 |
| "To School........" |
Today I was left with the simple objective of getting my five kids off to their 3 different schools. Easy enough I thought. Some good strong coffee, a positive attitude, and easy peasy, no problemo! Bloody hell am I exhausted.
First off; I was on my own, no Mrs, just myself, she opted out to earn some dough instead, important yes, but boy did I miss the team today.
Now generally my house is chaotic, five girls, bathrooms, brush fighting, hair bret and attire comparisons, mirror gazing, and texting. Now throw diabetes into the mix and add not having a clue who's teacher belongs to whom - You've got yourself a recipe for chaos. Oh and did I mention I forgot to register our youngest, minor oversite. Anyway moving along....
As I sit here pondering over the days events I think; I don't know quite how I pulled it off. Teen was pretty good, got up wwwwaaayyyyy to early to ensure a stellar look for her first day of high school, eagerly awaiting for her friend to show at our door as god forbid they be seen walking to high school alone, like oh my god, that would spell social disaster on day one, only the most important day of the year! She tested her sugar, I think, well she didn't die at school as I personal witnessed her arriving home. Not sure how the diabetes went, but socially she seemed bright.
Upper two middle kids, if that order makes sense, going off to junior high. No diabetes = easy. Backpack; check, lunches; check, ride to school; checks, slow down just enough for them to jump out the door; check. I'll let ya know how their day went later. But I didn't get any calls from the school.
Younger two, second youngest being the little Type 1. Now this is where it gets time consuming and importantly so! I arrive, they have reno'd the entire school so everyone meets in the Gymnasium with all the teachers semi-holding up signs like at an airport when the driver is seeking out his passenger after a flight. We ask around, all the while dragging the 4 yr old in a crowded gym full of screaming kids and finally track down her grade 2 teacher. Who I might add was eerily calm in the midst of chaos; I would have needed a heavy dose of some form of sedating anti-anxiety medication to remain calm in what I percieved as pretty much the scariest environment imaginable.
 |
| "Summer has ceased to exist" |
We find her, I introduce myself and da kids, and we follow her back to the class room. She informs me that she is aware Rowan has Type 1 Diabetes and we will need to talk. During a quiet moment where the assistant reads the class a book, I give her the "Crash Course in Diabetes Management for Kids at School Presentation" She nods, and says would you be able to repeat that again to the assistant. I hand her my notes and state, sure thing. I leave, toddler in tote, return 1 hour later, repeat, test, leave, return and repeat, test, inject, ensured they understood. Peering at the teacher, I could sense the apprehension, or fear, of "You are leaving this precious child with me to care for with this poerilous chronic illness called type 1 diabetes look, you know the one....if they don't have that look on their face then be concerned.
I peered calmly at her and said, "I've had type one diabetes for 30 years; before the good insulin's, before glucometers, and back when they assessed your health and development on how much weigh you were gaining. I survived, not blind, no damage done. She'll be okay and you can always, I mean always text, email or call..........Anytime."
Wow what a day!
Cheers!
Trev
Cheers!
Trev
