Gee, I understand your problem with the whole Blood Machine deal.
I'm 18 and have been Type 1 for about 5 years, and we've had our shares of "She'll have to keep her insulin/needles/machine in a office, and when she does it - she needs to be supervised" . My Mom one year went to the School Board and raised HELL. They said that it would cause a distraction in class and pose a safety problem. We told them - I don't make a big show out of it, I can take my Blood Sugar in about a minute without anyone knowing, and it's gonna be in my purse.
But anyway, have you checked into children's diabetes camps? I don't know where you live, but here in Alabama they have some. They only kids allowed ARE diabetics, and they're run by diabetics, nurses, etc. They make you count your food every morning, at night go through ALL the cabins to take nightly blood sugar readings, etc. And they were fun, too - we did everything normal camps do, we just had nurses and diabetics around us.
Good luck!
Martha,
My son is going to a weeklong OVERNIGHT (yikes!) diabetes camp at the end of the month. It's sponsored by the ADA, and is located in the same beautiful spot as the camp-for-newly-diagnosed families we attended in October. Joseph's really psyched about it. They do archery, boating, swimming, etc... just like any other summer camp. Except that it's staffed with nurses, a doc, and counselors who have diabetes themselves. Oh, and they even go in and check the kids' sugars in the middle of the night... How cool is that?
I know that it sort of sucks to not be able to just send your child to a "normal" camp. But then, I see this diabetes camp as an opportunity for my son to meet others like him so that he doesn't have to feel so alone in his experience. And the timing is great for him, as lately he's becoming more and more frustrated with the demands of managing this disease.
It might be late for you to get your son into one of these camps this summer, but start looking for next year...
Take care,
Commenting by HaloScan
