Hi :) My name is Julie and I am the mother of a very brave 8 year old T1 son named Logan. Logan was dx'd on December 12, 2006, about 1,307 days ago ( sorry if diabetes has help me learn anything new I have become real good with math :) ) We recently started pump therapy and I am just trying to find other parents of CWD (children with diabetes) and even Teens, and Adults. Logan tries so hard to not let his diabetes run him, but there are days where he breaks my heart when he comes in crying because he gets picked on in school , because his sugars high and he can't concentrate, or he has to leave to test his sugar. We even had an incident after he got his pump that some kid started to beat him up on the play ground... because he thought my son had a phone. This is the sad reality for some people and their kids depending on where they live. At the age of 8 Logan is more mature and stronger than most people I know. I'm just trying to reach out and find locals so that he can meet with other diabetics ( other than the waiting room of LaRabida Childrens Hospital) Also I am trying to find people who understand diabetes as possible sitters. I tried safe sitters and juvenation and there is no one listed any where near me and I may need to change my sitting arrangements soon. Comments are welcome, I can also be reached at my Email : JulieStockdreher@gmail.com Or you can try to find me on FB : http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=1696490141
That’s a true shame what he is having to go through. There are others here from Chicago, but I personally don’t know if they have any kids (T1 or other) or not. I remember going through similar things when I was in school. Most notably was missing out on opportunities like honors classes because of my need to have a late afternoon PE so I wouldn’t get low. There was also plenty of ridicule from the kids. But that’s all kids I think. Its like a right of passage at that age (through their 30’s I think lol) I know he will be fine, and will be a much brighter kid, as well as more rounded, because of his experiences. Then he can go on to greater things, which is inevitable. If I hear of anyone in your area, I will tell them to e-mail or message you. Take care Julie (and Logan)
Thank you I know that there are other kids in my area, 3 that I know of at the local high school, I am friends with one of the kids moms but he’s going through that diabetes teenage rebellion and even though the offer has been there to help with Logan, I look at it if he can’t manage himself how is he going to make sure my son is doing what he’s supposed to? Also the risks of something happening to him in my home with my 2 children, and I can’t have Logan pick up bad habits. He is really good about making sure that everything is portioned when he eats, and not sneaking snacks, or taking off his pump. Even though I know it’s a 1/2 cup of something he will make me pull out the measuring scoop so he can see for himself. He also asks me to double check if he is reading the carbs right on a snack pack (which usually leads to a conversation that he’s not supposed to calculate and bolus without an adult present and letting someone know). For being 8 and only being T1 for a little over 3.5 years now he knows way to much about diabetes and how to take care of it. I feel bad at halloween when he goes Trick or Treating and some one tries to give him a handful of candy. " No thank you just one because I’m a diabetic" The nice thing is some of the parents in the neighborhood last year got little goodie bags with stickers and pencils, or got him a small bag of SF candy. Sometimes I want to just break down and cry because of the hard times, the fact that my 8 year old knows so much about how to manage his diabetes, and the little acts of kindness that we do encounter.
Julie,
I’m wondering if, since there’s a push against bullying, a school nurse and school social worker psychologist might be of help in identifying others or in training others.
Soon there are supposed to be assistants to school nurses who are also to be trained to help diabetic kids, and perhaps you will find helpers in that potential group.
A diabetic camp group is what you need - wish I could supply one, but someone on here will come along & do so.
What part of Chicagoland are you in?
Take heart.
Hey Julie, I don’t want to make you cry (in a good way) or anything, but Logan is more responsible than most adults I know. If he is helping manage a disease that (can be) as bad as diabetes with such precision and acute detail, then I don’t think you have anything to worry about. He sounds very responsible, and I think if he goes to a diabetic camp sometime in the future, he will meet many other kids that he can relate and be “On the level” with. That will help him a LOT. As for the other diabetics (I know they are trying to be nice and help) but you are so right. How can they hope to help guide someone in their struggles with this disease if they don’t practice what they preach? I think your gut feelings on that issue is correct, so go with that. If I can ever be of any help, please don’t be shy in messaging me or e-mailing me. Take care
I’m from the south suburbs of chicago. I live in lansing which is about 25 minutes south of the city.
He does have a nurse at school who is very willing to stay up to date with him. When we started on the pump she copied the entire instruction manual. My problem in school comes down to the Teachers not wanting to let him test in class, or his sugar is high and he is emotional and the principle thinks she can discipline him for that. The had told me my son had ADHD I spent 9 months getting him evaluated for it they put him on meds and scince he has been on the pump I have taken him off because as long as his sugar is steady he’s fine. Which also leads to another thing. He had an eye exam and his suagr was at 214 when I took him some where in the low 200’s and the eye doctor knows he’s T1. They said logan needed glasses. This was also before the pump. He insists now that he doesn’t need them, but when his sugar is slightly elevated he does ask for them. I really wish I knew what he felt when his sugar is up because I can’t relate to that. He can only tell me what he is feeling and at 8 he might say one thing and mean another or he just goes with the good old fashion " I don’t feel good". is it possible when his suagr is slightly elevated that his vision becomes a little fuzzy but when its back in target range that it’s fine?
