Watching an energetic Ruby and Hunter Doyle happy at play, you wouldn’t imagine the youngsters are suffering a potentially fatal illness. But the fact is, both of them have Type 1 diabetes.
As if managing diabetes isn’t difficult enough, many young sufferers have also been left traumatised with having to face up to five insulin injections a day.
And when you have a genuine phobia for needles, as many young people do, that’s a lot of fear to endure on a daily basis.
But it need not happen again. Now, thanks to a revolutionary insulin pump, the pain of daily needles has been taken away. Certainly, Ruby and Hunter’s daily experience has improved since they were given a pump, “It has completely changed our lives,” says the kids’ mum, Lisa.
Woman’s Day thought it would Make The Day of the Sydney Children’s Hospital Endocrinology Department, by donating a pump worth $8000.
The Department, with its ever increasing number of young diabetic patients, will give the pump to a special kiddie who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford the life-changing device.
In simple terms, the pump removes any need for insulin to be injected with a needle, as it works by delivering insulin directly into the body via a tube. The insulin is delivered in doses during the day. Whenever the diabetic eats food containing carbs, the pump can calculate the amount of insulin the body needs. This is achieved by entering information into the pump each time the patient eats, or when their blood-glucose levels are high. Nurses help patients learn just how to do this.
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