The Syringe Mobile

“Fill new pod with U-100 insulin”

As a type 1 diabetic, I use a new syringe to fill my pump with insulin every three days. Usually syringes are disposed of in sharps containers, never to be seen again. But I hang on to mine.

The Syringe Mobile was made out of syringes I collected over the course of a year, three wire hangers, embroidery floss, white duct tape, red pony beads, and an old pair of headphones. The syringes are an extension of my cyborg body, an external manifestation of an internal struggle that will continue to haunt me until the day I die. But they will also remind me of my ability to endure, to keep breathing and bleeding through the relentless cycle of care that type 1 diabetes demands.