Wishing for a certain type of diabetes treatment

[Northerner]

WHAT BREAKS Chrys Ngwa’s heart is the fact that his six-year-old daughter Keeshya’s fingers are in danger of being calloused as a result of blood samples being taken from them six times a day to measure her blood sugar levels.

Keeshya is one of approximately 300 children attending Cork University Hospital (CUH) for the treatment of type 1 diabetes, an auto-immune condition usually diagnosed in childhood.

Her father says that “the number one thing I’d like to see available for Keeshya at the hospital is a HbA1c meter”. This is a laboratory test device that shows the average amount of sugar in the blood over three months and tells patients how well they are controlling their diabetes.

“Just one drop of blood is needed instead of taking a phial of blood and sending it to the hospital. I was so surprised when we went to the children’s hospital in Crumlin where a reading of Keeshya’s blood sugars was available after just seven minutes from the HbA1c device.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/health/2012/0327/1224313938293.html

“It’s the best reading for a diabetic. The daily readings don’t matter as much. It’s the long-term performance that’s important. As far as I’m aware, Cork is the only main centre that doesn’t have this on-the-spot meter.

Erm...I think the daily fingerpricks are probably more important! 😱