How diabetes technology can give back freedom

Adrian Frei is an adventurous 13-year-old who loves nothing more than helping out in his Dad’s workshop, running around on a sports field and playing with his friends. When he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in December 2007, the things Adrian loved most were taken away from him.

Childhood lost

After a two week stay in hospital, Adrian had to adjust to a life where carefree childhood games were replaced by the constraints of checking blood sugar levels, calculating insulin intake and carefully monitoring his diet and physical exercise.

For a young man who valued adventure and freedom, life became limited. Adrian could no longer go anywhere alone, since one of his parents had to be there to administer the insulin injection. He could no longer run around as and when he wanted, for fear that his blood sugar levels would fall too low. School holidays and sleepovers at friends’ houses were also out of the question. Everything had changed.

Practical complications aside, Adrian also had to deal with the emotional and psychological consequences of a condition that dictated everything he could and couldn’t do. To add to his discomfort, the type of insulin Adrian used caused his upper arms to bulk up. “I looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger,” he remembers.

Adrian was facing a future where his quality of life was severely affected by a condition that had no cure. To ease the burden of self-management, Adrian’s parents looked to technology for help.

Technological advances

They discovered a number of options in the form of pumps that allow insulin to be injected into the body more discretely and in smaller, more accurate doses than conventional injections. “My parents and I had a look at lots of pumps but I didn’t want a tube. I preferred the tubeless pump from the very beginning,” says Adrian.

After more investigation, Adrian was fitted with a pod that is attached to the body at all times. It comes with a Personal Diabetes Manager (PDM) to monitor blood sugar levels and calculate the amount of insulin that needs to be released. “I can even change the Pod myself and controlling it with the PDM is very easy,” says Adrian. “Lots of people think I’m holding a mobile when they see the PDM.”

Adrian no longer needs to be accompanied by his parents everywhere and has the freedom to run around with his friends. He can even go swimming with the pod on and is no longer self-conscious about his appearance or the constant injections. Right now, Adrian is simply enjoying being a normal 13-year-old boy.

“Now my parents no longer have to accompany me all the time and I have much more freedom in everything I want to do,” he says. “At last I can do everything my mates do.”