The meeting

Yesterday, we had a meeting with Riley’s teacher for next year.

I just wanted to meet with her and let her know some things about Riley. Basically, I wanted to meet the woman I was going to let care for my child next year.

The meeting was more for me than her.

Everything went very well. She was very upfront and said that she had never had a child with D in her class. She was also very relieved to find out that Riley had a pump and that she would not have to give any shots.

I was impressed by the fact that since she thought Riley was on injections, she seemed willing to learn to give them.

We talked about highs and lows. We talked about the pump. I didn’t get into any specifics. We are going to meet closer to the start of school next year and go over the specifics.

She asked a lot of good questions. I made sure to let her know that as overwhelming as it may sound that it really wouldn’t take up a lot of her time.

I let her know that Holden would be getting out of class to administer Riley’s insulin in the beginning. She said that once she got comfortable with it, Holden would not need to come at all.

She assured me that she would call me if she ever had any questions and that she would probably call me several times in the beginning. I like that. I would much rather she call me for any little thing than not to call me at all. Plus, what she might consider a little thing might not be so little after all.

I also leaned what time Riley will have snack, lunch, and recess.

Also, on certain days he will go to other activities that include: computers, Spanish, art, music, PE, and library. I quickly started counting up in my head. That meant there was 6 more people I needed to speak with. I told her since they were going to be the adult with Riley I at least wanted them to be aware that he has D and what to do if he has a low while he’s in their class.

She told me that at the beginning of school she would set up a time to get all of the teachers together so that I can speak to them all at once. That makes my job a lot easier.

And, she didn’t have any problem with me hanging out around the classroom the first few days of school to make sure Riley was settling in OK. She said she’d want to do the same thing if it was her child.

And, I stressed a few times that it is very important to me that Riley not be singled out and that he participate in everything just as any other student. "What about birthday parties with cake and ice cream?" I told her that Riley can eat whatever the other kids are eating. My only rules are that he can't have regular soda or regular juice. I explained to her why. I told her I'd have special juice for Riley to use on these occasions. I also stressed that if any of the parents ask, they are not to bring something different for Riley to eat, such as sugar-free candy or sugar-free cake. I didn't explain to her that it usually has about the same amount of carbs as the stuff with sugar.

Going to speak with her helped to calm my nerves. I had stopped stressing over it so much. But, to speak with her and find out that she’s willing to learn and understands why it’s so important to learn has really helped a lot.

And, one of the last things she said before we left was that she knew Riley was our baby, but that she would treat him like her baby too. That’s exactly what I needed to hear.

I know Riley is going to be OK. He has Holden out there. In addition to Holden, there are two kids in Holden's class with D. One is on injections and the other is on a pump. They are both very fond of Riley and Riley feels the same way about them. I'm sure they'd help out if needed. There is also a girl who has been in this particular school since Kindergarten. She is on a pump, an Animas just like Riley's. Her mom has told me that she'd be able to help. Also, the 6th grade teacher has D and is on a pump. And, the mother of one of the kid's in Holden's class is also an elementary teacher. So, in all, there are 5 people at the school who have Type 1 themselves and also the mother of a kid with D. Considering the school only has about 325 students, that's a pretty large number of people with D. It just tells me that Riley is exactly where he needs to be.

I still worry, of course. No one will take care of Riley like I will. Just like a PWD, no one will care for your D like you do. Just imagine, having to give up control of your D from 8 AM- 3PM every day. You have one day to teach someone everything they need to know, how to count carbs, how to bolus, what to do for lows and highs. Then, you have to stand back and watch them do the best they can with the disease that you know intimately. The disease that only you really know how to best deal with. Scary huh? But, that's what I'm going to do with Riley. It's what I have to do.

Now, I'm going to put these thoughts aside for a while and enjoy my summer.