My dear friend Meri just left this comment on my first post:
“I have learnt so much about diabetes from you and Mr T being a part of our lives . Josh has also learnt, he checks food labels and comments about Mr T .xx”
Meri is always there when I need a break. Meri was there when Mr T wished he could have a sleep over at a friends house for the first time. Many families with children with diabetes that I met decide not to do the sleep-over’s. It is a BIG ask on a host family to check BG and to be on the lookout during the night. Thanks to Meri, Mr T had his first sleep-over. Often, she has Mr T over for a play and a meal on weekends, too. That gives me some time for myself and a peace of mind knowing he is in good hands.
I have not lectured Meri on diabetes. I have shared bits about diabetes with her, over a glass of wine on lazy Sunday afternoons, while the kids played together. Yes, I admit, we had a few (of those Sundays, I mean) over past 4 years, which explains why she is so knowledgeable about diabetes ;) Hey, what’s one to do when Meri does not drink coffee !
Anyway, I wanted to say, I try not to overload anybody with information about diabetes. I can now talk about the subject till the cows come home, but too much information can make people “shut down” or even scare them. I do want them to understand the basics and to know what to do if Mr T reports feeling low, or when the meal time comes.
Life is much easier now that Mr T is on the pump and can do his BG test. He can recognize a low and treat it. He can operate the pump too, just needs a bit of help with carbs counting. I do not expect other people to carb count but I explain the process in brief so they can phone me before the meal and I can advise Mr T of the amount of carbs he is about to eat. Easy !
So that’s how I go about trying to give Mr T a chance to be more independent in a safe environment. Of course it would NOT be possible without true friends like Meri. I am very lucky to have her.
Mr T is also lucky to have a good friend in Meris’ son Josh. They play beautifully together. Josh is a bit younger then Mr T. He was about 6 when he said something that floored me.
We were over at their house, just had a delicious meal when Josh pulled out two sweet packs. One for him and other for Mr T. He examined the wrapping and then came to me and asked : “Would it be OK for Mr T to have one of these as his dessert ? There is no writing here on the packet, the one you look for before you give him insulin.”
WOW! I never spoke to Josh about diabetes, insulin, carbs, food labels.
He picked it up in passing ! It is amazing what kids can learn when they are not really listening. Imagine what they can learn when you do grip their attention and serve the information in an interesting way !
/I have tried in Mr T's class with "The blue circle reading game" and it was a success./
Thank you Meri, thank you Josh for being in our lives!