Every year we get together his diabetes kit for school. That includes lots of snacks for lows, his sharps container, juice, and all his necessary supplies: like needle tips, alcohol wipes, test strips, etc... He also has an 8-page document that we fill out every year that lets the nurses and teachers know how to manage his care. It's called a "Diabetes Management Plan". They have a copy in his classroom and at the nurses' station, with his picture on it, so they will know what to do if and when a problem arises. We will fill out our new one next week when we go down again for our next appt.
Now, he keeps all those supplies in a container that is labeled with his name. He used to keep it in the nurses' station and would go down there when he needed to test or felt low/high. As of last year, he kept it in his homeroom, because he was on the second floor. I like this better, because he can test himself if he's low right there, without having to walk down to the office when he's feeling weak. His teacher last year would text the nurse his numbers, so he didn't have to leave class too, which was really nice. This year, he'll take his own (aka Madie's) cell phone, so he can text her himself. As his supplies get low, I'll get a note and resend whatever it is he is out of, whether it's snacks or test strips or whatever.
Since his diagnosis in 2011, he's been using a small kit that was just big enough to hold his insulin, glucose tester, needles, alcohol wipes, and his glucagon (his emergency shot if he passes out). He would take that down to lunch with him, but that was about it. Now that he's going to be in different classrooms for different subjects and all that, we felt he needed something larger that would contain snacks and his water bottle and supplies, so he didn't have to worry about feeling low or needing to test and trek all the way back to his homeroom to do so. So, he got this new sling backpack for his supplies. It has his insulin, his testing supplies, his snacks, etc.. so it's like a mobile kit. Now, when he needs supplies, he can have them with him all the time. We've had one of these at home that we take whenever we go out, but never one like that for school. He's really excited that he does now!
The other deciding factor in getting him something that would contain all of his supplies as he moved around the building was this new "lockdown" plan. After what happened last year in Connecticut, there has been a serious conversation about what would happen to diabetics that were locked in their rooms for hours if a situation like that would occur. Noah would need to have access to ALL of his supplies. Not just his tester or insulin. This changed the way I looked at his safety. I think we sometimes forget the seriousness of Type 1. It's not like Type 2, where you take a pill and you are ok. He needs his insulin/snacks to live. If left unchecked for even a few days, his numbers could put him into severe ketacidosis and it could lead to a coma or even death. It's scary and awful to think about, but that's what we deal with every day and that's why we changed his kit to become something that was accessed everywhere he went, so that he wouldn't be without if the need arose.
So, he's all packed up and ready for school. And, though, I don't think he's particularly EXCITED about going back to school, at least he has everything he needs when he finally does go back, right? ;-)
AND, another big deal is that I finally got all the pump paperwork filled out. Hooray! We're applying for 3 different pumps to see what insurance will cover, so we can compare a bit. We're still really leaning towards the t:slim, but want to make sure we've fully looked at all the options, before making a decision. It's a decision we need to be happy with, because he'll have whatever we pick for the next 4 years. Insurance won't replace them if you're unhappy after 6 months. So, we'll get it all submitted next week at our appointment and see how we can move forward. Yay! And, let's cross our fingers that once we get the pump, we can start looking into CGMs (continuous glucose monitors). It would test his blood sugars without finger pokes! The best part? It would tell us if he was starting to get low or high, so we could react quickly and keep his numbers in a better range. Good stuff is coming our way!
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