Animas Customers

The Animas pump has changed our lives.

Griffin was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes at 18 months. We were told we were “lucky”. Griffin was 24-48 hours away from a coma. With no family history on either side, we were stunned by his diagnosis. His behaviour and development was confusing. From 12-18 months Griffin lost his speech, his ability to walk, he stopped laughing and he would just lie there. Nights were filled with constant diaper changing, screaming and the inability to sleep.

When we entered the hospital, Griffin’s blood glucose level was 33. At that time, I was pregnant with my daughter Piper and my mother was undergoing treatment for breast cancer. We moved into the hospital for a week to be trained to deal with our new lives.

With the first shot of insulin, Griffin slept for four hours in a row!!! Within 24 hours, he ran, he ate and he laughed again.

Griffin spent 2 ½ years on injections. At the beginning, he fought like crazy. It was definitely a two person job. Leaving Griffin in others’ care was few and far between. This is when my mother decided to overcome her fear of needles (the sheer site of them made her nauseous and woozy) so that she could continue her one-on-one time with Griffin. She practiced and practiced. On oranges. On my father. There was always a special bond between my mother and Griffin. Also, they shared being sick at the same time.

Griffin’s constant emergency visits and nights in the hospital pushed us to find options for his care.

We were guided towards the Animas Pump from our mentoring family with a daughter slightly older than Griff. This family is very involved in being updated and thoroughly researching every product and regime that they give to their daughter, so we never thought twice.

I’ll be honest, I was reluctant to switch to the pump. Though needles were no fun and the rise and fall of long acting insulin unreliable, we felt we had a “handle” on things.

The Animas staff came to our house. They are knowledgeable, friendly, understanding and thorough. They instructed us on how to insert a canula and allowed us to do so on ourselves. This is an excellent way to learn how little pain is inflicted.

All Animas staff that continues to be involved is reliable, helpful and supportive. Animas is truly customer and family oriented. You put your child’s health first, and so do they.

As I said, the pump has changed Griffin’s life. We are no longer “feeding the insulin”. His focus has improved and his mood swings have lessened. When he is ill, we have been able to monitor him at home an not run to the hospital each time he vomits to be put on i.v. held down by 5 adults.

The featured on the Animas pump allow Griff to eat what he wants when he wants or not at all. It allows us to correct a high BG immediately without guessing, and to treat lows without food.

I went from being a reluctant mother to now being a huge pump advocate.

Thank you Animas for allowing Griffin to have a life as similar as possible to his fellow toddlers.

Sincerely,

Sid Kroach

Click on the links below to Find Your Bracelet!