Denied!

Have you ever heard or seen those words before? Today, my 13-year-old Type 1 Diabetic was denied his request for an insulin pump from our lovely insurance company. Insert a little sarcasm. If I understand this correctly, my son, who pricks his fingers countless times per day to check his blood sugars, AND gives himself insulin shots numerous times throughout the day just to simply stay alive has now been told by our insurance company, “Sorry, your request has been denied.” This fired up momma bear is madder than mad!

It hurts my heart to tell him that his choice for pumps was denied, and really by whom? Who set the parameters on the deciding factors? It’s hard to watch your child have to give themselves injections multiple times per day, and alway live with a high alert of awareness at all times with regards to his sugar levels. Are his levels too high, or are they too low? How many carbs are in the food he’s about to eat? How many units of insulin does he need to take before his meals? Did he take enough insulin or was he falling too short with not taking enough? This is a constant balancing act that is our reality, and the insurance company that denied him more freedoms in this, said NO to his request for a pump. Luke was given several options for pumps, and he shouldn’t be limited to what THEY (the insurance) thinks is best. Life with a pump (as we’ve been told) is very freeing. If my child has to endure all he does every waking moment of the day, don’t you think insurance companies would sympathize? The answer to that is clearly NO.

We strive to give Luke a normal as possible life, and with not too many interruptions to living as normal as possible. Living with Type 1 Diabetes is tough, but Luke has managed to embrace it and not let it stand in his way of achieving his goals and  chasing his dreams. Life is tough, and when it hands you lemons I preach to my boys to make lemonade. Today, I feel as if I’m drowning in lemons and I’m out of sugar.

I feel absolutely hopeless and defeated. The sad reality is, Luke feels much the same, and yet after I told him the news about the denial, he responded with this…

“Mom, thanks for staying on top of things, and for trying. It’s not your fault, don’t worry, I’m not mad at you.” 

All out of the mouth of babes. So I take a moment to be angry, and shed a few tears, for tomorrow I will pick myself up, and fight. I will not give up, and I will not accept defeat. I will fight for my child, and be his voice in the dark corridors of the insurance companies.

We are the change.