New Insulin Pump

Hi all,

Not everyone who knows me, knows that I am a Type 1 diabetic.

One day back in June 2016 after being really unwell for weeks I decided to seek some medical help to try and find out what was going on.

When I sat in the chair the dr said “what is the problem?” I listed my concerns and randomly said to him “I think I have diabetes.

He said to me no way your to old, can’t be that. Anyway I requested him to just test me anyway and after a simple finger prick it went from “no way” to argh “I think you have diabetes”.

He wrote me a script for tablets and said these should help bring your sugars down and did a referral to see a dietitian.

Well 12 hours later it went from Type 2 diabetes to Type 1 and wanting to get me to hospital urgently.

Being a solo mum to 2 children one requiring very high medical care and no family here,I had no option but to learn on the spot how to test my sugars and administer insulin to keep me alive essentially.

Since my diagnosis I have struggled to get control due to the lifestyle I was living. Living a very fast paced life in and out of hospitals, poor food choices, poor sleep(well what was sleep?) to stress, depression high cortisol levels and the list goes on.

All the things we face in life affects a diabetic in more ways than one. This makes day to day life challenging.

As a diabetic I am forever having to finger prick, inject, monitor, counting carbs, reading food labels, avoiding certain foods,medications adjusting insulin to keep myself in target.

Making sure I don’t have too much insulin, that I have my glucose jellybeans and crackers with me at all times.

Not being able to drive if my sugars are to low, honestly the list goes on.

It has ruled my life and has been physically and mentally debilitating.

In 2017 i was gifted an insulin pump on compassionate grounds through the Gold Coast hospital to try and help reduce the constant medical side effects o was having.

Well 4 months ago it stopped working. Due to the way I received the pump and how old it was there was no warranty left to have it replaced.

I have been having to do manual injections 6-8 times a day and I’m constantly chasing my tail to get my levels in range and have been unsuccessful in doing this.

I am showing signs physically that I have nerve damage from years of poor control. The pain I suffer is like burning electric shocks in my feet and legs and just recently have lost feeling in part of my foot.

I suffer also from extreme fatigue, blurry vision swelling in hands and feet, my blood vessels being too small in my hands and feet, and now my veins are becoming large and painful.

I urgently need to purchase a new pump to help prevent further complications and hopefully start living without the burden of this awful condition.

The pump is not only life changing but also lifesaving.

I’m reaching out and asking for help to purchase a pump that is $8,500. A cost I cannot afford on my own.

If you able to help with making a donation as little or as big as you like I would be extremely grateful.

Every dollar helps, so if it’s $1 or $5 it all means just as much to me.

Thank You from the bottom of heart for your support and compassion.

Sheryl