Thursday, March 26, 2009

All She Needs

Since Kacey's glucose meter is connected to her pump, she has the freedom to test her sugar anywhere and anytime she wants in school. I found this adorable little purse for her that holds a complete set change, cartridge change, battery & quarter, syringe, bottle of insulin, test strips, lancet, extra meter and glucose tabs. She also has about $10 stashed in it along with the Medical Alert card with her name and all the emergency numbers. She takes this purse all over school with her and she has everything she needs to care for herself. When she was on shots, she used to have to go to the classroom to test and dose herself. She missed out on classtime and had to spend even more time figuring out her dose and then doing her shot.

I'd love to be able to find some cute purses with straps long enough to do this yet compact enough for Kacey to wear and not feel an inconvenience. Most of the little purses are made for adults and the strap is much longer and when you tie a knot in the top of the strap to shorten it then it distorts the look of the purse. She just loves having everything right there incase she needs it!

2 comments:

Shamae (Ghost written by Loren her hubby) said...

Wow very cute and trendy! That is diabetes in style! Excellent! I'm really worried how all of Syd's diabetes needs are going to be met and how it all works in a school setting. To say I'm nervous is an understatement. Sydney goes to kindergarten this fall and I'm already a basket case! As the time draws nearere you will have to give me some tips and things that make that transition easier for Syd and her school.

Jill said...

Shamae~ My first suggestion is to do a 504 Plan. You might never need to use it but it gets everyone that will be involved with Syd's care on the same page. You work with the school to devise a care plan that will suit her needs. For Kacey, it means getting unlimited water/bathroom breaks, more time to complete testing, no testing when sugars are over 300 or under 70. Absenses are not counted against her since this is an illness she has no control over. We also have things like, she is not to be sent out of the classroom alone if she is low. She must be escourted by an adult, not a student. We have several other things as well but those are a few.

Since she is just starting school, then I would suggest making an appt with the principal and school nurse to introduce them to Syd LONG before Sept when school starts. Ask to bring her up there and let them meet her, talk with them about some of the things they will be faced with during the coming year. Then around August, set up a meeting with everyone that will be in contact with Syd during the school day. Go over Emergency treatment and Daily treatment. Decide where she will do her care? Will the nurse come to the classroom to oversee her care or will she have to miss class to go to the nurses office? This was a huge dilemma for us because Kacey was missing out on valuable classtime and then when she got the flu that was the final straw and we moved all of her care to the classroom and it's been wonderful! I'd love to help in any way I can :) Feel free to drop me an email and I can answer any questions you might have. We've definately had our share of ups and downs at school but it's a learning process and the goal is to find out what works for Syd and makes her happiest!

My heart goes out to you because Kacey is in 3rd grade this year and I know how scary it's been for us! Many many manyyyyy days I spent hours at school volunteering just for my own peace of mind to make sure I was close by in case something happened. I've gotten better the last few months ;) Haha!

Talk soon!