More Power for PUMPING!

This weekend, I attended the Diabetes Exercise and SportsAssociation (DESA) conference in Toronto.
It took place at the MaRS center. A fitting venue, as the historic University of Toronto building was the site of the first-ever insulin injection administered to 14 year-old Leonard Thompson in 1922 by researchers Banting, Best and colleagues. Banting and Best are pictured here with a diabetic dog receiving insulin shots.

Prior to 1922, a diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes meant imminent death for a person, or dog- it was only a matter of time. There were treatments of course, a whole host of herbal hoaxes and tinctures claiming to cure the disease and eliminate symptoms, but these were all money making ploys. The sole method of combating diabetes prior to the discovery of insulin was the 'starvation diet'. The diet was by no means a cure, however it was the most effective way to 'buy time' for the children suffering from a malfunctioning pancreas. Children would be allowed to eat only what their bodies could handle in the absence of insulin - 300-400 calories of thrice-boiled vegetables and other culinary horrors per day. On top of suffering from the symptoms of uncontrolled diabetes, the children faced extreme hunger and malnutrition, dramatic weightloss and unbearable lethargy as their parents and doctors literally starved them to death waiting for a cure.

Today, eighty-five years later, we are still waiting for a cure, but diabetes is no longer a death sentence. Technology has come along way since the days of grinding up hundreds of pork and beef pancreases and injecting the extract with glass syringes and reusable needle tips which needed to be boiled and sharpened with steel wool before each use. We've come a long way...even from the first insulin pump in the 1970's!





Technology is getting better, smaller and more refined as each day goes by, however technology is only as good as the people who are using it. In Canada, access to the latest in diabetes management technology, namely insulin pumps and constant glucose management systems, has been limited, due to high cost and lack of government funding and support.

Which is why yesterday's announcement from our new Minister of Health, David Caplan comes as a HUGE relief, and a timely one for me as it will go down in the books as another historic marker in the continuing history of diabetes.

"Come September, more than 1,300 adult Ontario residents with Type-1 diabetes will be eligible to receive free insulin pumps under the initiative, Caplan told a news conference in Toronto.Ontario is spending $741 million over the next four years on the fight against diabetes in an effort to head off the growing spate of health problems related to the disease."

Now comes the challenging part...how will they choose which 1300 people will receive the pumps? Will they cover the cost of supplies and consumables? Will there be enough diabetes nurse educators to get people set up on these free pumps?

Regardless, this is a massive step in the right direction and a huge success for people living with Type 1 diabetes in this province.

Ontario will soon be powered by pumping! Waaaaaaaa Hooooooooooo!