Thanksgiving - Ten Ways to Get Someone to Stop Talking About Type 1 Diabetes

I love Charlie Brown!

 

With the Thanksgiving holidays upon us, I figured it was time to get to the good stuff... no, not the stuff (ing), the good stuff as in 'the stuff that makes people stop talking about type 1 diabetes'. 

I write this because I clearly remember those early years when our well-meaning friends and family inadvertently said things that made us cringe and I had no way to defend myself or my children.  Yes, sometimes words really do hurt!

Through the years, we have come across several different categories of comments.

Like what we affectionately call the Food Police:

"Whoa!  Are you sure she can eat that pie?  It has sugar in it.  Here, have another scoop of cranberries instead."

"Did you say your daughter had dia-beat-us?  Well, my cousin's, sister's uncle had that back in the 80's and he lost his eye-sight, his legs, and even his cat.  In fact, I think it happened on Thanksgiving.  Probably because he ate too much." 

Or maybe it is the person at the table who suddenly realizes that you are dosing insulin:

"Is that the bad kind of diabetes?"

"When will she be regulated?"

Or maybe it is a fan of 'The Doctors':

"At least it is not (insert some terrible other thing)!  I just saw this (insert some terrible thing) on The Doctors and they said that (insert some terrible thing) will happen unless you eat only natural, organic and non-gmo food.  I think you should start doing that."

"Did you know about the Cinnamon cure?  Just eat a half-gallon everyday for the rest of your life and you won't have diabetes!"

Um.  OK.  But you eat a spoonful of cinnamon first.  :)

So to help all of our readers of Naturally Sweet Sisters during Thanksgiving and actually, any other time of the year, we have put together a top ten list of things to say and to do, in order to help people stop talking about type 1 diabetes.

 

Top Ten Ways to Get Someone to Stop Talking About Type 1 Diabetes

 

1.)  Divert attention back to the person.  "Gee, enough about us, is that a new sweater that you are wearing?" -Or- "You look fabulous!  Have you done something different?"

 

2.)  Divert attention to the Thanksgiving table.  "Oh my goodness!  Look, Grandma made her famous fruit cake!  Does anyone know what the recipe is because I would love to hear it!"

 

3.)  If there is a baby at the table, consider offering to hold, change or feed it.  No one messes with someone holding a baby!

 

4.)  If you have a little cousin.  Offer cash in exchange for making a scene.  Now, technically, this might be bribery, but I consider it a college gift!  Just be sure to set up a cue word that can not be mistaken.  It would be terrible to accidently set this off during Grandpa's recital of Grace.

 

5.)  Keep your mouth full.  It is impossible to answer questions when you are minding your manners.  Sea-food is just not acceptable!

 

6.)  Spill something.  Warning - this may come at a cost if it is a fine table linen.  Be prepared.

 

7.)  Go to the restroom.  Ew.  Enough said.

 

8.)  Designate a Wing-Man.  My husband is my go-to.  After 17 years of marriage, one look and he knows he should speak up.  Usually, he inserts a #2.  Um, not a #7.  Ew.

 

9.)  Teach the kids with type 1 diabetes to say something witty.  Our youngest has the gift of acting.  She has been known to add in a funny accent or to simply give a blank look.  "What?  Who has diabetes?  Where?"  I can tell you that this works.  Adults are caught off guard and usually switch to a safer topic like sports.

 

10.)  If worse comes to worse, simply say, "Thanks for asking.  We are all doing well.  I am so happy to have a day with my family to simply enjoy being together and not to worry about type 1 diabetes.  I am sure you will understand if I choose not to discuss it today. " 

And with that, from our family to yours... have a Happy Thanksgiving!

A Glimpse Into The Life Of A Non-Morning Child

NSS Dad and Youngest Daughter

At 7:00 a.m., I gently kissed the face of my youngest daughter while she cocooned in her blankets and bed.  Without fail, every morning she smiles with her eyes closed, puckers her lips for a kiss and then, promptly rolls over (and under her covers) to sleep some more.

I take pity on her.  Mornings during the school week seem to come quickly.  My worry is that with the extra night time blood sugar testing or Sigum alarms (beloved continuous glucose monitor), our daughter never really gets a full nights' worth of rest.  Of our two children, she is the one that has always needed a bit more sleep. 

Quietly I set about to load a new lancet and strip into her meter.  After I hear the beep, I reach under the covers to retrieve a finger and quickly make a poke to get enough blood to test.  (Mornings are usually good for a quick blood droplet.  It is the middle of the night where sometimes I have to squeeze her fingers too much and too hard, just to ensure that she is in a safe zone.)

A drop on the strip and I await the results so that I can also calibrate Sigums.  Happily, her wake-up numbers are in range with a 83 mg/dl and a side-ways pointing arrow.  Glancing over the entire 24-hour chart on the receiver, I can tell that the basal changes we made after our last endocrinology appointment are working. 

Quietly, I wrap a Kleenex tissue around her finger, which immediately is hidden back under her covers.  Scanning the room, I smile.  There are less tissues floating around, so that is a good sign of knowing she had a good night.  Not too many blood sugar checks.  The sad truth is some days, her bed and floor are covered in floating white blobs with red polka dots.  Thinking about those moments makes me shiver; even as I write this post I do so with goosebumps.  Those nights are not good at all.

Feeling my heart strings tug again, I decide to let her sleep a bit longer.  It is a good morning as Sigums appears to be trending appropriately.  With a bit of foreshadowing, I think about the mornings where I have no choice but to wake her so that she can immediately start eating breakfast. 

