By Sheri Monk

On Dec. 3, 2009, Jodi Stork welcomed a new member to her family – an insulin pump.
“There’s been lots of ups and downs, I’ve been trying to get things regulated,” Jodi said.
The pump is a high-tech medical marvel. Instead of a few planned insulin injections every day, the pump uses advanced programming along with daily information on Jodi’s blood sugar levels to administer a small, accurate dose of insulin as frequently as every two minutes.
Jodi was diagnosed in her 30s, much later in life than in most cases. “I had the old self-pity thing for awhile. I was horrified of needles.,” Jodi said.
Despite the initial shock, Jodi learned to take care of her body very well and never skipped meals, blood testing or insulin injections. Despite her best efforts, she became insulin sensitive which meant that over time, a certain type of manufactured insulin would stop working as well as it had been. As a result, she experienced dangerous highs and lows.
“My body wouldn’t adapt to the insulin that I was giving myself to keep my blood sugars at a normal rate,” she explained. “I have had seizures. I have woken up in the hospital many times thinking, ‘Where am I?’ I’ve had lows and not because of lack of maintaining my blood sugars, but sometimes I would just drop. It happens very fast.”
Jodi’s endocrinologist in Calgary first suggested the pump five years ago, but she wasn’t quite ready. But now, she wishes she had done it a lot sooner.
“It scared me, I thought I would just try a different kind of insulin and see if that worked.”
But Jodi’s blood sugar levels continued to worsen, prompting her to change her mind. Just a couple of months after receiving the pump, Jodi is having more good days than bad. A specially-trained pharmacist is available 24 hours a day should she need help or have questions. Now when Jodi takes a blood sample, she uploads the data to the pump and it decides how much insulin to administer. And while she can now eat at flexible times, she has had to get counting carbs down to a science.
“The only time I am giving myself extra insulin is when I see the food on my plate because I am going to count my carbs. And then it will add to the insulin it is already giving me. I’ll say I have 48 carbs, and then it will say, ‘Ok, you’ve got 48 carbs, your blood sugar is 5.5, from the carb ratio to what your blood sugar is, this is how much insulin you’re going to give yourself.’ It does all the work for you, you just have to know what you’re putting in for carbs.”
And Jodi says the pump has improved not just her life, but also her husband Blane’s. “There would be nights he would sleep with one eye open, wondering if I would make it through the night,” she said, adding he would be able to tell by her breathing if she was crashing.
But the insulin pump is not cheap – Stork’s employment health benefits covered all but $1,500 of the $8,000. And the monthly supplies cost her about $200 – $300. Without her benefits, the cost of the supplies would be over $1,200.
Jodi says an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when it comes to healthcare and says the government could save money later by spending a little now to help people buy the pumps and supplies.
“If I am trying to take care of myself, why wouldn’t you help me to get an insulin pump? What if somewhere down the line, things just don’t work out and my kidney shuts down? I could be going to Medicine Hat three times a week for dialysis. Who’s going to pay for that? Saskatchewan Healthcare.”
Gord Stueck, owner and pharmacist at Leader’s Stueck Pharmacy, says the ongoing management of chronic illnesses like diabetes provide an important role for pharmacists, especially those engaged in a primary healthcare method of delivery.
“We work with the patient to ensure he/she understands the importance of medication adherence, monitoring, diet and exercise in controlling diabetes. A significant portion of a pharmacist’s contribution to appropriate care is continuing education of the patient as their disease progresses and new therapies are introduced,” Stueck explained.
A Leader mother of a young man with a pump who wishes not to be named echos the same sentiments.
“What a difference the pump has made in the quality of life he has been able to lead. It has given him more freedom to eat and do as he wants,” his mother said.
She was able to obtain funding through a special government program – without it, her son would be living a much different life.
“This pump does not come cheaply, nor do the monthly supplies and without the support of the SAIL program, I am not sure we would have been able to do it. But when I see the difference in the quality of life that Mike is able to live I would now go out of my way to ensure that he is able to keep on using the pump.”