To the politicians who have the very difficult job of trying to make sure everyone in the country is happy,
I live in a minority and unfortunately being heard is like being an ant and trying to have a human stop stepping on them by yelling stop. That being said I think now is the time that we need to be heard and we need the ears of our government leaders so that life and the healthcare response can be made even better for others that become a minority by becoming a Type 1 Diabetic.
I have lived for 26 years with this disease and to tell you the truth even though the instance of diabetics as a whole has increased the instance of T1D's has only increased marginally compared to the Type 2 population however the burden of cost and access to the technology that will not only be able to make our lives easier but will also put less pressure on the public health system as it is shown that people that get to be able to use the latest technology have lower rates of diabetic complications which will put them into our hospital system.
I read online through social media about the people across the world who have multiple visits to the emergency department every month and I wonder if there was greater access to what they need would they be able to reduce that dramatically and live much better lives. I see that on average it will cost up to $6,500 per admission to hospital also. So in all if you were to stop at least 2 visits to the hospital per year, the cost of the technology would be accounted for.
In 26 years I have never been admitted into hospital for diabetic reasons. I put this down do making sure I sacrifice to ensure I have access to what I need. This means that my family and I do with out, it means that some weeks the budget is very tight, it means that I have to say no to my family when I should be able to say yes. It adds stress and pressure on top of the pressures of daily life which we all know are growing exponentially.
As a type 1 diabetic I know my daughter and I can manage our disease with a needle and syringe but you can also mange getting around using a horse and cart in a day where we can move a lot faster and with greater efficiency using a car, bus and motorbike. Why is is OK that the government sees it as ok to subsidize the syringes however not look into the technology that would really make a difference.
The technology I refer to is the insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring system that allows for greater control and accuracy and in fact greater peace of mind. I say this as living with this disease does not only effect the individual with it but the whole family. It has people stay awake day and night not knowing what the next challenge is going to be, worrying if during the night when everyone is in slumber will the body choose to drastically drop the blood sugar which will cause the loved one to die. It seems drastic to say but this is reality. It wasn't that long ago that Type 1 Diabetes was a death sentence and in fact it is only in 2 generations that we are seeing longer life expectancy. When I was diagnosed I was told that it would decrease life expectancy but 10 to 15 years, Now when my daughter was diagnosed some 24 years later it is said that with good control and management it shouldn't shorten life span. I don't know about you but I want my little baby to be healthy and happy to well into being an old lady and even further.
We ask governments to take the initiative to not just look at what will make do but what will make lives of people living with chronic diseases better both now and well into the future. There may only be 125,000 people living with T1D in the community of Australia but to each T1D person there is a whole army of people behind them wanting to make sure they have access to what they need to make there lives easier in the battle against T1D.
Please consider as sometimes it is the minority's that genuinely require the attention to ensure we make our country a leader.
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