N.S. family thrilled with funds for insulin pumps

A New Glasgow family was overjoyed to hear that the Nova Scotia government plans to start funding insulin pumps and supplies for children with diabetes.

Dayle Crouse and a friend started an online petition which quickly garnered more than 5,800 signatures. Crouses 10-year-old daughter Madison Moulton was diagnosed withType 1diabetes when she was just 14-months-old.

"Its like seeing a rainbow in the sky," said Moulton when she heard the government had included insulin pumps in the budget. "Its like a pot of gold sitting right in front of me. Its just indescribable."

Moulton prefers the pump because it allows more flexibility in what she eats. Unlike a needle, she can change the amount of insulin at the touch of a button. Its also a lot less painful, she said.

The NDP announced in the budget it will cover the cost of insulin pumps and supplies for children 18 and younger. It will provide the supplies for people between the ages of 19 and 25. After that, people are on their own.

Moultons stepfather, Joe DeCoste, hopes that will be the next change.

"Its something that maybe the insurance companies may have to look at and say What can we do to provide for people that are older? One step at a time though," he said.

The family said an insulin pump costs approximately $7,500, and supplies can run around $1,000 a month.

According to the Canadian Diabetes Association, up until now, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island were the only provinces that did not provide any funding for insulin pumps.