THE STORY OF ONE FAMILY'S JOURNEY WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES AND CELIAC DISEASE.
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Wednesday, August 11, 2010

School School Everywhere!

Sugar's school days have gotten off to a great start this year!  But I won't mention that....because I don't want to jinx it....so....forget I mentioned anything.   It's just that, sometimes, screaming from a mountain top is the only way to express what the victory it feels like.

Anyway, a few minutes ago I was thinking about some of the little things that have made sending T1 to school so unpredictable....and here I am to chat it up with my pals (read: that would be YOU guys, my readers)....

1)     Sugar was pretty young (4) when she had to put the big D in her backpack for the first time.  At that point it was hard for her to open fruit cups -- you know...the ones with the tight plastic covering the little plastic bowl?  Yeah.  She had alot of trouble with those.  And FORGET about the little cans.  NO WAY!  It was practically a suicide attempt (but no need for a finger poke) when I handed her one of those.   I know there's (awesome) staff available to help, but Sugar gets pre-bolused.  She needs to sit down and eat.  Period.  She can't spend the first quarter of her lunch with her hand in the air, waiting for someone to open the fruit for her.

2)     If she DID manage to open said fruit cup, it was always a mess.  How many carbs would end up on the floor?  It would be like a Fruit Flying Party -- oranges here, pears there, pineapple in the hair!!!  And the juice???  Is licking one's arms in an effort to prevent further carb loss considered appropriate behavior in the cafeteria?

3)     I mentioned that Sugar gets pre-bolused.  Ehum.  Do YOU know exactly how hungry your child is going to be at lunchtime everyday?  Yeah...neither do I.  I wake up in the morning summoning the psychic powers-that-be to pack her lunch for me.  Everyday I hope I've packed enough to keep her from starving, but not so much that she can't finish it all.  If I had to do this for all three, I'd be confined to a small area without access to sharp objects (like canned fruit) by now.

4)     She wants to ride her bike to school.  She's been asking for 2 years to ride her bike to school  I WANT to let her ride her bike to school.  But....I'm not ready to think about that.  Physical exertion (like bike riding) on the way to school requires some sort of monitoring on the other end.....but I can't be there to hover.  Let's just say that, so far, she hasn't ridden her bike to school  That'll be changing soon, I'm sure.  Pray for us.

5)     Oh look!  It's a birthday party.  Joy.  It's only Day 3 here, and the class has already had a birthday party.  In fact, that birthday celebration was on the FIRST day of school.  Hip.  Hip.  Hooray.  Let me just peek my eyeball through the phone to size up what I'm going to guess for a carb count.  Oh, yeah.  She can't have the same cupcake as everyone else because of gluten.....even better.

6)     School bus?  WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WANT TO RIDE THE SCHOOL BUS?  To be fair, she can't ride a bus now, because we live too close to the school (enter: desire to ride bike).  But BEFORE her new school was completed, she wanted to ride the bus.  Except that she was on the first pick up.  Meaning it would take FORTY FIVE minutes to complete the bus route....FORTY FIVE!!!!!  As if worrying about who would tend to her on the bus wasn't enough!  The fact that I'd have to get her up, dressed, fed and to the bus stop FORTY FIVE minutes before school starts, after working until midnight AND checking her blood sugar twice between the end of my shift and the alarm AND (not to mention) the needs of her 2 younger sisters (who were both nursing - yes, I tandem nursed an infant and a toddler for a full year.  Take a breath...I know it sounds crazy, but I survived, so I'm sure you'll make it to the end this paragraph!!!!)

Yeah.  Not happening.  No bus for you.

Well, anyway, these are just some random things that popped into my brain a few minutes ago.  Yup.  POP!  Just like that they were there -- all swirling around, mixed together with a review of the numbers from the past 24 hours and contemplating another day with her current site.

You see, a few minutes ago, I watched my 4 year old child rip the foil off the top of an applesauce cup....and half the cup splashed all over the floor (Ivy's lucky day!).  Then I stood there wondering how many carbs had fallen everywhere followed by a slight panic attack while I tried to decide how I was going to fix the situation.

And then I remembered that Tiara doesn't have diabetes.

By the way, if you're wondering how I problem solved some of that stuff, stay tuned.  I'll blog it next -- but I have to go get dinner in the oven right now.

See ya later, my friends :)  Thanks for stopping by my new pad!

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5 comments:

  1. I won't look at a fruit cup the same way again, Wendy! Wonderfully written entry. All my best to you for this school year!!!

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  2. Sometimes you've just got to yell it from the mountain top! :) Enjoy the moments!

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  3. Oh the joys I have to look forward too...I'm now remembering why we decided to send Audrey to preschool. So I didn't freak out so bad about next year when she starts kindergarten. Your humor makes me smile. I'm glad school is going well for you! I pray it continues. :)

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  4. New site looks great! Glad to hear school is getting off to a good start!

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  5. It does seem like those fruit cups are child-proof. Who, but children, eat them anyway?

    Love the post!

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P.S. (Moderation has been enabled due to mega-spamming sugar cubes.)

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While I'm happy to share our experiences with what works, and what doesn't work, for the management of Type 1 Diabetes and Celiac Disease in our house, please do not mistake anything you read here for medical advice. Decisions regarding your/your child's health care should be made only with the assistance of your medical care team. Use any information from this blog at your own risk.