Line Camp

Kaci has decided to join the dance team at her school next year! She will be a Golden Spark! I am so excited for her. I know that she is going to do a great job and have so much fun. When I was in middle school - there was no dance team. I think it is great that she can test it out now - before she gets to high school. We were able to pick up most of her materials on Thursday of this week: tights,tennis shoes, boots, jazz shoes, sweat pants, football jerseys, tights, leotards, sports bras, earrings, etc

They have a 4 day line camp starting this coming Monday. It will run from 8-5 at one of the high schools. She has never been away from me for this long- unless she was with a family member or at school. 

What is the big deal...you may ask yourself.....Well.....

Difference here is ....she will be exercising a lot and there will be no nurse anywhere close! No one is trained in anything "Diabetes" and well, - um...that is not cool!

 Guess it is time to put on my "worry hat" and count down the seconds, minutes and hours until I can go and pick her up. She will be wearing her CGM, but not sure that the receiver can be within 20 feet from her while they are practicing- so not sure that it will work for her as well as I had hoped.  Her dance teacher has been very sweet- and has even said I can stop in to check on Kaci anytime I want to. Problem is....when you are 12- not so cool to have your mom stop in to check on you!

Here is an email I sent to her dance teacher.....I tried to sound calm and cool about the whole thing. Not sure if I accomplished that or not. While I don't want to make Diabetes a scary beast....fact is ....at times IT VERY WELL CAN BE A FREAKIN' SCARY BEAST!

Mrs. Taylor--

So excited to get the Line Camp schedule!

I must say I am getting a little nervous about camp- probably more than most.
I know that everything will be fine, but Diabetes always has to throw an EXTRA amount of worry into my worry pot! And since the nurse will not be available, I'm even more nervous. 

Kaci has recently gotten a CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) it is a small transmitter device that is attached to her arm, leg or stomach with a spring back needle (which is then removed) to leave a small cannula (or tube) underneath her skin. The small transmitter device reads her blood sugar every 5 minutes (without her poking her finger for blood- yeah!) The device then relays her blood sugar reading to a small receiver that looks almost exactly like an ipod. The receiver must be within 20 feet of her in order for the transmitter to receive the information. It will sound an alarm if her blood sugar reading is below 70 (too low) or above 260 ( too high).

The lows are the ones I worry about....they are brought on by too much insulin (if we do not calculate her food intake correctly)- or by exercise...which greatly reduces a person's blood sugar.

I am so excited about this device, but am unsure about how much it will be able to help her during dance camp. She will not have a pocket to put her CGM Receiver in her dance uniform and I fear she can not set it on the floor 20 feet from her as it may get stepped on ....or she will be unable to hear it should it beep. I am not sure if the instructor putting in in their pocket or near them at the front of the room is an option??  She will have the device on Monday and we will see how it works out.

Kaci will be stopping about every 2 hours to check her blood sugar (11:00, 1:00, 3:00 and 5:00) This seems to fit in your schedule pretty well....as far are snack and lunch break. I would like for her to call me at lunch on her phone in order to tell me her blood sugar reading so that we can decide if she should make a correction to her meal insulin.

She will need her meter (the machine she pokes her finger with in the same room with her at all times), as well as juice and/or glucose tabs.  

I will also be sending her emergency shot with her - should she need it. She only needs someone to administer her emergency shot if she becomes unresponsive and/or is unable to swallow juice or glucose tabs when asked to, or If she is unresponsive, passes out or has a seizure. I would like to show you her emergency shot on day one of camp- or any time prior that is convenient for you. We have NEVER had to use this. The directions are also located inside the container that it is held in. The shot would need to be administered into her upper  thigh. After it is administered please call 911 and me 512-797-6660.

I am sure that everything will be alright- but exercise will greatly decrease her blood sugar- so I will send plenty of snacks as well to help keep it up.

If her blood sugar does become low, she will need to snack or juice  and sit out for 15 to 20 minutes and then recheck. If it is still low, she has to do this 20 minutes all over again until get blood sugar is within normal range.  Kaci does not like to stand out- or be different. She will not take advantage by stopping unless she needs to. I promise!

I am not sure if there is a good time that you can let the other girls on the team know about her diabetes. It would be helpful if they were aware in case there is a situation where they would be able to help her by getting her juice or meter should she need the help.

What Dance Mates should know:

*You can't catch diabetes

*Kaci takes 5-6 shots a day and that many finger pokes

*Sometimes (especially after exercise) Kaci's blood sugar may go low- she needs juice or candy quickly to raise her sugar to a safe level. If she is disoriented someone should get her sugar quickly.

*Type 1 is not caused by diet, weight or eating too much sugar. Your pancreas just stops working.

*She will never OUTGROW diabetes and there is nothing she can do to make it go away.

If there are any questions you have for me, please let me know.

Maybe you can share this email with the other teachers who will be on campus at Line Camp.

So- please say a prayer for Kaci and for me- for all the teachers at the camp, for her teammates and for Clint and Bailey that we make it through this week without any hitches! Looks like it is time to remember these 2 quotes...

“Get comfortable with being uncomfortable!” - Jilliam Michaels

"Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain. ~Author Unknown

We will cross the mountain....Kaci can do it. I know she can!