Meet Renata Souza Luque, the Mexican designer who created Thomy to help children with diabetes

    We introduce you to Renata Souza, a committed Mexican who designed a prototype to help the health of children with diabetes. About a year ago, my cousin's son (Thomas), who was 6 years old, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. At that time I was in university, and I was asked to design a toy for children. Seeing the situation Thomas was in, I decided I wanted to design something for children with diabetes. From one day to the next, Thomas had to start injecting himself about 3 times a day, adding and subtracting to control his glucose, and as if that wasn't enough, stop eating a lot of sugar. Determined to find a solution to the challenge her family was facing, this designer created a toy called Thomy, especially for children with the same condition as her nephew. Thinking of Thomas, Renata wanted to find something fun so that children like her nephew would not feel different from their peers and friends, all while promoting the desire to take care of themselves since their condition is lifelong. To achieve this, she designed a series of body tattoos and an injection system so that children can learn to inject themselves. It is an ingenious design, as besides being interactive and attractive to children, the tattoo system promotes hygiene. Through an alcohol wipe, the area where the injection of the day goes is erased (and disinfected) from the tattoo. Thanks to her talent, this project became a success that left her with many lessons: knowing that the best way to learn is by making mistakes. Her recommendation for young designers is not to give up at the first mistake or failure of their projects. “If your project never fails, it will never reach the level of a project/product that failed more than 10 times and was fixed; the one that fails and you fix it only proves that you are much more experienced and researched.” For her, thinking less about the future is essential to overcome stress and not give up, since by solving things little by little continuously, there comes a moment when a great achievement becomes a reality. [gallery link=file ids=26472,26470,26469,26468,26467,26466,26465,26462,26463,26464,26460,26459,26458,26456,26455,26454,26450] ...it took me a lot of time and dedication, but I think the hardest part was making the prototype of the pen functional. I printed it in 3D, but I had to print it about 15 times using various types of 3D printers, modifying the tolerance for the mechanism to work. This kit is currently a prototype. Renata is fighting to bring this innovative project to market to help more children with diabetes. Congratulations, Renata!   Take care of your family with these delicious recipes:   Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms Adobado Mixiote Banana Chia Hot Cakes