Dealing with the hospital during clinic appointments was our new normal. …And because it was Sick Kids they emphasize that the kid get a chance at being a kid.
My son would go to school with a little fanny pack of his new equipment. Poking his finger at lunch for blood sugar readings was his new normal. Sugar pills for diabetic lows – he had a buddy assigned at school that could speak for him if he couldn’t get to tell the teacher was there new normal. The school system was very supportive of this new normal. There was only one other child in his school that was also a type 1 diabetic.
So we would get to clinics and they could tell with his A1C (blood sugar work every 3 months) if he was testing his blood sugars or not. He seemed to be diligent at first but he started to slack off. He would rather eat lunch like a ‘normal boy’ and not have anyone stare at him poking his finger.
When the hospital would inform us – they would ask my son and suggest he do more readings and at school. His dad would get angry with him and tell him it was his responsibility (my son). The hospital staff quickly called us out on it…YOU need to control this! It was a matter of the parent stepping into this roll and taking charge of what we could for him.
Well other than dropping by the school every day at lunch time – I am not sure what I could do here!?? I understood that kids need to be a kid but wow…
I did end up doing the heavy lifting before and after school as much as I could to help him out but it was a difficult time.