Madalin’s Insulin Pump
Donation protected
Last year we were blindsided when our four year old daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Her body rapidly withered away to 28 pounds. She spent 2 nights in the hospital. We left dazed and scared at the new life in front of us. One filled with carb counting, finger pricks, glucose meters, test strips, insulin pens, needles, glucagon, ketone test strips and of course thousands of dollars in hospital bills.
We are one of those families caught in the middle. We make too much to qualify any type of public assistance, yet not enough to afford my daughter’s medical needs. My husband works full time and I stay home to care for and homeschool our five children. We have no choice in the health insurance provided by my husband’s employer. It is a very basic policy that does not cover much of anything. We are also caught in that loophole. If my husband wasn’t able to obtain health insurance through his employer we would be able to purchase a plan through the health care exchange and it would be completely paid for with our tax credit. That plan would cover much more yet we don’t qualify for anything because of the substandard insurance given to us by his employer.
Eight months after diagnoses we are struggling. From May 2018-December 2018 we met and surpassed our $7000 deductible and $10,000 out of pocket max. Our insurance will not cover my daughter’s CGM (continuous glucose monitor), they call it a luxury device. This device tells us her blood glucose every five minutes so we can properly care for her. It also lets us know when she has low blood sugar since she doesn’t feel her lows. This device has saved her life countless times in the five months she has had it, alerting me in the middle of the night as she sleeps through dangerous lows. This luxury device costs us $375/month and is not cover at all by our insurance.
As we learn more about how to care for our daughter we’ve become aware how important an insulin pump is. We can not give her the same level of care by giving her injections. An insulin pump gives us the ability to closely mimic what a working pancreas would be doing if she had one. She will have far better control and less rollercoasters in her glucose levels saving her from long term complications from diabetes. Unfortunately our co-pay for an insulin pump is $3,900. Typing that number makes me cry. How a necessary medical device can cost that much. On top of the CGM, on top of the hospital bills, on top of the costs for her prescriptions, on top of the doctor visits every three months, on top of many other things.
Please consider donating. My baby needs a pump.
We are one of those families caught in the middle. We make too much to qualify any type of public assistance, yet not enough to afford my daughter’s medical needs. My husband works full time and I stay home to care for and homeschool our five children. We have no choice in the health insurance provided by my husband’s employer. It is a very basic policy that does not cover much of anything. We are also caught in that loophole. If my husband wasn’t able to obtain health insurance through his employer we would be able to purchase a plan through the health care exchange and it would be completely paid for with our tax credit. That plan would cover much more yet we don’t qualify for anything because of the substandard insurance given to us by his employer.
Eight months after diagnoses we are struggling. From May 2018-December 2018 we met and surpassed our $7000 deductible and $10,000 out of pocket max. Our insurance will not cover my daughter’s CGM (continuous glucose monitor), they call it a luxury device. This device tells us her blood glucose every five minutes so we can properly care for her. It also lets us know when she has low blood sugar since she doesn’t feel her lows. This device has saved her life countless times in the five months she has had it, alerting me in the middle of the night as she sleeps through dangerous lows. This luxury device costs us $375/month and is not cover at all by our insurance.
As we learn more about how to care for our daughter we’ve become aware how important an insulin pump is. We can not give her the same level of care by giving her injections. An insulin pump gives us the ability to closely mimic what a working pancreas would be doing if she had one. She will have far better control and less rollercoasters in her glucose levels saving her from long term complications from diabetes. Unfortunately our co-pay for an insulin pump is $3,900. Typing that number makes me cry. How a necessary medical device can cost that much. On top of the CGM, on top of the hospital bills, on top of the costs for her prescriptions, on top of the doctor visits every three months, on top of many other things.
Please consider donating. My baby needs a pump.
Organizer
Lin Roday Turner
Organizer
Victor, ID
