Petition updateSussan Ley: MAKE LIFE SAVING TECHNOLOGY AFFORDABLE TO TYPE 1 DIABETICS BY INCLUDING CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MONITOR (CGM) ON THE NDSS and PBSBuderim State Member Steve Dickson gets behind our petition
Erika LutzBuderim, Australia
May 29, 2015 — https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153924151614148&set=a.498222044147.292422.521729147&type=1 It's been a busy week! A few days ago, I met with State Member for Buderim, Minister Steve Dickson who has agreed to help with our cause to subsidise CGMs. As a result of this meeting, we were able to get a great article in the Sunshine Coast Daily (29th May 2015, page 10- a full page article!!). This article also includes the link for members of the community to add their input into the current Australian National Diabetes Strategy Public Online Consultation. The Federal government is ASKING for our input- lets make our voice heard- LOUD! If you haven't completed this online consulation survery, please do so now (we only have until Sunday 31st May to do so). https://consultations.health.gov.au/phd-social-policy/nds Here is the content of the article, for those interested: Inset: HELP NEEDED: Erika Lutz, with husband Peter and daughters Violet, 6, and Annabelle, 2, is petitioning the Federal Government to subsidise machinery used to help Type 1 diabetics monitor blood sugar levels. Violet uses the machine around the clock, at a cost of $100 per week. BUOYED by the support of nearly 8000 people, Buderim mother Erika Lutz is continuing her fight to secure federal assistance for Type 1 diabetics. For the past 12 months her six-year-old daughter Violet has been dealing with the debilitating auto-immune condition, which destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. But thanks to a continuous glucose monitoring machine, Mrs Lutz was able to save her daughter the ordeal of having to prick herself up to 20 times per day with needles to monitor blood sugar levels. The CGM monitors Violet’s blood sugar levels every 5 minutes, 24 hours a day, relaying the data back to Mrs Lutz via her watch, and only needs to be changed once a week, eliminating the need for constant needles. Mrs Lutz said the CGM had changed her family’s life and given her and her husband Peter greater peace of mind. “When you’re putting your six-year old kid to bed at night you don’t know if they’re going to go hypo (suffer a hypoglycaemic episode) in bed at night,” Mrs Lutz said. “They can drop into a coma and pass away in their sleep (if blood sugar levels drop too low). It’s a pretty fine edge that we walk trying to manage it,” Mrs Lutz said the CGM alerted parents and the wearer of the machine, when levels went too high, or dropped into risk areas of hypoglycaemia, giving ever-vigilant parents and young sufferers the chance to rest, rather than going through a series of constant checks every night. “It means that we can now get some sleep,” Mrs Lutz said. “To me it means basically I’ve been given a little flashlight to see into her little, diabetic body, without having to constantly use needles.” While the machine has reduced the toll on the Lutz family, it doesn’t come cheap. “We pay over $100 per week for it (the CGM),” Mrs Lutz said. “We’re petitioning the government to subsidise the medicine through the National Diabetes Services Scheme or Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme... it cost over $5000 a year to operate the machine.” With the Federal Health Department currently consulting with the public to develop its National Diabetes Strategy, Mrs Lutz is asking more people to add to the over 7500 signatures on her petition and also give their thoughts on the best approach to tackle diabetes to Health Minister Sussan Ley via the online consultation which wraps up this Sunday. To sign Erika’s petition, Google: change.org monitor CGM, or give feedback to the health department at consultations.health.gov.au/phd-socialpolicy/…/con-sult_view, or check out the Cure Violet facebook page.
Copy link
WhatsApp
Facebook
Nextdoor
Email
X