Life Goes On-Part 1

Kelsey soon became comfortable with her routine at school. She left her last class before lunch 5 minutes early in order to stop at the nurse to take her blood sugar and get her insulin. Her teacher allowed her to pick a friend to accompany her. This of course made her very popular. Who wouldn’t want to get out of class 5 minutes early? I was amazed at how accepting her friends were and how easily Kelsey seemed to accept this enormous change in her life. She had very few low blood sugars during school which was a relief to me. However , we did have trouble on certain days calculating some of her carbohydrates and as a result her sugars would run high.For example, if it were someone’s birthday she would have a cupcake or if it were pizza day in the cafeteria she would buy instead of pack lunch that day. We would estimate the carbs to our best ability but we never got it quite right.On these days she would come home with a blood sugar that was often in the range of the high 200 or 300’s. It became easier to pack Kelsey’s lunch each day. This way I could read each food label and count the carbs more precisely. The school nurses and I often talked about how much easier it would be if the school lunch calender had the carb counts listed after each food selection. This would be especially helpful to the nurses who spend extra time each day getting out the carb counting book and calculating the school lunches. At the same time they are giving out lunch time meds, taking care of sick kids, and doing vision and hearing screenings, So under the direction of the nurses, the parents of the diabetic children wrote the Director of Food services and asked for this change in order to better care for our children. To our surprise, they approved it and the new calenders were out the next month. I felt victorious. I know it seems like a minor victory but it made me realize that I had the power to make things better for Kelsey. I could hear Renee’s voice telling me that we had to be an advocate for our child. This small change made or lives easier and Kelsey healthier.
I would find that each week would bring about a new challenge. Things that were once routine for Kelsey now took some thought . When she was unpacking her book bag one night she handed me a birthday invitation that she received from a girls in class. She was very excited about going because it was a Halloween party and everyone was dressing up. She was explaining in detail how she wanted her costume to look and all I could think about was who was going to watch her,would she be able to eat cake,would they have diet soda for her,would I have to stay and give her her shot? Things were finally running smoothly and someone had to go and throw a monkey wrench in it by handing out a birthday invitation. This was the first time that she would be without a knowledgeable adult and responsible for making her own decisions. At school she had the nurse and teacher to rely on. Here it was just a parent who would be very preoccupied with her daughter’s birthday party. Now , don’t get me wrong. I don’t think that everyone is a complete idiot and not capable of handling Kelsey’s situation. It’s just that too many people are uninformed. I know. I was one of those people. I can’t tell you how many people-upon hearing that Kelsey is diabetic will say ”Oh I know what your going through,my grand mother was diabetic. When I proceed to tell her that Kesley is Type 1 and not Type 2 like her grandmother probably was -I get that confused look. Most people still think that as long as they eat sugar free things they will be ok.
I was tempted to tell Kelsey she couldn’t go to the party but I knew it would be a mistake. Michael and I made a promise to ourselves-and Kesley that we wouldn’t let this disease stop from from doing anything . I just didn’t think I’d have to face it so soon.
The next day I call the mother of the birthday girl and explained Kelsey’s situation as being a newly diagnosed diabetic.I asked her all the important food and drink questions as well as informed her of the ever important blue book bag that was filled with all of Kelsey‘s necessary supplies. I gave her my cell number and asked to to call if she had any questions. . I was preparing for this woman to think I was neurotic,overprotective mother when she actually put mind at rest. She told me that her husband was a nurse (Hallelujah!) and that she too had a child with medical needs so she knew exactly where I was coming from. Her youngest had severe asthma and food allergies. We talked for quite awhile sharing our experiences and bonding instantly. I hung up with her feeling relieved and assured.When we dropped Kesley off at the party we made sure she knew where her supply bag was,talked briefly with the parents,and headed to a nearby restaurant to wait until the party was over.Michael and I sat at the table trying to to talk about other things and enjoy our dinner,but this was difficult when we both kept checking our cell phones every 3 minutes-to see if we missed a call. We knew she was ok but we didn’t seem to exhale until we picked her up and saw the huge smile on her face.
Each season brought it’s new set of challenges for Kelsey. For Halloween she went trick-or-treating/ She was allowed to keep a few pierces of candy but then we “bought’ the rest from her. Our diabetic educator suggested this and it worked out well. Our local hospital also offers a night where the children can trade their candy for all kinds of cool prizes such as movie tickets or toys.
During the summer she and her friends spent hours in the pool. All of this activity brought her sugar down so low so she spent most of her time on the side of the pool trying to recover. We soon learned to give her a snack before swimming . This would elevate her blood sugar and help avoid the lows. It was also difficult for Kelsey not to snack in the summer. We tried to appease her with carb free string cheese and pepperoni, but it was difficult when her friends were all snacking on chips and cookies.
Weekends brought about sleepovers. Kelsey is fortunate to live in a neighborhood filled with many girls her age. Each weekend they discuss which parent they want to talk into a sleepover. I knew it wouldn‘t be long until she‘s be invited to a sleep over in the neighborhood. Luckily, I knew all of the neighborhood moms well and they were well informed about Kelsey‘s diabetes routine. I would visit Kelsey at about 10:00pm to give her her Lantus -which is a long lasting insulin given at night and helps keep her blood sugars steady and last for a period of 24 hours.Then she would call me with blood sugar checks before she went to bed and when she woke in the morning. We quickly got into this routine but not with out a couple of late night phone calls to the house because Kelsey forgot to call me. This was one of the reasons we got Kelsey a cell phone at such a young age. It was much easier to keep in touch with Kelsey when she wasn’t at home. One time at one of Kelsey’s checkups the nurse asked her if thee was anything positive about her diabetes . She said yes-getting a cell phone .