Entitled Parents

Entitled Parent wants me to stop dealing with a medical issue

I have type 1 diabetes, and I manage it using a pretty neat device called an Omni Pod. It's a small Pod that you fill with Insulin, before sticking it to your arm for 3 days. It's all controlled through a remote, but the Pod only lasts 3 days. This is typically fine, as I change the Pod itself during the evening, so it doesn't mess with my day at College. However, if the pod fails, it emits a long loud beep that will continue to sound until the Pod is deactivated and replaced.

I also want to mention that I travel to College on a train, and I normally grab a seat with a table so I can do my work, or just stretch my legs a little (the train is pretty early-morning so not many people are on the train)

So it's day 2 of my 3 day Pod, and I'm sat at a table with my laptop out, reading a short story. This Kid (K) and their Parent (EP) are sat at the table across from me, and have been fine for the duration of the travel. This kid is about 6 or 7 so bear with.

That is until my Pod fails, giving off the ear-piercing scream I've come to hate. Standard procedure is to whip out the remote, stop the Pod, and start a new one. Filling a Pod is a little complex; first you take a syringe with a small needle and draw from a small vile of Insulin, then insert the needle into the Pod and fill. From the outside-looking-in it's a bit weird but it's honestly the best they could do.

Anyway, K notices this and begins to look a bit fidgety. The parent looks at me, and I get the feeling something's not right.

EP: What are you doing?

Me: I'm type 1, I'm just filling an insulin pump, it's kinda urgent but it won't take long.

EP: Can't you do that someplace else?

Me: Not really, the toilets are rather dirty and don't have a lot of room to do this, and it needs to be done now.

EP: Well it's upsetting my kid!

She's beginning to raise her voice a little.

Me: I'm very sorry about that, but I need to do this, I'm dependant on it.

I hear nothing more, so I assume everything is alright, until I start priming the Pod. Priming is when the Pod bleeds out any air from the insulin tank (as you don't want bubbles being pushed into your arm) and for some reason it always makes this loud SNAP as it does it (No idea why :P)

This snap startles the kid a little (who is still watching mind you).

K: Mommy, what was that?

EP: Well? What was that?

Me: No clue.

It's after the priming that the fun begins. The Pod has to fire a needle into my arm. It's quick, but hurts like hell sometimes, and even I jump and swear at it, despite having it for about 5 years.

Me: Sorry, this might startle him a bit (I still have no idea why I'm being so polite)

I fire the Pod's needle and jump at the quick pain. I didn't swear, but it was painful so I sit and rub my arm a little.

This kid did not like that.

He gets very distressed, asking his mother what had happened, and what that thing on my arm was.

EP: Why did you startle him like that!? The poor thing is scared half to death! He's very sensitive to these things!

Me: I'm very sorry about that Miss, but I need to do this, I'm Insulin dependant, and this Pod is what keeps me alive.

EP: Is everyone from your generation a druggy then? Honestly, I would've thought that going to school would beat these things out of you but apparently not!

Me: Miss, I am not a druggy, I have a pretty serious condition that I am trying to deal with.

I'm getting pretty annoyed now, but I wasn't in the mood to raise my voice, especially with the kid around (I can get really loud and really angry very quickly)

EP: If it's so serious then why are you on a public train!? I don't want K to catch your disgusting germs!

Me: Diabetes is not contagious.

This seems to shut her up for all of two seconds before she continues.

EP: Well you shouldn't be doing something like that in a public place!

Me: And why not?

I was getting a little more pissy.

EP: Because it may upset people!

I had had it!

Me: Very sorry about your insecurities and baseless prejudiced against people who are "different" but not all of us are perfect individuals with not a flaw with at all, and feel the need to call people out for helping themselves LIVE just to please a spoiled brat and shelter them from the harsh reality that not everyone is healthy.

EP stares at me.

Me: I hope to god you never take that kid outside! He might collapse from all the people who are different! Imagine his face when he sees people with missing limbs! It'd shatter his world view!

(Bear in mind, I have a younger cousin, and whenever she gets sarcastic, she puts on this overly-posh, overly-dramatic voice and starts acting like Freddie Mercury. Think Rarity but with sarcasm.)

EP does not back down.

EP: HOW DARE YOU TALK TO ME LIKE THAT YOU LITTLE BASTARD! IT'S NOT MY FAULT YOU WERE BORN A DEFECT DRUGGY AND ARE HAVING TO JUSTIFY IT!

Noticing we had reached the final stop, I grab my things and turn back to the EP.

Me: I'm very sorry to hear about your insecurities, but I must be off to College, have a swell, hate-filled day!

With that, I left, in a sour mood and definitely a lot more deflated than I was before the indecent.

I honestly feel sorry for the kid, having a mother like that but hey, at least I got to vent some steam. Also, I never saw EP again. Turns out the train guards (one of whom was my father) had heard about the issue and had a quite word with her about manners, nothing serious, but just a quiet word warning that if she ever did something like that again, she'd be kicked off at the next stop. This was one of the first encounters I've had with an entitled parent, but at least she didn't try to take the Pod away from me so her child could play with it XD