Holly was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at six years of age, but it wasn’t until she was 28 that she had her first ever full night of sleep. This was thanks to her Automated Insulin Delivery (AID) system.  

AID systems combine insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors, automating insulin delivery and improving quality of life. Before having an AID system, Holly had a manual pump and a CGM.  

“You have all the information with the CGM… you can see what’s happening minute to minute. But then I had to make all the treatment decisions,” says Holly.  

She found the heavy burden of constant decision-making overwhelming. It led to extreme levels of diabetes distress.   

Fortunately today, life looks a lot different for Holly.  

“My life is so much easier on an automated instant delivery system… when you transition to a system like this and you’re no longer making these decisions, you have capacity to think about the other things in your life that aren’t diabetes. And so it’s honestly life changing.” 

Holly feels extremely fortunate to be able to access her AID system through her private health insurance, and strongly believes the current disparity in affordable access to diabetes technology needs to be addressed. 

Watch Holly’s story: