14
NEWS
The system does
much better than
I ever did on my
own with my
insulin injection
pen and limited
mental arithmetic
skills!"
Emotional attachment
T1D professional photographer James Clarke goes
from MDI to hybrid close loop. By Sue Marshall.
If James Clarkes' name rings a
bell, it might be that you read
the My Diabetes Kit interview
in the January 2024 issue of this
magazine. Since then, we've been in
contact for a catch as he is changed
from multiple daily injections (MDI)
to an insulin pump. Here he talks
about his latest diabetes journey.
"Me and my attachments," says
Clarke, "It sounds overdramatic
perhaps, but living with Type 1
diabetes really means that each day
you are trying to save your own life.
You do this by administering the
right doses of insulin at the right
time by considering numerous, often
complex factors. So, anything that
can help is very welcome, particularly
if it does the injecting bit."
When I met Clarke more than a year
ago, he was quite newly on a CGM,
having moved to a new locality where
his new DSN put him straight on
one. His previous NHS Trust had
deemed him to be 'doing ok' with
old-fashioned blood testing. Catching
up with him this year, he said, "I've
finally been cleared for the funding
of a hybrid closed loop system. It's
kind of a remote-controlled pancreas
system that does much better than I
ever did on my own with my insulin
injection pen and limited mental
arithmetic skills!"
After going on a CGM the transition
to using an insulin pump therapy was
just a matter of time. He says, "Now
I wear an Omnipod which contains
insulin and a Libre CGM which
tracks my glucose levels. These two
devices communicate together via
the Omnipod personal diabetes
controller that I carry in my pocket.
It's the size and shape of a mobile
phone. This all seems to work pretty
well and it means no more injections.
My god, no more injections! It's the
end of 34 years of at least four insulin
injections every day. I thank the
diabetes team at Conquest Hospital
in St Leonards on Sea and the nice
lady from Omnipod via Insulet
Corporation for helping me get setup."
www.jamesclarke.me/type-1
Professional photographer and T1D James Clarke @jamesclarke