Help a Diabetic Child is a Naples non-profit focused on helping families facing diabetes.
Insulin pumps cost roughly $50 and need to be replaced about every 3 days. The insulin that goes inside them is thousands of dollars, every few months.
Katie Perez is Rosie's mother. Her daughter has type 1 diabetes.
"We could tell that something was really, really not right," she said.
After rushing her daughter to the hospital and learning of her diagnosis, the Perez family saw how most families are just scraping by to afford insulin.
"We don't have any history on either side for type one diabetes, so we had no idea what was happening or what it meant," Perez said.
The cost could be crippling and the hope for $35 cost caps have been making headlines since 2021.
"It's about $3600 for every three months," she said.
Tami Balavage co-founded Help a Diabetic Child, the organization now helping Rosie.
"24 hours a day, it's like non stop that you have to take care of your type 1," she said.
The non-profit just received a $25,000 grant from the Collier Community Foundation.
"Not only do they just help as far as cost with medical supplies, they also help emotionally," Perez said.
It offers her connection among families going through the same thing, provides training on how to use needles, and very importantly, helps offset financial burden.
