Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Guzmán In better control with his pump since 2010
My child has Type 1 diabetes
It started for Guzmán when he was six years old, now he's 10.
We took him to the health care centre,
and they quickly diagnosed diabetes.
It was a big shock for us, as parents,
it changed a lot of things.
You start to think about things you hadn't been aware of, you didn't know
and you don't imagine it to be like this.
We started with multiple daily injections.
I remember at the start
we would inject him with a syringe and then with a pen.
The first two years were complicated.
At the hospital they told us about the possibility
of giving him an insulin pump,
and I was very doubtful.
My biggest worry about the insulin pump
was that he would be wearing a device attached to his body all the time.
And what if he gets punched, or if it was pulled out at school
and now it's the least of my worries
because he forgets about it, he forgets the pump.
He moves around in his sleep a lot and we haven't had any problems,
because it's childproof.
He's bumped into things, he's fallen...
and it's absolutely normal, so no complications of any kind.
It's easier for us, and for him as well,
to monitor his blood glucose levels.
The pump has given us more peace of mind
about the numbers of blood glucose levels,
because it does make monitoring easier.
As for results, we've seen them improve:
Improved results regarding blood glucose levels,
HbA1C...
And we're pleased,
he forgets he's wearing the pump
and does all the things any other child would do.
What surprised me most about the insulin pump
is the freedom and flexibility it gives us,
not just him, but the whole family.
In practice, he isn't injecting himself with a needle every day,
now the only injection is when we change the infusion set,
which we do every three days.
It makes things easier.
All he does to give himself insulin is simply press a little button,
and you don't have to take the pen out,
put the cap on, keep it with you, carry the cooler bag around...
It's much easier, much simpler.
Wearing the pump hasn't stopped him from performing any kind of sports,
football in particular, which he enjoys most.
The truth is that the insulin pump has made nights easier for us all.
And the complexity or understanding of how to use it
hasn't been a problem for any of us.
I would tell a mother considering the insulin pump for her child,
that even though you're very anxious and have lots of questions,
as a mother I'm very happy with it.
What I always say when I'm talking about the insulin pump is,
"Getting it was a blessing."