This week is Diabetes Blog Week, the wonderful idea of Karen from Bitter-Sweet Diabetes Blog. Each day there is a topic related to Diabetes, and bloggers around the world will be sharing their posts related to that topic. I love this idea- what a great way to connect and share with others who don't live in d-world!
Today's topic: A day in the life . . . with diabetes. Take us through a quick rundown of an average day and all the ways in which diabetes touches it.
A typical school day in the life of my seven year old daughter, a Type I Diabetic:
- 6:30-7am: Wake up. Shower.... unless she feels low or if Mommy or Daddy thinks she looks especially pale, in which case we check her blood sugar first. Treat if needed. Then shower & get dressed.
- Come downstairs, poke finger, eat breakfast, finish getting ready for school. Help count carbs, Mom or Dad figures out insulin dose, receive shot. Debate with Mommy over the nutritional benefits of whatever {crap} the school is serving that day and negotiate on which two days we will buy a
nutritioushot lunch at school; Mommy will pack lunches the other three days. Go to the bus stop & off to school. - 10:30am: have a snack at school, same as the rest of the class
- 12:25pm: leave for lunch five minutes before the rest of the class, go to the clinic, poke finger. Eat lunch in cafeteria with friends. When dismissed for recess, run upstairs to the clinic to receive insulin shot, then go back downstairs to join friends for the remainder of recess. Hope that the clinic lady is ready and doesn't waste too much recess time.
- any time at school she feels low: walk to clinic, poke finger, possibly have juice, wait 15 minutes, poke again, return to class
- 3:10pm: get on the bus to come home. Go either home or to the babysitter's around the corner. Poke finger, have a snack.
- 6pm-ish: Poke finger, have supper, receive insulin shot.
- 7pm: Softball practice. Bring monitor, supplies, glucose tablets, and water in addition to softball gear.
- 8:30pm: bedtime. Poke finger, maybe have a snack, depending on blood sugar results. Go to bed. Monitor, supplies, tissues, glucose tablets, and water bottle are all within reach on bedside table.
- 10:15pm: Mommy or Daddy comes in to give another shot (Lantus, a different type of insulin) and poke finger again if there have been highs or lows this evening. May receive a second insulin shot depending on results.
- 3-4am: Mommy might come poke finger again if she's had lows during the evening.
So, there you have it.... a pretty typical day in my daughter's life. For those of you with diabetic children, this probably looks pretty normal to you. And for those of you who don't live with this disease, you've probably noticed the number of times a day she is poked with needles. The sheer number of pokes she receives in a day, between blood sugar checks and shots, always stands out to me if I let myself think about it.... so, I try not to. She shrugs her shoulders, it's not big deal. But to me, watching my baby girl endure that every day, it IS a big deal.
Share your own diabetes-related day or read others at Bitter-Sweet Diabetes Blog.
It's always so interesting to read about diabetes from a parents perspective, and it really makes me appreciate even more all of the things that my own mother did for me diabetes wise when I was younger (the latenight checks, especially!)
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