Three year old Olivia Hamilton from Gloucester has diabetes. Her blood sugar levels needs constantly monitoring. Too low and she needs to be given fast acting sugar. Too high and she needs insulin. Without treatment, she could fall into a diabetic coma, have a fit or long term damage could be caused to her body.
Jodie Steed testing her daughter Olivia’s blood sugar levels Credit: ITV West
It’s just emotionally and mentally tiring having to think constantly, have we done this do we need to check this? Can she eat this? Can we go for a walk? Is she going to be ok? The nights are the worst because if you are so tired from doing so many checks the night before, you sleep heavier and you are worried you won’t wake up.
– JODIE STEED, OLIVIA’S MOTHER
Which is why Olivia’s parents decided to buy and a puppy and train it to detect changes in the little girl’s blood sugar levels. At just 15 weeks old, Bonnie’s already proving a life saver.
Bonnie is only 15 weeks old but has picked up the skills she needs to save her young owner Credit: ITV West
She’s done it about eight times now. On no occasion have we realised that Olivia was low or about to be low. Olivia is so young she has no awareness that she’s hypo and she doesn’t always show signs. In the background, Bonnie’s going nuts and she doesn’t calm down until we treat the hypo with fast acting sugar. It’s a miracle, can’t really ask for any more”
– JODIE STEED, OLIVIA’S MOTHER
Broxton, Rebecca. “The dog that is proving a lifesaver to a little girl with diabetes”. ITV. 17 May 2012. Web.
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