King meets King

If you've read a few of my recent posts you will know that CGM funding, and especially the extension to adults, is obviously something I am quite passionate about. As far as I am concerned, just because I can no longer walk around in frilly pink dresses without getting sidelong glances, doesn't mean that I don't deserve the same equal access to healthcare as the cute 5 year old with pig-tails.

I was very excited to be given the chance to talk with Shadow Health Minister Catherine King and ALP Candidate for my electorate of Bonner, Laura Fraser Hardy, about the recent CGM funding announcement.

Along with 2 families with Type 1 Children, we were given the opportunity to chat about what the election funding commitment could mean for us, and the positive impact that new technology can have on our lives.

Before I met them, I was quite nervous to be talking to Catherine and Laura. I felt like there was a lot of pressure (that I put on myself) to make sure that they really knew what it meant to be having this conversation about CGM. What is an election pledge for them, is potentially someone with Type 1 Diabetes' life. Potentially my life.

I don't know what I was worried about. Catherine and Laura were very involved in the conversation and I felt that they were really trying to understand what it means to live with Type 1 Diabetes. They were both friendly, attentive and inquisitive about not just CGM, but about pumps, injections, blood glucose testing and diabetes in general. I use CGM full-time, so I was able to pull King out for a bit of show and tell, including letting Catherine & Laura see the pros of CGM with a 'Suspend Before Low' (that I never had to treat for) captured on my graph before lunch (bonus points to me, I was having a nice smooth day with a graph of 7 and below for the previous 15 or so hours).

Introducing King to Laura & Catherine

I got to do what I wanted and had a conversation with Catherine about the inclusion of funding for adults. Obviously I would still like to see the funding extended to adults with no requirements, as with the funding for children. This is a problem across the board for diabetes technology though, including insulin pumps, where adults have to jump through hoops to be funded, but children don't (Yes, I did make these comments too). There's always room for growth, but at least that initial proposal is including adults, which opens up a door for further expansion on the programs. I don't doubt that Diabetes Australia and JDRF will continue advocating for access for everyone.

To read more about the ALP's committment to CGM funding, you can read diabetes Australia's statement here.