden behind the PDM in the silicone "skin"

Why the Pebblebee and not the Tile? The Pebblebee is $25 each but lasts 2 years. The Tile is reported to last one year. At the end of two years, you can replace the battery on the Pebblebee for a low cost and continue to use it. The Tile, on the other hand, must be discarded and a new one purchased each year. So, it has a slightly higher up front cost but long term, a better value. 

We do have a procedure for not losing these devices: he is always to return them to a basket that holds his supplies while at home or to his backpack when he is away. Yet, sometimes, he'll forget or take the CGM outside with him or lay it down while doing something. Gone are the "well, where were you when you last saw it?" questions, replaced with "use your app and find it".

Notes:
The word "pebble" seems to keep popping up. I wear a Pebble Smartwatch to monitor his BG.

Recently, while reading The Story of Science by Hakim to William, she writes that the Latin word for pebble is "calculi". So the words calculate and calculus came from the root for pebble.  Until numbers were widely used, pebbles were.

I heard coyotes last night. In. Our. Yard. I went outside to gather the cats in and worried over my horses. Using a flashlight, I walked up the dark driveway. I convinced myself that the rustling noises in the woods at the fence line were deer. I didn't see anything and heard no more, but was relieved to see my horses unharmed this morning. Glad I don't have chickens anymore.