Brianna: Raising thousands for CGM funding for children
Teenager Brianna Veale turned her frustration with uninformed comments about her type 1 diabetes into action, awareness and money.
Brianna Veale raised over $8000 for Wellington Youth Diabetes.
“I want people to know that type one and type two diabetes are totally different. I got sick of people asking me if I got diabetes because I ate too much sugar,” Brianna said.
The 14-year-old raised nearly $3000 for Diabetes Youth Wellington, selling more than 120 tickets to a pool party at the Upper Hutt Aquatic Centre in April 2021.
Her efforts were bolstered by donations from local businesses and the Silverstream Lions club which agreed to match ticket sales.
The Upper Hutt Cossie Club also presented Brianna with a cheque for $5288.44 after it approved a grant to Diabetes Youth Wellington.
“It was so good, I cried a lot,” she said
Brianna was eager to support the charity after attending their camps alongside other young people with type 1 diabetes.
The grant will give the 54 children and teens attending next year’s camp a Freestyle Libre sensor to wear for the duration of the camp.
The device allows users to measure blood sugar levels by scanning the sensor with a phone or reader instead of pricking their fingers and bleeding onto a test strip.
A continuous glucose monitor lets users test their blood sugar with a scanner or phone.
The technology is currently not funded in New Zealand. Brianna’s sensor costs her parents nearly $200 a month.
“I would love to see it funded, I never used to test at school because I just wanted to eat with my friends, but now I just whip my phone out give it a scan, and it’s done,” she said.
Minister of Health Chris Hipkins attended the pool party to present prizes for raffle and quiz winners.
“I was really impressed. I think it’s a really important cause and Brianna deserves a huge amount of credit for her accomplishment,” Hipkins said.
In November 2019, Diabetes New Zealand presented a petition with close to 28,000 signatures in support of funding continuous glucose monitors.
Hipkins said he was aware of the issue, but it was Pharmac’s decision whether to fund the devices.
Brianna Veale was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 10 years old.
Type 1 diabetes is an incurable condition where the pancreas does not produce insulin, the hormone that regulates glucose in the bloodstream. The condition’s causes were usually genetic or auto-immune related.
Brianna was diagnosed when she was 10 years old. Since then, she has had to administer insulin, either in the form of injections or, more recently, with a computer controlled insulin pump.
A person with type 1 diabetes could test their blood glucose levels more than eight times a day and require more than four injections a day depending on their diet and activity.
“Sometimes people get scared when you inject. . I’ve had people say they would rather die than inject themselves every day. It’s pretty out there,” Brianna said.