1st day of school

Back to school! Yep, we started before Labor Day around here. And I sent the troops off. I have one in High School this year, one in Middle School and one in Elementary. Three different schools. If that won't drive me to drink by the end of the year, I don't know what will. I have schedules that rival NATO in their complexity.

The post wouldn't be complete without the requisite first day of school photo, would it?
OK, here you go -

We wear uniforms in our district.
Solid color polo shirt and solid shorts/bottoms.
And my house is a mess.

This year Grace wanted more responsibility when it came to her diabetes care. I am all for that and I usually take her lead when she says she wants more responsibility. Last year, in 3rd grade, she would drop off her care supplies in the nurse's office, report for a 10:30AM BG check, report for lunch check and to get dosed and report there before she left to walk home, to do one last BG check and  pick up her supply case. I have always left her PDM and her care kit in the nurse's office all day, it has not traveled with her.

I know, no one better even leave one comment about how AWFUL a mother I am for leaving her care kit in the nurse's office. OMG. Hey folks, she had complete other care kits in her classroom - extra meter, test strips, juices, snacks, etc. She also had random kits throughout the school. I was prepared, but I didn't do overkill, it's just not my style. Did I endanger her these past 3 years? Nah, don't think so. And if you think I did, don't even think of leaving a comment as such, cause you can just, well...

This year it looks different. Entering 4th grade and no one has morning snack at all in class. Grace also does not want to miss any class this year. So, plans change. I think they should evolve based on our kids.

Grace takes her care kit to her classroom every morning, not the nurse's office. It stays in class with her and Grace does her 10:30AM check on her own in the class. Now, the nurse still wants to know her BG at that time, so we asked Grace - would you like to text the nurse your BG number/dose, etc from your cell phone? Grace nixed that idea cause "CELL PHONES ARE NOT ALLOWED IN SCHOOL" - and she said it just like that to me, like, you big dummy Mommy. OK Grace, got it sister. So, we decided that Grace will, on a post-it, write her 10:30AM BG on a sheet, along with the dose - whether it be insulin or a juice/snack - and plop it on the teacher's desk. Guess what the teacher is gonna do with that? Glance at it, then there will be a classroom job each week - just like the other many jobs the students have, that rotates through the students, called 'runner' who's job it is is to run that paper to the nurse, one floor below them. Problem solved, everyone knows now and Grace doesn't have to leave class, or take the time to run it down.

At lunch, Grace takes her kit 3-4 minutes before the rest of the class and goes to the nurse's office to check and dose for lunch. She leaves her kit there throughout lunch and recess, which follows lunch. On the way back from recess, she picks it up and takes it back to class with her. (In class, she has a separate 'cubby' in the back of the room for her supplies) Before she leaves school for the day, she will do a BG check in the classroom to make sure she is OK to walk home. She's a walker, no busses here as we live a mile from school.

Grace's old stone school there, over 100 years old, isn't that cool?
She walks home from it each day, this is where I meet her.

Now, with all this checking in class, I know we need some ground rules. We need to know what to do with the number. So that everyone is on the same page, I crafted guidelines for numbers. Both the nurse and the teacher have them. Grace has one taped inside her kit, where she can see it as she tests. Hers states these guidelines as 'You' instead of referring to herself in the 3rd person, which would just be odd. Hers also says she is amazing and wonderful and that I love her at the end too. 

Here it is:

Grace’s BG testing in the classroom

250 and above  Grace goes to the nurse with her diabetes kit

                            She is OK to walk there by herself.

                                             80 ---- 249       Grace doses herself through her PDM pump remote.

                                             61 ---- 79       Grace has a juice and rechecks her BG in 15 minutes.

                                            60 and below  Grace has a juice immediately and sits down.

                                                         Nurse is called to come to the classroom.

                                                      She is NOT OK to walk to the nurse’s office.

So, now everyone knows what to do with the numbers. Grace's range is 80-150, with a target of 120. I let her dose herself up to 249 mark, because that is precisely what she would do in the nurse's office. Over 250, she will go down, get checked and see what's up.

I have given her leeway with her blood sugar numbers because she wants responsibility and I want to give it to her. This is how she is gonna be prepared for Middle School, where she will basically be on her own for her care. So, a little more responsibility now, a little more later in the year if Grace wants, a little more in 5th grade and we will get there.