Our Story

My husband, Adam, is the Type 1 diabetic in our family--diagnosed the day after his 39th birthday.  He had had blood sugar issues previously and had been diagnosed as a Type 2 years before (obviously misdiagnosed), had changed his diet/lifestyle and his “Type 2” diabetes seemed to have corrected itself.  But after his birthday celebration dinner and some homemade Reese’s Peanut Butter Ice Cream cake, his blood sugar skyrocketed and he ended up in the emergency room the next day.   Then we learned that he had Late-onset Type 1 diabetes and was going to require insulin for the rest of his life.  

Fast forward four years later to 2020--managing diabetes has become a way of life for our family.  The kids can’t even remember the days when Dad didn’t have to measure his carbs or give himself shots.  Actually, I take that back.  Adam just got his first Omnipod pump last week--no more shots!  Diabetes has given us a new perspective on living and caring for bodies and just recently--new entrepreneurship goals!

The Creation of The Useless Pancreas

This year, 2020, has been challenging for a lot of families.  The Covid-19 pandemic has forced us to evaluate what we are doing and the way we are doing things.  Many people have lost jobs, children are schooling from their homes, and mask wearing has become a new habit.  For us, it’s been difficult not socializing with others.  Like many of you, Adam’s Type 1 diagnosis puts him in the “high risk” category for Covid-19 complications so we have taken extra precautions to stay healthy.  Instead of focusing on all the aspects we were missing, we decided to be proactive.  We decided to turn a not-so-ideal situation into something better.  We’ve wanted to give back to the Type 1 diabetic community for some time, but weren’t quite sure how to do that.  Adam and I decided to put our talents to good use--he is technically creative and has an amazing entrepreneurial spirit and I enjoy helping others improve their lives by connecting them with the resources they need.  Thus, the idea for The Useless Pancreas was born--one place for Type 1 diabetics to market and purchase quality Type 1 merchandise from each other.  

Our Vision

The Useless Pancreas website officially launched in September 2020 after months of research and development.  We are still just beginning.  The website you have found and are currently exploring is our second iteration--it’s “The Useless Pancreas 2.0.”  We needed additional functionality to make it run smoother and give vendors the ability to create their storefronts the way that they wanted.  It will always be a work in progress, but we hope you will find it to be a “useful” website and meet your needs.  

• We hope The Useless Pancreas becomes a place to find anything and everything Type 1 diabetes-oriented!  
• We hope our website connects you to others who share the diabetic journey and passions for increasing awareness and knowledge.
• We hope our website provides a valuable and cost-effective way to help individuals and small businesses to exchange goods and services with other Type 1 diabetics.

It's really not "About Us"--It's about YOU!  

Uselessly yours,

Celeste & Adam Litt, Founders