Quietly, I tip-toe downstairs and make a coffee and scan my email.  About fifteen minutes later and I hear a loud "BLEEEP"!  Sigums has decided that the side-ways arrow was temporary and that our youngest daughter needs to wake-up NOW! 

Breakfast time it is.

Without hesitation, I quickly run back upstairs and into her room.  Sigums is lighting up with a warning of 70 mg/dl and falling.  Youngest daughter has no choice in the matter.  She has to wake-up and getting moving NOW.  Breakfast is immediately in order and as quickly as I can, I shuffle her back down the stairs and to her seat at the counter.  I opt NOT to pre-bolus her due to her low blood sugar and instead, plop down her favorite morning meal of two waffles and real maple syrup to dip into.  With a glass of milk, her meal is 65 carbs, which part way through, I do bolus for. 

The entire time she is eating (with her eyes closed), I am thinking about her daily routine.  It is a quiet event as neither of speak out loud.  Morning snack?  Check!  Bottle of water for school?  Check!  Lunch packed? Check!  Afternoon... oh yes, she has practice for Alice in Wonderland and will need another snack?  Check!  And maybe I should add an extra snack for 'just in case'?  Check! 

Knowing that she can not possibly think about her agenda at this moment, I grab her planner from her backpack and write in a note to remind her that I packed extra snacks and that she would need to text me before she went to play practice with her blood glucose. 

She finishes breakfast and slides off her stool to head back upstairs to get ready.  Halfway up the stairs, I hear her sigh.  She walks back into the kitchen and retrieves Sigums.  I give her a big smile and tell her how thankful Sigums was to not be left behind.  In return, she rolls her eyes and sighs again. 

Back upstairs, I hear her finally starting to wake up.  Her iPod is on and she is softly singing and moving about her room, carefully choosing the perfect outfit to wear.  Then, she moves into the bathroom to brush her teeth and carefully style her hair.  The singing is louder now and it makes me smile.  Despite type 1 diabetes, her day is moving ahead happily. 

Back downstairs, with her insulin pump and Sigums clipped openly to her skirt, she shuffles through her backpack to find her purse.  She needs more strips she tells me.  I hand her a bottle and notice the pile of used ones sticking to her meter.  Without asking, I clean them out and she giggles.  Her trick that she learned from her sister is to stick the used ones to the back of the meter.  I wrinkle my nose and look at my hand in an effort to make her really laugh and she does!  Great big belly laughs over mom having to clean out the strips.  I laugh too but because her laughter is contagious.  Since she was a baby and despite the endlessness of type 1 diabetes; it is true that when she smiles, the whole world smiles back. 

Finally in the car, we drive to school.  While we are waiting in line, she panics for a moment and asks me if she bolused for her breakfast.  I tell her that I did it for her and ask if she remembers anything from her wake-up. 

"No.  Not really.  I was just sleeping and then, I had to eat."  She says with a thoughtful wrinkle on her brow as she opens the car door.

"Actually, I do remember something.  I was dreaming that I was I flying!" 

She is out of the car before I can respond.  As I drive away, I am left with a huge smile of my own... type 1 diabetes, no matter how rude or intrusive it is on her sleep, does not stop her dreams!

Family Fighting for Medical Help at School

What would you do if you had to fight for your child's rights to attend school safely every single day? 

I know for many of us, we are blessed with schools that work together with our families to build solid ADA Section 504 plans for the best interest of our children that are living with type 1 diabetes.

In fact, a principal at my school uses the line, "We want 'daughter' to be the best 'daughter' she can be!"

But what if your school didn't feel that way?

What if their only worry was staffing, expenses or spending time in training?

And what is worse, what if your school made it even hard for you to try to provide the necessary training to send your child to school?

Wouldn't you want all of the support that you could get to help make a positive (and necessary) change?

I am hoping we can do just that!

Click here to watch the video:  Fox 2 News Special Investigative Report on Rainbow Elementary


(WJBK) -
A Clinton Township mother says her son's elementary school has refused to give her diabetic son the medical attention he needs, and refused to provide a trained professional to provide aid.

Sabrina Cheek's 7-year-old son, Mario, was diagnosed with Type-1 Diabetes last year. He attends Rainbow Elementary School in the Clintondale School District. Cheeks says, each day, either she or her sister-in-law must go to the school to test Mario's sugar and administer his medication because the school refuses to provide someone or be trained how to do it.

The family fears for Mario's safety if anything were to happen medically, and school officials would not know how to respond.

The Americans Disabilities Act, under Section 504, states a medical plan must be created and staff at school must be trained to administer medication, and to recognize student's symptoms and respond if something goes wrong.

Fox 2's Taryn Asher spoke with the school's principal, Donald Trahan, by phone who declined to record an interview. Asher reports he was not aware of any law, or of any such policy, and did not know the school had a responsibility to train someone.

Other schools in the district do provide specialists and trained professionals to administer this type of medication.

If you want to help, consider leaving your feedback on this website... http://www.greatschools.org/michigan/clinton-township/864-Rainbow-Elementary-School/?tab=reviews



Maybe as one big voice, we can help this family to get the school to help take notice and train the staff and reprimand the board of trustees, superintendent and principal responsible for this situation.

Every child deserves the right to a safe education.  In fact, it is the law.

Click here to read the American With Disabilities Section 504 Plan Law:  http://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm