8. Use the JDRF Web site. Go on the JDRF Web site and ask for a Bag of Hope, which will come to you by Fedex. It contains a variety of books for kids to use when they talk to their class, books and videos for the parents, and “Rufus,” the stuffed animal who has diabetes and can get shots, too. You’ll also get a copy of Countdown to a Cure, the research update magazine, which hopefully will cheer you up with its content and tone. The JDRF chapter that is closest to your home will send the Bag of Hope; they may contact you and ask if you’d like to be contacted by a mentor family who also has a child with diabetes. You can also go on the American Diabetes Association Web site and order a Wizdom Kit, which contains other good stuff as well.
9. Make a cheat sheet. Give the sheet to the school nurse, teacher and the babysitter (once you feel comfortable having a sitter). My family's cheat sheet has contact and cell phone numbers for both parents, as well as grandparents and the endocrinologist. We also have our daughter’s target numbers listed, and what to do if she is either low or high. Since we are on Novolog, the carb/insulin ratio and the correction ratio are on there, with examples of the math. Obviously, you’d have the pertinent info for the type of insulin you’re using or for a pump. The teacher’s copy has the steps for how to give a shot of insulin in case the nurse is not available in an emergency. My husband laminated the copies we gave them, but it’s certainly not necessary.
10. Stay in communication with school faculty. Set up a meeting with the teacher and the nurse. It is important that you get your child back to their regular schedule as soon as possible. Realize that the school will see you as the expert on this disease and be ready to assume that role (after all, you will be an expert soon!). At this meeting, the three of you should set up a system for regular blood checks, who will give shots and oversee doses, how you would like lows and highs treated, and when you should be called or asked to come in. Mention to both of them—and amend any forms you turned in at the beginning of the school year—that if your child needs to be sent to the hospital by ambulance, you’d like them taken to the hospital where your endocrinologist practices unless the injury is life-threatening. Most schools will take a child to the hospital nearest to the school, which may or may not be the best for your child. One time, I took Annie to the nearest hospital to our house when she had ketones; the emergency room residents were asking US what to do. We had to call our endocrinologist and hand the phone to them. It was awful.
