I bet your Blood Buddy got just as much out of showing you how to take a shot as you got out of his tutorial. What a great camp experience.

If it helps, they’ve made the syringe needles shorter than they were when you were up at camp. I see one of the long ones now and do a double take! I can’t believe I used to use those…

One of many completely and unbelievably awesome memories:

I have a fear of needles (one might question the logic of me working at this particular camp, but let’s set THAT aside). I have a SUPER big fear of needles. I tremble, I breathe fast, just when I’m around them wrapped up in their sterile packages.

First day of camp, it’s time for everyone to check their blood before dinner. A camper asks a simple question, “Why are you not checking?” I say, “I don’t have diabetes.” He says, “So?” Excellent point.

So I stand in line with him, we check together, we tell our results to the doc who draws up insulin for him and the same amount of saline for me. My little Blood Buddy (our names for the next weeks) pinched some skin on his tummy, took his insulin and looked at me…. standing there holding a syringe of saline. It’s one of those moments in life when you have to step up, but I was having trouble not shaking.

“It’s not that bad. You will barely feel it” he said. He stood close, explained where he takes his shots, why some places were better for him than others, but really it’s best not to think about it too much and just do it, etc.

I took that shot. And it was no big deal. And neither were all the other shots we took together that session. It would have been a much bigger deal to not check and not take the shots. I would have stuck out like a sore injection site.