[bobbiescap]

Hi folks,

I joined your group because my father is a long term type 1 diabetic of over fifty years. He has been using an insulin pump for quite some time and it was donated to him as an old second hand pump as he has been on a disability pension since he was in his mid forties due to complications from diabetes and my mother has been on a carer's allowance as he had vast problems with hypoglycaemia prior to going on the pump, which did not cure the problem, but did help it a lot. The pump failed on Monday and he is back to injections and severe hypos.

They have been saving to have the roof of their home repaired as it had a smallish tree fall on it, and is in poor condition in other areas. It looks like now that they will have to put their savings towards a new pump and I can't help them as I am a single parent with two children on a disability pension due to severe burns in a fuel explosion in 2004.

I am wondering if somebody has a spare pump in good condition that they could loan, sell, donate, anything to get him back off the needles as he is not going to last much longer on them, plus if they do not get their roof fixed they are extremely vulnerable to the many severe storms that occur this time of year.

I leave it in your hands and hope and pray that somebody can help out a decent old pair of battlers, who find themselves in an emergency situation, and who would give the shirts from their own backs to help out somebody else in trouble.

Sincere regards,

Roger Barnes

 

[xdunlapx]

Aww. I Hope someone is able to help your father. Good luck with that. If I had any money at all I'd donate some. But I'm disabled and do not yet get disability checks and live with my parents... I wish you all the best of luck.

 

[bobbiescap]

Thank you for that darling and best wishes to you also. I sincerely hope that things improve for you.

 

[Shanny]

I can only speak for the US, Roger, but up here it is illegal to loan, sell or donate used medical equipment like pumps.

 

[xdunlapx]

I can only speak for the US, Roger, but up here it is illegal to loan, sell or donate used medical equipment like pumps.

I didn't know that. I guess asking for $ would be a better option. If I had some I'd donate.

 

[bobbiescap]

I can only speak for the US, Roger, but up here it is illegal to loan, sell or donate used medical equipment like pumps.

In Australia the federal government supplies pumps free of charge for juveniles and they recieve a new pump every three years. These pumps are the property of the family and sometimes they are happy to donate them to older patients via the diabetes educator, and sometimes they keep them in case the new pump breaks down over the three year period.

I have not looked into the Australian legislation but would assume that it is legal due to the fact that the federal government employed educator is often involved in providing second hand pumps for older patients that cannot afford them.

You have just given me an idea, I will try the two major children's hospitals in Sydney and see if the educator there can help.

Thanks for the support anyway folks, I will keep going as he is having massive hypos every day as regular injections do not give enough control and he is going to get very ill soon if he does not get a pump.

 

[bobbiescap]

Guys this is not an attempt to be rude or aimed at anybody in particular but I cannot understand attidudes regarding this issue. I have sent emails to any likely address I could harvest in Australia that deals with juvenile diabetics as they get a free pump from the government every three years and really have no use for the old pumps. Nobody has even replied, let alone offered any help.

Also you guys in the US, Ok you have laws but what about the old bravado? We are talking about somebodies' life here and if it was an organ donation, which it almost is, it would be on current affairs TV and everybody would be crying and praying.

If it was me I would put the old pump I had in the post with some sort of note saying it was for my brother in law in Australia who grows gourmet tomatoes and wants to test the pump for efficient delivery of fertilizer?

Anything, it doesn't matter as long as that pump arrives in good condition, remember too that we are about to start our summer and it is very hot an humid where my parents live so the lows are going to be a lot worse.

I notice that you have a Richard who has gone 65 years without complications, my father is 72 years old and has been type 1 for 51 of those years, he was told at diagnosis that he should live to be 40. He has neuropathy, kidney complications and hypertension.

He also had a "silent" heart attack which looked like hypoglycaemia, about two years ago, watch out for those you guys, it got diagnosed by a smart doctor, otherwise they would have told him to lower his hypertension medication and sent him home. Diabetics can have heart attacks without any obvious symptoms.

I want him around a bit longer for his grand children, also I want to learn some wood working skills off him as I had to hang up my hat as a marine mechanic when I was involved in a fuel explosion in 2004 and came out with severe burns and no compensation because of a little sign about 2" long. I figure I can use a wood lathe though and my dad is a master wood turner, who can teach me from his chair.

Look me up in whitepages dot com dot au if you want to check if I am authentic, I live in a government housing commission unit in a suburb called Bellambi, the location is beautiful, looking at the Pacific Ocean from this side of the world. It is just a shame about the drunks, junkies and pushers that live around here. But that is another story.

Kind regards and blessings,
Roger Barnes

 

[xdunlapx]

I'm sorry you have having such a hard time finding help. Have you tried calling instead of emailing? You're much more likely to get some kind of help if you personally call those places. I have no money and am not yet on Disability so I can't help you. Please, call those places.

 

[bobbiescap]

Thanks for your support darling, you are such a lovely person and I wish you all the very best because with your attitude you will overcome your illness.

Regarding the calling, when got blown up in 2004 I ended up with PTSD and it makes it difficult for me to make phone calls. I kinda have to build myself up and do a weeks worth in one go but I will heed your advice and do my best to call.

Blessings be to you,
Roger

 

[onaughmae]

While I can defiantely feel for your father's situation, I wasnt aware that we were having an attitude toward you. Shanny simply was telling you that the law here does not permit what you ask. Besides, most of us just dont have a spare pump lying around. I know I dont. Not sure of the cost of pumps where you are....but they average around 5000 dollars here. I do have insurance, but I still paid over 1100 for mine.Unfortunately, there are many diabetics living here....even some on this list...that would benefit preatly from a pump and are simply not able to get one. Is there someone els ethat can do this calling around for you since you are not able to? Is your father able to do the calling? or maybe a friend? Its true you might get better results with a personal phone call instead of writing a letter. Best of luck to you.

 

[jeremiahtren]

Hi folks,

I joined your group because my father is a long term type 1 diabetic of over fifty years. He has been using an insulin pump for quite some time and it was donated to him as an old second hand pump as he has been on a disability pension since he was in his mid forties due to complications from diabetes and my mother has been on a carer's allowance as he had vast problems with hypoglycaemia prior to going on the pump, which did not cure the problem, but did help it a lot. The pump failed on Monday and he is back to injections and severe hypos.

They have been saving to have the roof of their home repaired as it had a smallish tree fall on it, and is in poor condition in other areas. It looks like now that they will have to put their savings towards a new pump and I can't help them as I am a single parent with two children on a disability pension due to severe burns in a fuel explosion in 2004.

I am wondering if somebody has a spare pump in good condition that they could loan, sell, donate, anything to get him back off the needles as he is not going to last much longer on them, plus if they do not get their roof fixed they are extremely vulnerable to the many severe storms that occur this time of year.

I leave it in your hands and hope and pray that somebody can help out a decent old pair of battlers, who find themselves in an emergency situation, and who would give the shirts from their own backs to help out somebody else in trouble.

Sincere regards,

Roger Barnes

I wish you the best of luck.Due to financial difficulty do he not quilify for medicaid.Thats who I got mine through.

 

[ronnie1220]

Did you mention the make and model number of the pump? Unless I'm wrong (which happens often) pump accessories are not universal. I guess I'm just confused, is it that your father can easily afford the OOP expense of the insulin and supplies, and just can't afford the pump? I just thought that the model of the pump would be the first thing you mentioned, that's all.