Tadhg’s Summer Of Omnipod - Podder Story | Omnipod® Australia

Tadhg
Category: Health and Wellness

Type 1 diabetes. It's draining. It entered our family in 2019 through our then 3-year-old son Tadhg. There was no family history, so it was quite a surprise. We've been on this journey for three and a half years and have tried everything, spending countless hours researching how we can make his (and our) lives as simple as possible. We started with multiple daily injections for a year, then switched to a traditional insulin pump for a year before returning to injections because the pump couldn't fit into his lifestyle of constant activity. We recently switched to the Omnipod DASH® System, a tubeless pump that communicates with a touchscreen Personal Device Manager (PDM) via Bluetooth®.

Tadhg is an incredibly active 6-year-old. He enjoys playing AFL and basketball, and during the summer he is involved in surf life saving and has recently taken up body boarding, so we are at the beach almost every day. For us, a beach and traditional pump didn’t mix well, plug in his infusion set, unplug his infusion set, listen to the never-ending beeping from the unplugged pump, avoid getting sand into the cannula or kinking the tubing, and don't forget about air bubbles and not letting the pump overheat. Once we started on the Omnipod DASH System, all of these issues vanished.

Tadhg basketball Tadhg basketball

Setting up/changing the Pod couldn't be easier, and after the PDM walks you through it, there's no need to worry about pumps in pockets or waist bands bouncing around as he runs or bothering him with countless injections for three days…

To bolus, we simply bring the PDM within 1.5m of his Pod, enter his blood glucose and carbs, confirm the suggested bolus dose wait for the beep, and go! The simplicity gives everyone freedom, it’s amazing!

..We've had great success with placement on the back of his arms or the back of his hip, and with a kid so active, on land and especially in the surf, we find it doesn’t move*…

Insulin is continuously delivered regardless of how far he is or what he is doing, so there is no need to interrupt a good surf session* to replenish his basal as we would with injections. We have personalised settings to adjust his basal for the heat/sport, sometimes we adjust as we go; it's so simple that even my 65-year-old father got it after just one demonstration!

Tadhg now has more control over his Type 1 than ever before; he does all of the dosing himself, and we just crosscheck it. Living an active lifestyle with our son has never been easier for us, and he now feels more normal than he has in the three and a half years since his diagnosis. The Omnipod has restored his happiness, which is the most important thing in our world.

So, what would I say to anyone thinking about starting on Omnipod? Please conduct your own research and consult with your health care provider and make sure it is right for you. For our family, it has altered our lives for the better.

Always read the label and follow the directions for use.
*The Pod has a waterproof IP28 rating for up to 7.6 metres for 60 minutes. The PDM is not waterproof.