The Summer...

Camp season is upon us. The girls start camp on Monday and go for three weeks at one "regular" camp and one week of Camp Rainbow, an ADA camp. Oh how I love Camp Rainbow...other than the mounds of paperwork that come along with going to this camp...there is no worry for me. The entire camp is for diabetics and their siblings. The girls absolutely LOVE it. I feel totally comfortable leaving them there for the day. Doctors and nurses are on hand and counselors are all diabetic or a sibling of a diabetic. In a nutshell...they know what to do.

Our little Camp Rainbow crew 2010

So, yesterday, I met with the "regular" camp director to train her. This is the first time I have had to train a camp personnel with MDI (multiple daily injections). We decided it was in the best interest for everyone to use the pen while Lily is at camp. I just don't feel comfortable trusting anyone with drawing insulin other than family or someone that is very familiar with the disease. Turns out this particular director is a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) and insulin deficient. She is pretty familiar with diabetes...insert sigh of relief here.

It is so stressful to train these people. I never know where to begin. Do they need to know the entire background of diabetes and what is going on internally inside my baby? Or do they just need to know the basics...low is below #, high is above #, insulin when eating, feed her nothing other than what I give her, etc. I go with a mix of both. I explain that her pancreas is "broken," that she needs insulin every time she eats a carb, that she can only drink water while at camp....blah, blah, blah. I then go over the Glucagon shot. This always creates some fear from people that goes unspoken. I can see them tense up. I immediately explain that this is for emergency purposes only. Someone the other day said, "Oh, like break the glass in case of emergency situation?" EXACTLY! Well said...

This is the first camp where they will be swimming. For an hour and a half. Ugh. Swimming used to make Lily very low but the past few weekends, she has not dropped a bit while swimming. So, just to be safe, I told the Camp Director that someone's eyes must stay on Lily the ENTIRE time she is in the water. She needs her own personal life guard while at the pool. She needs to be asked periodically how she feels and checked every 30 minutes while swimming. If she runs low, treat her, and she sits out for 15 minutes. I hate to be a stickler but she can't feel herself go low while swimming for some reason.

So...summer is here. Summer is fun-filled and action packed and we love it!!! However, the prep for summer with a type 1 kiddo is hard and tedious...but the smiles it brings to their little faces are worth every single second of the legwork!!!!!!