Bethlehem / PNN – Life will never be the same for young Tema Gibran, a Palestinian child suffering from diabetes.

She has been given the chance to live a more normal childhood, thanks to a small life-saving device.

Tema is the first child in Palestine to receive an insulin pump, which monitors her levels and gives injections as needed.

The pump, provided by Danish development company Novo Nordisk, is the first of its kind to be used on diabetic children in the Palestinian territory. It was installed thanks to a collaborative effort by the Palestinian Diabetes Institute and the Association of Friends of Children with Diabetes. 
 
Association Director Omar Sbeih said that the group is always looking for new ways to help diabetic patients. He also noted that the insulin pump is less costly to the government than paying for traditional forms of ongoing diabetes treatment. 

In a lecture on diabetes awareness, Dr. Hassan Eidah, director of the Palestinian Diabetes Institute, discussed the benefits of the insulin pump, especially for children. The pump, first created in the 1960s, was initially a cumbersome device. But scientific advances have made newer models more portable and small enough to be easily attached to a person’s body. 
 
The pump does not require surgery, is easy to use, and removes the need for daily insulin shots, according to the doctor. This simplifies life for young diabetes patients and their parents, who no longer need to give their children life-saving insulin shots around the clock. 
 
Dr. Hassan explained that the pump monitors a patient’s glucose level, providing a shot of insulin as needed. Initial research indicates that the pump lowers the risk of children slipping into a diabetic coma.

The pump has already been used in countries throughout the world, including the United States, Germany and within Israeli boundaries, where the device is covered by health insurance. 

Dr. Eidah hopes that the Ministry of Health and the Palestinian Authority will help his organization provide the pump, or expenses for its use in Palestinian children with diabetes — at the very least for some of the more urgent and difficult cases. Sbeih also hopes that the Ministry of Health would get involved, discussing the pump with all young diabetes patients in Palestine and offering them a chance for a more normal life.
 
Dr. Eidah appealed to the Ministry of Health to give the pump to young patients and talk with them about preventing diabetic symptoms. He also asked health centers and diabetes institutions to cooperate with the Palestinian Institute for the Management of Diabetes in order to exchange experiences and identify other helpful innovations. This would help control symptoms, educate the public, and assist with early diagnosis of the disease.

According to Tema’s mother, Rana Gibran, the pump means she does not need to constantly monitor insulin levels and give her child four injections of insulin a day, sometimes more. She said installation was not a problem, and that the health benefits and management of the disease have reduced any diabetic side effects, offering her daughter the chance for a normal life.

Gibran said she hopes that the Ministry of Health will eventually offer the insulin pump and information about it to all Palestinian children living with diabetes.