Olympic athlete visits Westmount to promote insulin pump therapy

The 26-year-old elite athlete, and Type 1 diabetic, was in Westmount on March 26 to host a five-K run and educate others about the insulin pump he wears around his waist.

The run was organized by medical technology company Medtronic in collaboration with Westmount’s Running Room store.

Despite the wet weather, the run attracted a group of active people living with diabetes, including some who already use insulin pump therapy.

One runner, Stewart Harris, is a regular at the Westmount Running Room run club and a self-described amateur athlete. A Type 1 diabetic who has been using the pump for the past 10 years, Harris has competed in high-level football, been a ski patrol instructor, and completed three marathons recording a personal best of three hours and 30 minutes.

“It’s never easy,” Harris said about being active and diabetic. “But the more information you have, the better decisions you make. When I was younger we didn’t have the pump; we didn’t even have disposable needles for insulin injections. Now with this technology it’s instantaneous results.”

“The pump makes a difference in my life. It offers an incredible new way to find solutions to manage blood sugar,” Jarvis said while enjoying a snack after the run. Jarvis remembered that while competing at the Athens Olympics in 2004 he was giving himself over 11 insulin injections a day, as well as testing his blood sugar 20 times a day.

“Testing blood sugar 20 times a day is so much more stress. The new system has an alarm to let me know if my blood sugar is too low and I’ve noticed a big difference in my performance.”

An insulin pump acts as a kind of surrogate pancreas. About the size of a pager, the pump delivers insulin to the body through a soft, flexible tube thinner than a strand of spaghetti. A computer chip controls the amount of insulin delivered to the body and a screen on the pump allows for the tracking of past glucose readings throughout the day.

The pump can hold up to several days worth of insulin and the Medtronic model also includes a glucose monitor.

Some of the benefits of the pump are greater flexibility in terms of eating and scheduling activities, and a better control of blood sugar thereby reducing long-term health complications such as retinal eye disease and kidney disease.

Sylvie Laperriere, a nurse who works in Westmount, was not at the run but was happy to discuss her experience with insulin pump therapy. Her 10-year-old daughter has been using a Cozmo insulin pump for almost two years and Laperierre said its has changed their lives for the better.

“The best part is being able to eat when we want, it has made life more flexible for our family,” she said. “The pump has a computer program that I can pre-program for different activities like skiing and for foods like ice cream. My daughter loves it.”

According to Laperriere, about 15 per cent of diabetic children followed at the Montreal Children’s Hospital use the pump.

So if insulin pump therapy is so great, why aren’t more diabetics using it?

“Its too expensive,” said Laperriere. The pump is not covered by Quebec health insurance except in very exceptional circumstances. The price of an insulin pump ranges from $6,000 to $8,000 not including monthly supplies at about $200 to $300.

“Quebec is behind in that respect,” stated Medtronic representative Genevieve Lapointe. “One of the problems is that the government thinks short-term and with health you cannot think short-term. The government pays for the health complications from diabetes but doesn’t pay for the treatment to prevent the complications.”

According to Laperriere, the pump may also be unappealing to some people because they do not feel comfortable carrying it around and may not like the idea of having a tube inserted into their abdomen.

But for Chris Jarvis, there’s no going back to multiple injection therapy after using the insulin pump.

After the Westmount run, Jarvis mingled easily with the group of runners, seemingly comfortable in his role as ambassador for insulin pump therapy.

With trials in April for the chance to compete again as a member of Canada’s rowing team, Jarvis is taking precious time off from training to be in Westmount for this event. He highlights the importance of education and encouraging people to exercise more.

“I like the fact that exercising together can promote a connection between people, and help build community,” he said, before being whisked away to a group of runners who want to see some skin – and the insulin pump around his waist.