Insulin Pumps | Inzulinske pumpe — Sanela Diana Jenkins Foundation for Bosnia and Herzegovina

Pediatric Department, University of Sarajevo Clinical Center
Diabetes can be managed better with pumps which dispense measured amount of insulin. Eldina Mesic was able to control her diabetes throughout a successful pregnancy using the digital device.

Klinika za pedijatriju, Klinički centar Univerziteta u Sarajevu (KCUS)
Dijabetes se može bolje kontrolirati pomoću pumpica koje ispuštaju određene doze inzulina. Pomoću digitalnog aparata Eldina Mešić je mogla kontrolirati dijabetes u toku cijele svoje trudnoće.

In 1992, during the siege of Sarajevo, 3-year-old Eldina Mesic survived the force of a bomb blast that threw her off the ground. Four years later, she survived a car accident and, if that weren’t enough for any young girl, she was diagnosed with diabetes. At that time, the diabetes couldn’t be controlled in the seven year old.

Eldina would hide in bathrooms at her elementary school to give herself a dose of insulin with a needle. Ashamed of her illness, she was even shunned by her friends.

Fast forward another five years after her dismal prognosis, and Eldina was given the most contemporary method for diabetes control in the Pediatric department at the University of Sarajevo Clinical Center—the Insulin Pump.

Eldina, who had been a long-term patient at the Clinic, received one of four pumps in 2005, donated by the Sanela Diana Jenkins Foundation for Bosnia and Herzegovina after Dr. Senka Mesihović-Dinarević traveled to Slovenia and saw the benefits of the pump.

“When Sanela Diana Jenkins visited our clinic she asked what we needed. She was kind enough to consider the donation to purchase the pumps, as this is very important to us. I am very grateful and the whole clinic is very thankful,” Dr. Dinarević says.

Now the pumps are available to hundreds of kids, but Eldina was the first patient in Sarajevo.

“I remember asking a doctor if I was going to die. I knew I had to watch my diet, but I was a bit careless because I was young,” Eldina said.

The pump can be placed on different parts of the body. At mealtime, the patient dispenses the proper amount of insulin digitally, as ordered by the doctor. After three days, the patient changes the placement of the pump on the body.

“At first I was afraid, and I didn’t know if I’d be able to wear my skirts. Soon, I realized that this was for my own good and if people didn’t want to accept me for who I was, I was fine with that.” Eldina says.

Eldina’s mother, Advija Mesic, said the cause of her illness was the stress and fear from the explosion and the car accident that occurred in her youth.

“But when she married and then became pregnant, the diabetes decreased tremendously,” nurse Sena Kalajdzibelihovic said.

The pump made the whole process of her pregnancy and her other everyday activities easier.

“I could eat the food I desired and I didn’t have to worry about waking up to give myself a shot of insulin,” Eldina says.

“Our fourth pump gave us a baby,” Dr. Snijezana Hasanbegovic, a Pediatric Endocrinologist specializing in diabetes says, referring to Eldina, who was their first patient to have a successful results with the pump followed by a successful pregnancy.

“We all became grandmas when she gave birth.”

Eldina, who now lives in Sarajevo with husband and Ali, her month old son, says that the pump has completely changed her life. “I’d recommend the pump to everyone who deals with diabetes. I’d tell them not to fear it, because it can really change your life.”

Article and photos by photojournalist Dijana Muminović

Za vrijeme okupacije Sarajeva 1992. godine, tada trogodišnja Eldina Mešić preživjela je eksploziju bombe koja ju je odbacila na zemlju. Četiri godine kasnije doživjela je saobraćajnu nesreću i kao da to nije bilo dovoljno za tako malu djevojčicu, dijagnoziran joj je dijabetes. U to vrijeme nije bilo moguće kontrolirati dijabetes kod sedmogodišnjaka.

Eldina bi se sakrivala u toaletu osnovne škole koju je pohađala kako bi sebi dala injekciju inzulina. Stidila se svoje bolesti, a prijatelji su je izbjegavali.

Pet godina nakon obeshrabrujuće dijagnoze, Eldini je omogućeno da kontrolira svoj dijabetes pomoću najsavremenije metode za ove svrhe u Kliničkom centru Univerziteta u Sarajevu - inzulinske pumpe.

Eldina, koja je već dugo bila pacijent ove klinike, je 2005. godine dobila jednu od četiri pumpe koje je donirala Fondacija Sanela Diana Jenkins za Bosnu i Hercegovinu, nakon što je dr. Senka Mesihović-Dinarević uvidjela prednosti ove pumpe tokom svog boravka u Sloveniji.

“Kada je Sanela Diana Jenkins došla u posjetu našoj klinici, pitala je šta bi nam bilo potrebno. Bila je velikodušna i donirala sredstva za kupovinu pumpi, budući da nam je to bilo jako važno. Vrlo sam joj zahvalna, cijela klinika joj je zahvalna,” rekla je dr. Dinarević.

Pumpe su sada dostupne stotinama djece, ali Eldina je bila prvi pacijent u Sarajevu.

“Sjećam se da sam pitala doktora da li ću umrijeti. Znala sam da moram paziti šta jedem, ali bila sam malo nedisciplinovana jer sam još uvijek bila dijete,” kaže Eldina.

Pumpa se može pričvrstiti za različite dijelove tijela. U vrijeme obroka, pacijent digitalno otpušta odgovarajuću dozu inzulina, po preporuci doktora. Nakon tri dana, pacijent treba da promijeni mjesto na tijelu gdje je pričvršćena pumpa.

“Na početku sam se bojala i nisam znala da li moći nositi suknje. Ubrzo sam shvatila da je to za moje dobro i da ako ljudi nisu spremni da me prihvate takvu kakva jesam, ja nemam problem s tim,” kaže Eldina.

Eldinina majka, Advija Mešić, kaže da je uzrok njene bolesti stres, strah od eksplozije, kao i saobraćajna nesreća koju je preživjela dok je bila dijete.

“Ali kada se udala i zatrudnila, dijabetes se u ogromnoj mjeri smanjio,” kaže sestra Sena Kalajdžibelihović.

Uz pomoć pumpe cijela njena trudnoća i svakodnevne aktivnosti bile su mnogo lakše.

“Mogla sam jesti šta želim, a da pri tom nisam morala brinuti o tome da moram da se budim da bih sebi ubrizgala injekciju inzulina,” kaže Eldina.

“Naša četvrta pumpa nam je pomogla da dobijemo i bebu,” kaže dr. Snježana Hasanbegović, pedijatar endokrinolog, specijalista za dijabetes, govoreći o Eldini, koja je bila prvi pacijent čiji su se nalazi uz pomoć pumpe poboljšali, a nakon toga uslijedila uspješna trudnoća.

“Kada se Eldina porodila, sve mi smo postale nane.”

Eldina, koja trenutno živi u Sarajevu sa suprugom Alijem i njihovim jednomjesečnim sinom, kaže da je pumpa u potpunosti promijenila njen život. “Preporučila bih je svakome ko ima dijabetes. Poručila bih im i da se ne boje, jer ova pumpa zaista mijenja život nabolje.”

Autor članaka i fotografija: Dijana Muminović