I’m not sure how I did this but I threw away the box that had all my husbands Tslim equipment in it. I mistook it for a box that I had put a bunch of trash from my spare room in and put it in the trash instead on Wednesday morning.
I’m devastated.
My husband is upset understandably.
Does anyone know if Insurance will replace it or are we just s#*t out of luck because I’m an idiot.
I highly doubt insurance will help, but it wouldn’t hurt to call the customer support number on the card to see if there’s some sort of emergency clause.
I’m pretty sure Tandem will let you sample different infusion sets, if he tells them he’s having absorption issues. Check with his Endo, too, they might have some around for demonstrating. What about a Diabetic educator in the area who does pump training?
Of course, there’s always black market supplies. Those posts get pulled off eBay real quick though.
If you post this on Reddit’s diabetes groups, you’ll probably get many private offers for supplies.
Thanks for the info! I’ll have to create a Reddit account 
Don’t beat yourself up. This was a mistake–understandably very upsetting and might be a bit costly but it was just a mistake that a loving husband would understand for what it was. It wasn’t “stupid”. You thought you knew what was in the box but it wasn’t. It’s unfortunate. What all did you throw away?
Oh Beth, so sorry! We’ve ALL done stuff like this, and you shouldn’t beat yourself up about it, but of course every time I’ve done something like this (TOO often) and people tell me I shouldn’t beat myself up about it, I can’t help beating myself up about it. What exactly got thrown out? I know I keep a back-up stash of most stuff I need, meaning if it got thrown out I’d be exasperated but I wouldn’t be SOOL, as I’d still have my regular supplies coming in, so it would be just a matter of building up my backup stash again. Annoying but not a disaster.
I’d be really mad at my hubby if he did something like this. Sorry, but I would. The first thing that would be said is why didn’t you look in the box you were throwing out first.
I’m just being honest here, everyone wants to be nice about it, but I would be mad and my husband would be scrambling to replace everything as fast as possible. We have been married 42 years, he knows better.
I agree 100%. We don’t even know what was thrown away. T:Slim equipment? We’re all assuming it was infusion sets and reservoirs that got thrown away. If so, why are they being kept in some box that can easily be thrown away? Make some room in a hall closet to store the supplies in. Telling her to lie to Tandem that the sets are bad to get new ones is ridiculous.
It was his initial shipment of everything he needed to get started. This is his first pump. He was supposed to set up training for it next week. So everything first pump related was still in the box.
Ouch.
I wouldn’t try to fool insurance companies but I would try to appeal to them to see if there’s anything to be done. In spite of some people’s harsh judgments, it wasn’t deliberate and accidents can happen to anyone. I’d at least try to see if there’s something they can do. Insurance companies aren’t always known for being accommodating, but sometimes you can find compassion in surprising places.
The PUMP wasn’t in that box, was it? If he wasn’t wearing it it…
@beth39 – We’ve all done stuff like this. In my one-person household, I can only blame myself! Don’t beat yourself up; I know, easy for me to say. What you can do is at least draw a lesson from this experience to decrease the likelihood that it can ever happen again. Maybe you could label the diabetes supply box with a big red cross that leaves no confusion about what’s inside. There is absolutely nothing worse than repeating a bone-headed mistake. Been there, done that as well. This too shall pass; take a deep breath, take corrective actions and move on.
Yes all of it was in there, it was his first pump. We’d been trying to get it for 6 months he was diagnosed just 1 year ago.
For sure we are going to tell them exactly what happened. I’m also going to call the trash company Monday to see if I can go look for the box.
You could also try calling Tandem, let them know what happened and see if they might have some grace. Worth a try.
I think everyone here is going to be in utter shock to hear you threw away a brand new pump. I love my husband, but I wouldn’t even be able to look at him if he’d done something so devestating to me. But honestly, he’s partially to blame for this for not protecting his life better. That baby should have been removed from the shipping box and put away for safe keeping, along with all his supplies, until his training. If it was just chucked somewhere absent-mindedly, I doubt either one of you are responsible enough for pump therapy.
I understand this was a mistake and you have my utmost sympathy for that, but you need to understand that this is probably the worst mistake you’ll ever make in your marriage. Personally, I could handle lies and infidelity better.
Yeah, see if you can track down the trash…
Call Tandem and explain what’s happened. I highly doubt they’ll just give you a replacement, but maybe they can process it as a lost shipment or something. Maybe they can offer you an excellent cash price on a refurbished one as a replacement.
