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Danville resident Jonathan Rigby, an Ironman triathlete and lifelong diabetic, has been raising funds to provide a 6-year-old Fremont girl with a tubeless, wireless insulin pump that will allow her to live an active life.

On Monday afternoon, the 44-year-old met Kylie Cole, the girl who will receive his donation, said a spokeswoman for Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland, where Kylie receives treatment.

Kylie, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes a year ago, was denied coverage by her insurer for a waterproof, wireless, tubeless insulin pump that would let her avoid multiple daily insulin injections, hospital spokeswoman Erin Goldsmith said.

"I've always been a charitable person, but when you give to charity it's kind of a faceless donation," Rigby said. "Doing it this way, it's nice to see the money…go to the hand of the person."

Rigby raised $12,000 through worldwide corporate and personal sponsorships during his eleventh Ironman Triathlon. The donation will pay for the pump, called the OmniPod, and a year's worth of medication.

"The Ironman triathlon is a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike, then a 26.2 mile marathon. Doing that as a normal person is a challenge, but doing it with diabetes is extraordinarily difficult," Rigby said.

Rigby added that be believes insulin pumps are the best way to treat diabetes. The OmniPod allows a patient to be more active as a small pump attaches to the outside of the body and is used in place of traditional injections.

"If she didn't have the pump, she would have had to get multiple insulin shots throughout the day," Goldsmith said. "With the pump, it's hooked up all the time. It's wireless. She doesn't have to take it off when she goes swimming, it's waterproof."

Rigby plans to raise money for diabetic children and teenagers next year and said meeting Kylie was fantastic.

"I know her family; her aunts and sisters and grandparents were there and they were extremely gratefully," he said. "She's a beautiful little girl and it's a really heartwarming feeling to see that you're helping somebody."

Bay City News Service contributed to this article

— Bay City News Service

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