Sponsored by Omnipod
For years, Rebecca Redmond’s mantra was to “stick to the devil you know” when managing her type 1 diabetes (T1D). That meant injecting herself with insulin numerous times a day, even after developing a phobia of needles, resulting in debilitating anxiety attacks and sometimes even forgoing meals.
“It wasn’t until my son said, ‘If there’s a simpler way to do this or a way that wouldn’t be so hard on you, shouldn’t you do it?’ Kids have a funny way of motivating,” Redmond says of her decision to switch to Insulet Canada’s Omnipod® Insulin Management System two years ago.
The wearable, waterproof* pump – called a Pod – freed her from the injections she had been giving herself since being diagnosed with T1D in 1989 at the age of 17. “It totally changed my life,” the London, Ont. artist and blogger says. “I can switch my insulin pump out faster than I could ever give myself an injection, so it has given me the gift of time. It has also given me mental freedom because I’m not giving in to those fears of doing my needles.”
The innovative technology has special meaning to Redmond, whose grandmother’s cousin, Sir Frederick Banting, co-discovered insulin and was the first to use it on people to treat diabetes.
As this year marks the centenary of the discovery of insulin, she celebrates the advancements in life-saving technology for insulin delivery making it available for people like her who need it to survive. “Without my cousin’s discovery, I wouldn’t be alive today,” she says.
The Pod has had such a positive impact on her life, Redmond is excited to be among the first in Canada to adopt the new Omnipod DASH® Insulin Management System, which recently earned Health Canada’s approval. It provides up to three days of non-stop insulin** delivery and combines the Pod with a Personal Diabetes Manager (PDM).
“This means users can tailor their insulin needs much more precisely now,” Hulton says. The Pod can be worn almost anywhere you’d give yourself an injection and the Pod site tracker helps you rotate your pod sites to make insulin absorption more effective.
“The DASH System is the next step in our mission to make diabetes a smaller part of your life by simplifying insulin management,” says Hulton.
Insulet Canada is launching the Omnipod DASH System on a province-by-province basis throughout 2021 to coincide with reimbursement by provincial health programs. Visit www.omnipod.com for more information.
