Singer, 10 at Albert Hall thanks to hi-tech patch for diabetes
SINGING a solo on stage under the spotlights, Keira Oliver looks like a star in the making.
But the ten-year-old is able to perform only thanks to a revolutionary skin patch on her arm which constantly monitors her blood sugar levels.
The patch – a sensor the size of a £2 coin – means Keira can take part in twohour performances without worrying about falling ill from type 1 diabetes.
She has even wowed audiences at the Royal Albert Hall. In the autoimmune condition, which the Prime Minister Theresa May also has, the pancreas stops producing insulin, meaning glucose in the blood cannot be turned into energy.
Sufferers monitor their levels and adjust their insulin intake.
Keira normally has to prick her finger up to 15 times a day to check her blood sugar levels but is terrified of needles.
With the FreeStyle Libre patch, she can find out her levels by simply scanning the sensor using a smartphone-sized device.
The technology has allowed her to perform in her first fulllength production on a London stage without having to be taken off for treatment.
Her mother Sharon, 42, said the patch is helping Keira fulfil her dream of becoming a stage star. ‘She just loves to perform,’ she said. ‘But before she had the patch I had to sit in the wings and keep dragging her off to do finger-prick tests.’
Keira, from Ashford, Kent, was
‘Hidden in her costume’
ecstatic to be picked for a solo at her stage school Theatretrain’s How To Make A Hero! show at the Royal Albert Hall in September.
Her mother said: ‘She had the scanner hidden in a pocket of her costume and she was able to quickly and discreetly scan.’
Keira calls the device her ‘Bleepy’ after the sound it makes and said it is ‘really cool’. She added: ‘It would be really hard to go on stage without it. I want to be a singer and it would be amazing if I was a big star like Adele but I don’t mind if I’m not because I just love singing.’
Each patch lasts two weeks and costs £48. It is not available on the NHS but manufacturer Abbott has applied for it to be listed on the England and Wales drug tariff which would mean it could be prescribed by GPs and specialists free of charge.
The Department of Health said it needed to be assessed first.