I'm just going to come right out and say it. I'm sorry. I'm sorry to the woman in the store, her children present with her, and anyone else who was close enough to hear or see the situation.

I was unaware of the fact that my actions caused harm. There is no excuse for what I did and I should have known better. In the future, I will absolutely act differently and prevent something like this from happening ever again.

Some background for those of you who didn't hear about my terrible mistake:

I have Type One Diabetes. I wear an (approximately) 1" by 2" insulin pump on my body at all times that gives me medicine that I need literally to stay alive.

If that pump comes off and doesn't get replaced, I will start experiencing severe health issues in as little as 30 minutes. This will only get worse until I get insulin back in my system, and I could end up in the emergency room or worse.

Yesterday, I was in the toy section of a Five Below near my work (unapologetically looking for Squishmallows) when a woman approached me and asked me what the bump was on my leg. I explained to her that it was my pump. I was expecting a response along the lines of, "That's what I thought it was! My son/daughter/mom/dad/friend/cat has diabetes!" This has happened to me a few times, and it's always comforting to meet other people who understand what Type 1 is like.

"Oh... well, it's making my kids uncomfortable."

I didn't know what to say at first. The woman stared me dead in the eyes, and I started to feel more and more anxious as I tried to figure out how to respond.

I eventually apologized, saying, "I'm sorry they feel that way." Although I'm pretty sure SHE was the uncomfortable one, given that her 4 and 6-year-old children were too busy playing with stuffed animals to notice that Mommy was defending their honor.

The woman, out of the kindness of her heart, offered some ideas for how I could remedy this crisis. She told me to put my handheld basket over my leg so it would hide the bump, and also suggested that from now on, I wear loose-fitting clothing (unlike the leggings I had on) so that the bump didn't show.

However, because I am selfish and unwilling to change, I had the patience audacity to briefly explain to the woman why I need the pump and what would happen if I took it off. I understand that this was unacceptable. I should have ripped the pump off right there and immediately destroyed it. Having to be rushed to the hospital due to my body going into diabetic ketoacidosis (a condition where, due to lack of insulin, your body begins to burn all of your fat and muscle while your blood starts to turn acidic) would have made my fellow Five Below shoppers far less uncomfortable than a small bump on my leg.

To make matters worse, I also told the woman (after she offered more help) that if she had a problem, she could shop in a different aisle. She scoffed, and gave me a (much deserved) "That is no way to talk to an adult!" before walking away.

I completely understand why she decided to end the conversation. I don't think I could have handled being in my presence anymore either.

I understand that this woman definitely had a reason to approach me and tell me why I was contributing to the delinquency of my generation. From now on, anytime I go out in public, I will remember to take my pump off first and limit my total time in public to 20 minutes, for the sake of every other person around me.