[Diabetes-Talk] Medtronic Sharing Site

[Bonnie Lucas]

Hello,

I am a VRT in Alaska and have worked with a number of diabetics over the past several years. For that reason, I have appreciated being on this list and as I read the information about Medtronic, I, like all of you am totally disgusted and annoyed that no company has managed to make a pump that can be used with total independence by a blind person. Therefore, I determined that I would also write a letter. I have sent it but I hope it would be all right for me to share it with you. I used some of the letter that Patricia had shared to the list. Of course this makes my posts terribly long! I apologize. If I have mist-stated anything, please let me know. Here it is:

Hello,

I do not have diabetes but as a professional and certified vision rehab therapist, I have worked and continue to work with many diabetics whose disease would be much better controlled if they were able to independently access and maintain a pump. Many blind people live alone and others live with partners and friends who are also blind or visually impaired. This means that these individuals need to be able to completely care for their pumps and operate them from every aspect, beginning to end! I recently was made aware of an important statistic that may help your company recognize the importance of pursuing a fully accessible pump -
one in 12 diabetics will experience vision loss. Given that diabetes continues to increase around the world, this is a significant number.
The following information may help you as you bridge this gap for so many who I know personally and continue to meet:

An accessible pump would be one that has a voice or constant speaking feature as buttons are pressed So that menu items could be selected and activated easily and safely.  In talking with technology experts they say that this would be a very simple thing to incorporate into your current devices software.  The talking feature could simply be turned on in the menu for those people who desire to use it and would not bother people who choose not to use it. This is precisely what the "voice over" feature of an iPhone does. In addition or alternatively a smart phone app that allowed the user to completely control all the functions of the pump could easily be made accessible as both the iPhone and android phones have a built-in talking feature as long as the app is coded properly  On the iPhone this is called voice over and on android it is called talkback.  A totally separate pump would not have to be developed as all of these features could be easily incorporated into the software of existing pumps and smart phone apps.
As a long-time diabetic put it, "Diabetes is still be leading cause of blindness in this country and There are thousands of people that are having to discard their pumps and return to insulin injections because of INXS ability of these devices. Oh I will never be able to get the control of my diabetes that I have now if it is necessary for me to stop using a pump and therefore my quality and length of life will be dramatically altered. Please consider the  large community of visually impaired type one diabetics in not excluding us from the wonderful new technologies and treatments for diabetes.  some of us like myself have lived for 60 or more years with diabetes and are hoping to live much longer with good health. But we need your help!"

Please keep me appraised with your efforts in this valuable undertaking so I can pass along information to those with whom I interact. I have personally witnessed the unrelenting health problems many experience and I am convinced they could potentially be less with accessible equipment. !

Looking forward to hearing that you have taken this task to heart and are making substantial progress towards creating the first truly accessible pump for diabetics to date.


Regards,
Bonnie Lucas, MS, CVRT, MSW
Braille and Technology Instructor, OIB Coordinator
Equipping Alaskans for Success
Alaska Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired
3903 Taft Drive
Anchorage, Alaska  99517
Phone: (907) 248-7770    Direct: (907) 771-4306
www.alaskabvi.org       www.facebook.com/alaskabvi


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The Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Call or visit our website to learn more about how our work transforms lives.
This message contains information that may be confidential or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, copying or distribution of any of its contents is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, kindly contact the sende







Bonnie Lucas, MS, CVRT, MSW
Braille and Technology Instructor, VISA Coordinator
Equipping Alaskans for Success
Alaska Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired
3903 Taft Drive
Anchorage, Alaska  99517
Phone: (907) 248-7770    Direct: (907) 771-4306
www.alaskabvi.org       www.facebook.com/alaskabvi


[cid:image001.jpg at 01D38583.D76D9790]


The Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Call or visit our website to learn more about how our work transforms lives.
This message contains information that may be confidential or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, copying or distribution of any of its contents is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, kindly contact the sende

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