A few years ago, I wrote a blog post about how I received a shattered insulin vial in my mail order pharmacy delivery. At that point in time when it initially happened, I’d never experienced anything like that before and was immediately panic-stricken about how I could get a replacement for something that wasn’t my fault, as the vial was smashed upon arrival.

Fortunately, a quick phone call resolved the situation, and I’ve been lucky enough to receive fully intact insulin vials in the mail every 90 days or so ever since. But imagine my fear and concern when I got my most recent insulin delivery and discovered, upon opening the package, that one of my insulin vial’s cartons was totally squished!

I have no idea how it happened to just one out of the five in the order, seeing as they were all put into the package with the exact same level of cushion and protection. The 5 vials were in a zip-top plastic bag, which lay on top of 3 ice packs, which were surrounded by layers of soft foam packing material, all of which was placed in a mid-size cardboard box. It’s not like the squished insulin carton was separate from the other four in any fashion, so truly, I’m at a loss as to how it got so severely misshapen. But what I can say is that I was beyond relieved when, after further inspection, I found that the vial was fully intact – not a drop of insulin missing from it nor a crack in the glass to be found. Phew! Momentary worry faded into reassurance that I wouldn’t have to make any phone calls to obtain a replacement, and that all I had left to do was put my new insulin vials in the butter compartment of my fridge (naturally) with my remaining old vials.

Squished upon arrival, but definitely not destroyed – though a good reminder nevertheless to always inspect my insulin when it’s delivered, just in case any surprises await me.