New phone app that monitors blood sugar a game-changer for people with diabetes
Dealing with a child's diabetes diagnosis is challenging for parents even if you're a pediatric nurse like Melissa Bordage.
Advancements in technology make management much easier and gives parents like Melissa more peace of mind.
Whether he's playing piano, practising karate, or building Lego, nine-year-old Ethan Bordage keeps his cellphone close by.
On it, he can check his glucose levels in real time through the Dexcom G6 management system for diabetes.
"It's a sensor that runs off of a Bluetooth, so there's a little cannula that it goes into the interstitial fluid, and it monitors glucose levels – and it's updated every five minutes," Melissa Bordage said.
It's life-changing technology for the Bordage family.
Ethan lives with Type 1 diabetes.
Melissa says before this, they did finger-pricks between 10 to 12 times a day -- but not anymore.
"I don't have to take finger pokes and I can just look at my phone," said Ethan Bordage.
Melissa Bordage says that means no more waking Ethan up through the night.
"We were waking him up through the night probably twice a night too, just to make sure he wasn't in that low, life-threatening range," she said.
November is Diabetes Awareness Month and this year is special in that it marks the 100th anniversary of the life-saving discovery of insulin.
Further advancements, like the continuous glucose monitoring system, can help to make management easier and give greater peace of mind.
Melissa wants others to know there's hope and help.
"It is lifelong, yes there is insulin there's no cure, but having these amazing innovative technologies, like Dexcom G6 is life-changing for us," she said.
It also gives Ethan more freedom to just be a kid.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Louis Gossett Jr., 1st Black man to win supporting actor Oscar, dies at 87
Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries 'Roots,' has died. He was 87.
Weather alerts issued for 7 provinces, 1 territory
Warnings of up to 60 millimetres of rain and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces and one territory ahead of the Easter weekend.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Luxury cruise line selling world cruise suite for US$1.7 million
Luxury operator Regent Seven Seas Cruises is raising their price tag to eye-watering levels, with a suite on an upcoming 140-day world voyage costing US$1.7 million.
Why Kim Kardashian is being sued for 'knockoff' furniture
The estate of minimalist contemporary artist Donald Judd filed a lawsuit against Kardashian this week, claiming the fashion and beauty mogul promoted 'cheap knockoffs' of his furniture designs.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
A Filipino villager is nailed to a cross for the 35th time on Good Friday to pray for world peace
A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea.
Ontario homeowner on the hook for $27,000 when contractor severed power line
An Ontario man who built a garage on his property has been locked in a battle with his electricity provider for a year and half over a severed power line.
King Charles will attend Easter Sunday service at Windsor
Buckingham Palace officials say King Charles III and Queen Camilla will attend an Easter service at the chapel at Windsor Castle on Sunday.