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Delia needs a new CGM

My daughter Delia would like to ask for help to raise funds for a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) so that she can have the freedom to just be a kid again. After pooling all of her birthday money, realising she fell massively short of her target and running out of ideas for how a 10 year old could make money she has asked me to help her set up this page to hopefully raise the money. A CGM is a small sensor under the skin that will take her blood sugar reading every 5 minutes. It will also alarm if her blood sugar falls too low or starts to shoot up too high, which is important as Delia's diabetes can be extremely unpredictable especially in warm weather or if she is suffering from illness or stress, this will mean that not only can she live more like every other child but we can also all sleep easier. It also means that instead of having to prick her finger 12+ times a day she will only need to prick her finger twice a day which will allow the calluses on her fingers to heal. Continuous Glucose Monitors are currently not covered by health care providers, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme or Medicare here in Australia so we have no choice but to raise the funds ourselves.
Even while asleep a finger prick hurts, this is the face Delia makes when you place the finger pricker to her finger during late night tests.

A little back story....
In 2009 Delia was 5 and only a few weeks into her first year of school when she developed severe psoriasis and an insatiable hunger and thirst even though her weight was rapidly declining. After having to leave school and enduring months of excruciating agony, doctors' visits, tears and begging the doctors to find out what was wrong with her she was finally diagnosed with Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes in July. Relieved we finally had a diagnosis, and hoping the worst was behind us, we threw ourselves into learning how to care and manage her diabetes and after a few months of healing and learning things seemed to have returned to normal, well as normal as life with diabetes can be.

Sadly it was not to last. In 2010, a year after diagnosis, Delia started to complain of vision problems and after more months of doctors' visits finally a trip to the ophthalmologist revealed rapidly developing cataracts that were blocking most of her vision so surgery was scheduled in 2011. But once again Delia took it all in her stride while remaining a mostly happy, joyful child. That was until she returned to school, due to the surgery she had to wear a clear protective patch taped to her face and the other children began to pick on her. Rapidly she became moody and anxious, she withdrew from everything she enjoyed and also began refusing to eat so we once again pulled her from school and started counselling.

At home after her cataract surgery.

Almost three years later and she still has anxiety around large groups of people and we are still battling daily with her food issues but her life has been made easier for her since she got her first insulin pump in November 2013, the pump has meant that she can eat whenever she wants without needing an injection and it also means she has gone from 28 injections (minimum) per week down to 2 site changes and once she can get a CGM she will only need to prick her finger twice a day instead of 12+ times a day.

Delia would be very grateful for any donation you can make.
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Donations 

  • Sallyann Armstrong
    • $155 
    • 8 yrs
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Organizer

Neè Westlake
Organizer
Adelaide SA

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