A new campaign on the Isle of Man has been launched to end the waiting list for children needing treatment for type 1 diabetes on the island.
The campaign, Pumps 4 Kids, has already raised hundreds of pounds at a launch event held at the Manx Gymnastic Centre of Excellence and hopes to increase awareness of the condition and the benefits of insulin pump technology as an alternative to daily injections. Pumps 4 Kids, which is being run by Isle of Man Newspapers and the Manx Diabetic Group, also aims to raise GBP20,000 in total to do away with the current waiting list for children with type 1 diabetes needing treatment.
The money will be used to allow every kid on the waiting list to be fitted with an insulin pump to deliver insulin so that they no longer have to use multiple daily injections. The pump, carried outside the body, mimics the action of the pancreas in providing insulin to the body.
At the launch event, Commonwealth Games athlete Joe Smith helped to show the benefits of exercise, and many children took away application forms for joining the gym. Said one 13-year old child at the event, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 10, “I didn’t want to have to do so many injections every day. I knew a pump would be easier. I don’t even notice I’m wearing it now. I feel a lot better and a bit more independent.”

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