I try not to baby him to much about the reality that this is something that he will have for the rest of his life and he has adapted very well. He was barely 4 when dx’d and last year he went twice a week to see a therapist because he was very angry. Come to find out that he just didn’t know how to handle being a diabetic. His therapist was very awesome with explaining everything, and working with him on how to express his feelings about being a diabetic. He made a book called MY Diabetes while in therapy and drew his own pictures. I was amazed when I saw it. He can tell people exactly where his pancreas is and what it is supposed to do, and all the other technical stuff. As much as I thought he wasn’t paying attention when I talk to the nurses on the phone, he picked up alot. And you can never get him to stop asking his endo questions. There are days where he will have his “Diabetes sucks!” days, but more often than not he absorbs the attention he gets when we are out. If we go out to dinner he will explain to the waitress he needs to know exactly how many carbs or going to be on his plate so he can recieve his bolus which usually turns into a 20 minute conversation because they think he’s on some sort of a diet. The one thing that does scare me is the fact that he is so open about being T1. And I think that may be why he has some issues with kids at school. Most adults are perfectly cool to listen to him talk about his pump when we are in line at the grocery store, but kids have a different way of thinking.
Julie,
Yes, his eyesight gets fuzzy, even two images, when his BG reaches a certain level, specific to himself.
I believe the new law allows kids to stay in the classroom and test. Check it out and hold authorities to it. Logan has to feel he is teaching others by testing in front of others. When you hear that CGM is incorporated with a pump, go for it. This would allow him to have quicker response to rising BG and a clearly better experience in the classroom. It would eliminate swings (which it sounds as if he is having even with the pump).
As a person experienced with the differences between ADHD kids on and off their meds and with parents who have had to deal with it, I will say that after parents have used two week trial periods, regulated the pump for a two week period on and completed behavioral guides - when in school using daily math papers also as an evaluation tool, parents go back to giving the children their meds. Everything is individual, however, if on the med you find dailly math papers more easily done, scores higher, and a smiling kid ready to take up challenges from others, you would not be alone. Try a 2 week period during vacation and another 2 week period during school. It all depends on what behavioral statements you write down as your hoping-for outcomes - I’ve given you a couple.! You may even have teacher response if they’re blind to your personal study.
Do take it as your special challenge - and Logan will appreciate later that his parents rolled with the punches! We’re all pulling for you.
I’m in the western suburbs part of the year. I’m a traveller.
There’s a difference between being open and being obsessive. It sounds like your son is more on the obsessive side, and that that’s the problem. I’m on the obsessive side myself; I have Asperger Syndrome and after being diagnosed with diabetes, my obsession became diabetes. Asperger’s and ADHD have some things in common but Asperger’s doesn’t respond to medication so much. I definitely show more of the symptoms of my AS when my blood sugar is off. In fact, after being diagnosed with diabetes (about three years after being diagnosed with AS) a huge number of my sensory issues… disappeared.
My vision varies a little with my blood sugar, but mostly just in terms of light sensitivity. But right after I was diagnosed I needed a different eyeglasses prescription because my vision improved a lot.
I know that there are other kids in my area, 3 that I know of at the local high school, I am friends with one of the kids moms but he’s going through that diabetes teenage rebellion and even though the offer has been there to help with Logan, I look at it if he can’t manage himself how is he going to make sure my son is doing what he’s supposed to? Also the risks of something happening to him in my home with my 2 children, and I can’t have Logan pick up bad habits. He is really good about making sure that everything is portioned when he eats, and not sneaking snacks, or taking off his pump. Even though I know it’s a 1/2 cup of something he will make me pull out the measuring scoop so he can see for himself. He also asks me to double check if he is reading the carbs right on a snack pack (which usually leads to a conversation that he’s not supposed to calculate and bolus without an adult present and letting someone know). For being 8 and only being T1 for a little over 3.5 years now he knows way to much about diabetes and how to take care of it. I feel bad at halloween when he goes Trick or Treating and some one tries to give him a handful of candy. " No thank you just one because I’m a diabetic" The nice thing is some of the parents in the neighborhood last year got little goodie bags with stickers and pencils, or got him a small bag of SF candy. Sometimes I want to just break down and cry because of the hard times, the fact that my 8 year old knows so much about how to manage his diabetes, and the little acts of kindness that we do encounter.