The Guillotine: A Diabetes Torture Device
Last week, on Twitter, Elizabeth Arnold posted a link to a photo that made my whole body cringe and I instinctively said, “Oh crap, THAT thing?” (I’m stealing and reposting this photo here, but the original photo credit belongs to Cardinal Health.)
Behold - The Guillotine:
This photo made me shudder because I remember this lancing device clearly. It was the first one I ever used, outside of having my finger pricked by the nurses with the lancet alone, and I remember the shunk sound it made as it came careening towards my fingertip. It wasn’t the standard shunk we know now - this sucker would have to be cocked back like a rifle, and once it clicked loudly into place, you had to hit that button on the back to release the spring-loaded lancet. And it wasn’t just spring-loaded - The Guillotine had an agenda. It would come screaming over the top of the curve and embed itself into your fingertip, and it was all my mother could do to keep my hand pressed against that little plastic circle at the bottom there.
I hated it. It scared the crap out of me, and even though more humane lancing devices were introduced soon after my diagnosis, The Guillotine lived in our house much longer than I’d care to admit. Even the lancets looked like little harpoons.
Back in 1986, diabetes technology wasn’t completely archaic (I was dx’d after disposable syringes were used, and way after pumps were the size of backpacks), but it wasn’t comfortable in the slightest for a second grader. That Guillotine still makes me cringe, even 23 years later, and I’m increasingly thankful for every little advancement we’ve seen over the last two decades.
Because I mean, really. Look at that thing. OUCH!!
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
Ouch! Looks painful. Still, much more high-tech than what we used in high school bio class to get our own blood sample. A piece of shiny metal with a point on the end. Usually took a few tries for most students to stab themselves to draw blood for our experiment.