There’s a thread on here talking about the Omnipod dash system being a prescription benefit, not durable medical equipment like most pumps, because the pods are disposable. Maybe he can qualify for coverage for that, even though he was already given a t:slim.
People do sell their old pumps, but he won’t be able to get training for them and there won’t be any warranty coverage when it does.
Maybe he can change insurers? I don’t know anything about legal binding for dme, though.
You have options, but pretty much everything except finding the t:slim in the trash is going to be expensive. I’d be thinking about what you’re willing to sacrifice in order to budget for replacing the pump. It’s the only way I can imagine forgiveness, unless he’s a limitless fount of grace. You could also live with his resentment for the next four years until he’s eligible for a new pump.
soapbox/rant
i just have to respond to this thread because it’s really got me a bit upset. The lack of compassion, understanding and/or forgiveness for the imperfection of our being human that some are exhibiting (or suggesting they would have for their own spouses) astounds me. [I apologize to anyone whose sarcasm in this regard I missed.] This may be a monetarily costly error, but does not appear to be life-threatening. The OP already feels guilty and everyone should remember or recognize how difficult it is to be the loved one or caregiver of someone with a chronic illness.
@beth39 - this will work out however it does, but I hope you and your husband learn from the event and move forward with love
beth39, you are not an idiot!! You made a mistake, because you are not used to seeing boxes of pump supplies. We all make mistakes in our lives. This will be remedied and eventually all will be well. It might not be easy to get another pump, but I have lived for 61 yrs with type 1 without ever using a pump. Your husband will survive.
Surely your husband will understand it is a mistake that you feel horrible about making and he will quickly forgive you. I hope that you will soon forgive yourself. You just made a mistake. We all make mistakes in life. You are not an idiot you accidentally made a mistake. Please forgive yourself.
Tough love doesn’t equate to a lack of compassion. Trust me, my heart breaks for her and what he’s facing in the future. He’s probably already struggling withthe new diagnosis and isnow lacking the tool that could have made the next four years more tolerable. My opinion of the situation changes drastically when I learned there was a sparkling new pump in the landfill, which is much different than costing him a month’s worth of the consumable supplies.
I believe in taking responsibility for your actions, true remorse for those you’ve hurt, and recompense at whatever personal cost (not just monetarily) to resolve a tough situation. None of that process can start until you at least understand the direness of the situation.
Not many people are in a position to say shrug “it’s just a costly error, no biggie!” Monetary problems are one of the top three reasons for divorce. She admitted he’s justifiably angry, but I don’t think she’s fully comprended what she’s done. She (and he, from what I’ve read) don’t even know what was in the shipping box! It’s that whole responsibility and recompense thing that will lead to the forgiveness they need as a couple.
I say this with complete respect, but you must be one of those founts of endless grace I mentioned, if you could happily face the next four years without the d-tech you desperately wanted without any bitterness. I can accept my own weaknesses and admit that I am most definitely not that good of a person.
I have to agree with @Robyn_H…It’s not we don’t feel compassion for her, and I’m sure we wish we could make a magic wand and make it better. It’s awful and yea she does feel bad that’s very obvious. But it was a bad mistake. My pump has a retail $8,000 price tag on it. So it’s like replacing a car and that is just not so easily done.
This is something that has to be sorted because it can’t be fixed without some pain involved.
I doubt you will get anywhere but you could try to call your homeowners insurance and see if it is covered. Probably not much luck with that as I wanted to even add special coverage for mine and they wouldn’t do it, nor was it covered. But not all insurance companies are the same.
Thanks for all the replies. I’ll try the home owners insurance thing.
I’m grateful and blessed to have a husband that is incredibly forgiving and understanding. He is very upset but has accepted it was partially his fault for not putting it in a safe place. It was in the delivery box by the front door. I had a box full of junk to throw away from my spare bedroom. That got put by the front door as well. That box got put in the can without me knowing and then because I’d put it by the door to toss it, I threw away the only box by the front door. I didn’t open the box to check because I didn’t want to be tempted to keep anything that I’d put in the box (recovering pack-rat).
I cried for 3 hours, and could’t look him in the eye. I also cried for the people who could have used the pump I lost. I’m sure I will cry more.
@Marilyn6 it wasn’t a small box it was the entire pump and 3 months of cartridges 
You can tell me till you are blue in the face I’m not an idiot but I kinda am.
Our marriage is solid and he has his insulin pens still. He has a logical mind and basically feels that you can’t change the past so why dwell there and possibly cause your future to be stresses by it.