Birthday wish granted
Julie Mourao’s birthday wish came true.
The Vancouver girl celebrated her 11th birthday today while wearing a new accessory: an insulin pump.
Julie Mourao and her new insulin pump.
Julie was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes three years ago. The disease requires Julie to prick her finger to check her blood-sugar levels and give herself insulin injections several times each day.
For her 11th birthday, the only thing Julie asked for was an insulin pump.
“I think it’ll make diabetes a little smaller part of my life,” Julie said last month.
Julie’s mom, Irina Razumovsky, had planned to use her credit card to cover the out-of-pocket cost of the insulin pump. Even with employer-provided health insurance, the pump was going to cost the family about $2,000.
A coworker encouraged Razumovsky to raise the money through the crowdfunding site GoFundMe, and to share her story through social media.
In less than two weeks, the Vancouver family received $2,300 in donations.
And on Monday – one day before her 11th birthday – Julie received her new insulin pump.
“Just in time to show it off for her birthday tomorrow,” Razumovsky said.
Marissa Harshman
I'm the health reporter for The Columbian newspaper in Vancouver, Wash. I started at The Columbian -- my hometown newspaper -- in September 2009. Reach me at marissa.harshman@columbian.com or 360-735-4546.