To: Coaches X and Y
From: Annoying mother
Re: My diabetic kid
There is a lot of information about Type 1 diabetes out there. If you are curious, you may check out these websites:
But here is the stuff you really need to know about My diabetic kid.
1) M treats her diabetes by using an infusion pump, which can be removed. The pump is a remarkable machine that helps M calculate how much insulin she needs and administers it through a tube into the fatty layer just below the skin.
2) There are blood sugar (bg) highs and lows. An average person’s bg is between 80 and 100. M checks her bg with another machine, called a blood glucose meter. She will prick her finger to get a drop of blood and apply it to a strip. The meter will tell her what her bg is in about 5 seconds. She will test her bg immediately before and immediately after a game or a practice.
3) I am not as worried about bg highs.
Bg highs tend to cause long-term complications. When you hear about someone going blind, or having their foot amputated due to diabetes, it is generally caused by unchecked bg highs.
In diabetes world, anything over 200 is high. 350 is considered serious, over 400 is ridiculously high. If M checks her bg levels right before a game, and immediately after, she will not have time to have her bg climb that high. It takes several hours for a bg to climb to what we would consider a dangerous level.
SYMPTOMS OF A HIGH: Extreme irrational crankiness. Have her check her bg and treat as necessary She can do this independently, but a bg high is like serious PMS: You think you are upset for a valid reason. A quick 5 second bg check can put everyone at ease.
4) Bg lows are more serious, and more likely to happen during a game.
M will try to snack before every game, and enter every game or practice with a slightly higher bg, because her bg tends to go down when she exercises.
Treatment for a low is candy. M will keep a stockpile of Smarties with her equipment, just in case. When her bg is low, a really sugary (in diabetes language – fast acting carb) treat will make her feel better within about 20 minutes. These include Smarties, and fully sugared soda, like Coke, or juice.
A low bg is under 70. Since she is exercising, she will need to eat something before it gets more dangerous ( in the 50s is considered dangerous, although she once hit 22 and revived herself by eating candy and checking her bg every 10 minutes)
M easily recognizes when she is going low. She will give you a signal that she needs to be benched, will check her bg, and give herself the appropriate treatment. She should communicate to you how long she will need to sit. Some days it is ten minutes, other days it could be the rest of the game.
SYMPTOMS OF A LOW: Stumbling, fogginess, shaky, hot. The shakiness really stands out. M is always bright red when she exercises. Do not worry about it. It does not signify anything on the diabetic scale.
5) We have never had a hospitalization or diabetic emergency since she has been diagnosed. We have never had to use the glucagon. Glucagon is basically pure sugar in a shot. It will be in a bright red case in her equipment bag. It only gets used if she is not alert enough to drink a soda or eat candy. This has not happened to her as of this day.
HOW TO USE GLUCAGON: 1) Open the case, remove the syringe and the vial with the brown stuff in it 2) Inject all of the liquid in the syringe into the vial 3) Using a spinning motion, mix the liquid and the brown stuff together 4) Draw all of the liquid back into the syringe 5)Inject .75 (three quarters) of the syringe into her shoulder or the front of her leg. We want to hit muscle if possible 6) call 911
I will make every attempt to be at as many games as possible, to take the pressure off of you. But as I said, M hasn’t let us down yet. Most of the time, she is just a normal kid, and aside from seeing her check her bg, you might forget she has diabetes. Chaperones, teachers, and coaches tell me that they forget all of the time, which is usually a good sign that things are under control. I just want you to be prepared in the unlikely event that something comes up.
Thank you for having a great attitude, and giving M a chance to play on your team. She is SUPER excited!
If you have any questions, please call XXX-XXXX or e-mail mye-mail@email.email
Ursula
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| Thanks for letting my kid feel normal. |
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