School started today and, sure enough, my phone started ringing just after 12 noon. I answered, "Oh no, not already!" goofing around, thinking the staff just had a blood sugar or carb question. No such luck: Benny's inset had come out and I needed to go to school.
Didn't we have enough excitement the first week of school last year?
(Just in case you're new here… my son has type 1 diabetes and wears a pump to receive his insulin. The inset -right- is how the pump connects to his body. No inset, no insulin, no good.)
A quick drive to school and a quick walk to Benny's class. He jumped up and asked, "Am I going home?" No. "Can we at least do this somewhere private?" Of course. "Can I play with your phone?" Fine.
I took him into the nurse's office, he squeezed my hand and we popped the new inset in. It hurts (there's a needle) and we didn't have time to use the numbing cream as usual. Actually, since diabetes camp earlier this summer, he skips the cream about half the time. I don't know what magic they use at D-camp, but I'm still amazed by that trick!
I asked Benny why he thought the inset came out; it hasn't been much of a problem lately. He said his tubing got caught on something during recess. I reminded him to keep it coiled up neatly, he rolled his eyes at me and smiled.
Back outside the classroom I gave him a big hug and he ran in to join his friends.
I'm so proud of him and how he takes these moments in stride. At the age of 7 already manages most of his diabetes care himself (with adult supervision). In just a few years he'll be able to do everything and I won't have to go to school at all.
That's a good thing, right?
This blog takes me back a few years! At 16 years old and 11 years into this diabetes thing, Evan’s tubing still gets caught on cabinet knobs. I remember when Evan weaned himself from numbing cream because of tricks he learned at diabetes camp. Every year he manages to mature so much at camp. This year’s trick was to put his infusion set in his side where he has always been afraid to inject. Can’t wait to see what next year brings.
The trick is that none of the counselors use the numbing cream. Janice – I’m 25, 8 years into diabetes, (and roughly as coordinated as Evan – ask him, he’ll agree) and i still pull out a site every few months after getting it caught on a doorknob, or the pump gets caught between the seats in the car and i try to get up.