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| LIFESTYLES | |  |
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| Last updated at 11:33 PM on 15/02/08 |
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Young diabetic Liam Marche is enjoying the benefits of the insulin pump. |
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Praise for the pump; Device a ‘welcome relief and answer to our prayers,’ says mother 
FRANK GALE
The Western Star
RED BROOK — Barb Marche has high praise for this province’s insulin pump program.
In fact, the mother of a young diabetic says the device has been so beneficial to her son that she would like to now see the program expanded to include everyone with Type 1 diabetes.
The Red Brook woman is an advocate on topics relating to diabetes. She commends the provincial government for creating the new program, which is benefiting her 10-year-old-son Liam, who has been using an insulin pump for the past four years.
“Our first pump was purchased with money kindly donated to us by our family and we have relied on friends to assist us in maintaining our pump supplies for the past four years,” Marche said. “My son’s insulin pump warranty was coming up and being a single mother, I had previously wondered how I would come up with the finances required to allow my son to continue pumping.”
She said the announcement of program in last spring’s budget solved that dilemma. In Budget 2007, government said with an investment of $1.4 million, it would be providing insulin pumps and supplies for children with Type 1 diabetes.
This initiative was expected to benefit some 100 children at the start and another 30 who are diagnosed annually.
That announcement brought Newfoundland and Labrador into a fold of just three provinces across Canada offering insulin pump coverage. Ontario also offers insulin pump coverage for children under 18. Saskatchewan announced in its March 2007 budget that it would be covering insulin pumps for children.
“The announcement for children in this province last spring was a welcome relief and an answer to our prayers,” Marche said.
She said going back to an insulin regimen involving multiple daily injections was not an option for their family as her son has enjoyed the freedom the pump has allowed him.
“He is able to go to school, to birthday parties and be a part of extracurricular activities without his mother having to be there for injections,” Marche said. “Within the first 12 hours of pumping, my young son physically felt better.”
She said although he was only five years old at the time, he got up the morning after his pump started and told her he didn’t have to get up and use the washroom all night.
“He had fallen in love with his pump — ‘his life,’ as he would call it. The pump also brought freedom to me as a parent. I have been able to leave my son for days at a time with another caregiver and become more involved in public speaking and a variety of diabetes-related issues,” she said.
Marche said most importantly is that the insulin pump has allowed them to maintain tight and balanced control of her son’s diabetes. Liam was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of two and he is already at a high risk for kidney and cardiovascular disease.
She said by the time he turned 10, Liam had learned it was vital for him to manage his cholesterol and remains conscious of the cholesterol levels in his diet.
Recent studies such as that completed by the Catholic Children’s Hospital in Germany further show how important insulin pump therapy is to those living with Type 1 diabetes, she said.
Marche said the hospital concluded that when compared to regular injection therapy, pumps allowed for tighter control with significantly reduced rates of hypoglycemia and diabetic ketoacidosis (life-threatening high blood glucose levels) and lower insulin requirements. The Diabetes Clinical Control Trials have further shown that “tight control” significantly reduces the risk of complications for those living with Type 1 diabetes, she said.
“The fact Newfoundland and Labrador has become one of the first three provinces to offer an insulin pump program is a true credit to our current government,” she said. “It demonstrates its proactive thinking when it comes to health care and providing insulin pump therapy to those living with diabetes will help to reduce diabetes related complications thereby reducing a large burden on the health-care system.”
Marche said she and other families affected by diabetes now ask the government to look toward to those years after their children turn 18. She said parents realize tight control still is vital.
However, once someone has experienced pump therapy the quality of life, and the physical impact of this therapy makes injections an impossible alternative.
“Expanding the program to include all people living with Type 1 diabetes in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador will further alleviate the health care burden and add to the economy. A person using an insulin pump is less likely to require ambulatory care for dangerous blood glucose levels and thus less likely to miss work because of their diabetes,” she said.
Marche added this means they will increase their earning potential which will in turn increase their tax paying abilities.
Previous to this program, the Marche family had to come up with $6,000 for Liam’s computerized insulin pump.
His blood sugar levels were tested about 10 to 12 times a day with the test strips costing $1 each and if his blood sugar levels ran too high, ketone strips, at about $3 each, had to be used.
“This all added up, so you can really see how grateful we are that this government adopted this new program,” Marche said.
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16/02/08
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