I recently read on Facebook of a Go Fund Me campaign by a guy who needed to raise money for a month’s worth of insulin. (It has since been deleted from Go Fund Me.) Then, a little farther down in the comments, it was noted that it was too late and he had died because he did not have the insulin he needed. Why? Because he couldn’t afford it. A man died because the cost of insulin is so high- inappropriately high- and he didn’t have the means to get it. Dr. Banting is probably rolling over in his grave right now.

This prompted me to calculate what it costs our family to keep Luke alive each month. Keeping in mind we are fortunate to have an insulin pump, which is a T1 luxury for some. We also have the option of using a Dexcom. Both the pump and the cgm are not necessities, I understand. But we are willing to pay whatever it takes to make Luke’s life as normal as possible while living with Type 1.

When Luke is on his (what seems like forever) Dex break, we spend just over a thousand dollars each month on his supplies. This total does not include the $760 we spend each year on emergency glucagon kits and the almost $6000 every four years on a new pump.

If he would ever decide to go back to using his Dexcom cgm, we’d add about $120 a month plus the quarter-yearly upkeep with the transmitter. (I failed to note that the Dexcom receiver is a once every several years purchase and the transmitters are purchased every three months.)

While I am grateful- SO grateful- that we can not only afford Luke’s insulin each month, but the luxury of pump supplies and even a cgm if we choose, it’s not right that there are people who cannot. Insulin itself is not a luxury. It is life sustaining. If you want to stand up for affordable insulin, please sign the petition linked in the graphic below.

By signing the petition, hopefully we will someday have access to insulin that anyone can afford.