A week to the day of school starting and we finally had Eden's 504 and Medical Plan meeting this morning…
Sending your child off to their first day of Middle School can be daunting in the best of circumstances, but when your child suffers from a life threatening medical condition - the anxiety and stress was through the roof for me last week.
Eden's 504 Plan is LONG ( 7 pages) - I understand that the teachers have MANY children to get to know and have been incredibly busy during this first week of school… I know my child is not more important than any of the other children - but her 504 Plan and Diabetes management ARE extremely important.
Although Eden is self-managing her D this year
- it does NOT mean that she can do it alone.
She still needs support and assistance
from her teachers and the school…
I hope they have truly taken the time to read through my 7 page novel - and UNDERSTAND how serious of a condition Type 1 Diabetes is - and how quickly things can go wrong.
Lots of people think they know, but in reality they just don't.
If Eden accidentally gives herself too much insulin like she did the other day (see here) we could have huge problems - FAST.
I left the meeting feeling great - everyone seemed attentive and responsive. We only had a short time, so I covered some of the things that may not have been spelled out in the plan. I took an extra expired Glucagon so the nurse could later train teachers. (read here if you don't know what Glucagon is)
I'm sure it sounds strange to say to a teacher - if my child looks like they are daydreaming - her blood sugar may be out of whack.. It is NOT an excuse - it is a legitimate medical symptom. Eden cannot physically concentrate when her blood sugar is high (or low for that matter) and she DOES NOT feel when she is high - you can see it in her demeanor or in a blood sugar result.
Teachers are getting to know a LOT of children, I completely understand that. But I hope that Eden's teachers also understand that I am putting my daughters health and safety in their hands. A hard thing for a D-mom to do.
- I will keep the lines of communication open
- I will do my part on this end help Eden manage her disease
- I will do my part to give her the independence she needs to grow and learn
- I will also be "that parent" if I have to be ..