Gadget giving Ellie new lease of life

An innovative new device means Cannock schoolgirl Ellie Dixon, who suffers from diabetes, can now hop on her bike whenever she feels like it.

Ellie, aged 10, of Wood Lane, Wedges Mills, used to have to inject herself with insulin four times a day. Her condition meant cycling, dancing or swimming with her friends – or even tucking into her favourite chocolate cake at birthday parties – could have caused a potentially lethal fluctuation in her blood sugar levels.

But now, thanks to a special pump that measures out a steady flow of insulin, Ellie, who developed diabetes when she was just five, can join in with all of her friends' games and enjoy the same chocolate treats.

Ellie carries the pump, which is the size of a pager, on her waistband, and it delivers the insulin through a tiny tube into her tummy.

Karen Whitehead, paediatric diabetes specialist nurse for Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, said: "The big advantage is that, instead of having to have four insulin injections a day, adjusted depending on what someone is going to eat that day, the pumps will deliver small amounts of insulin every hour to keep stable blood sugar levels."

The Trust cares for a total of 116 young patients with diabetes, of which five are currently using insulin pumps.

The pumps are not suitable for all diabetics.

Ellie, a pupil at Havergal Primary School in Shareshill, said: "It's much easier now I have an insulin pump. I don't have to inject myself every day and if I want chocolate cake or ice cream at a party I can."

Ellie's mum Nicky Price said: "We'd never had diabetes in the family but Ellie developed it and it was my worst nightmare. Ellie's got a much better standard of life thanks to the insulin pump. For the first time in ages we were able to go abroad last year."