Inventive Fashions For Children With Diabetes

I had the chance to sit next to someone during my recent appearance at the  Cohoes Rotary last week.  We got to talking, and I asked what her occupation was.  The answer she gave made me want to whip out my laptop and start blogging right then and there!

Her name is Julie Defruscio.  10 years ago her daughter Nikki, then only age 2, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.  That had to be very tough news for parents to absorb.  They were faced with the reality that she would have to wear an insulin pump.  Not content to take things "lying down", Julie and a friend decided to try to come up with trendy  stylish ways to carry this equipment around and still feel good about themselves.

Their idea morphed into a business venture:  Pump Wear, Inc., and has become extremely popular.  Here are just a few of the items from the website.

Now you might be saying to yourself, "This is a great idea, but how many kids actually have this condition?  Can't be THAT many!"  Well, time to hit the "wrong" buzzer.  Check this out.  Julie created a "Wall Of Change" on the website, where kids are encouraged to spell out their age in coins and take a photo of themselves.    As you can see, there are quite a few.

And here is another clue of how prevalent childhood diabetes is.  The website has over 800 products on it! Not only is there an online store, but there are instructional videos on there, consultation services and more.  This has to be quite a comfort for other parents faced with this situation and nowhere else to turn.  Their story was actually covered in the Wall Street Journal!

Kudos to these folks for this innovative service that they are providing.   Hopefully by using the power of WGNA and our Facebook page to spread the word about Pump Wear, others might know about it in case there is a need.    For more information, you can check out the website, of course, or contact them here: