Follow Up

Thanks for your comments on my post yesterday. My anger has subsided a bit for now.


I'll try to address some of the comments here.

D-RN does not know the error of her ways yet. I sent the letter to school with Riley this morning, so the parents should get it today. I am hoping that when she reads it she will see that she screwed up. We'll see. I guess it just depends on how much of a dingbat she really is.

I don't really feel the need to push the issue. What's done is done. While D-RN is at fault I feel that the responsibility really falls on the sub.

Regarding the sub, she is the sister of Riley's teacher. She is a retired school teacher. Since she is retired she comes to school almost every day to help her sister with things. So, she sees what P has to do with Riley on a daily basis. She sees him get insulin every time that he eats.

Also, regarding having a standard letter for all subs, there is a whole notebook full of information in the classroom regarding Riley and his diabetes. I gave it to P the week before school started. She has commented often about how thorough it is. It is plainly written in there that anytime Riley eats he must check his sugar first and then get insulin based on the amount of carbs he eats. I can provide the info but I can't make them read it or understand it.

So, since the sub is P's sister, it kind of puts me in a bad place. If it were anyone else I would probably already ripped her a new one. But, since P is so good to Riley I don't want to make too many waves.

When I talked to P on the phone she sounded upset with her sister also. I'm pretty sure her sister heard a thing or two from her.

We are so blessed that Riley has P for a teacher. She is very protective of Riley. And, if she ever has a question she calls. For example, Riley's sugar at lunch yesterday was 93. I forget how many carbs he ate, but it must have been a lot because the pump said to give him 1.60 units. This is a lot for Riley, so P called first to check and make sure she should give it all. Or, a week or so ago she called to tell me Riley's sugar at lunch. A few minutes later she called again. She said Riley said his needle burned when she gave him the insulin. She was worried that there was something wrong.

Or, there's the time Riley said his sugar felt low but it wasn't and she called to see if there was anything she should do. Or, Monday when Riley's sugar was 267 at morning snack, she called and said, "I feel so helpless. Is there anything I'm doing wrong? Is there something I can do better?"

Riley was out sick on Tuesday. He woke up with eyes almost swollen shut. I took him to the Dr. and he had conjunctivitis and an ear infection. At 8:30 that morning P called from school to check and make sure Riley was OK because he never showed up at school. I'm sure she doesn't do that to all the kids. I think she has a soft spot in her heart for my little man.

I just can't say enough wonderful things about this lady. God was really looking out for Riley when he gave up P for a teacher.

Last night they had a Christmas program at Riley's school. I had to stay after because I'm on the hospitality committee. That's a hoot if you know me. I'm not a very hospitable person.

Anyway, Riley was running around the gym with the little girl of the mom who brought the sugar-free ice cream for Riley. When she came in to tell her it was time to leave I bristled a little. I just knew she was going to mention the ice cream party and it is a sore subject with me.

"Riley really is a cutey. C. has a crush on him."

I nodded my head and smiled. Please go away, I thought. Just turn and walk away.

But, no, she couldn't.

"We had an ice cream party yesterday. I'm not sure if you heard about it or not."

"Oh, yes, I heard about it."

"Well, I brought sugar-free ice cream for Riley." She said it with a huge grin on her face. You could tell she was very proud of herself.

"My mom is diabetic so I knew sugar-free was better for him."

I'm not sure what the expression on my face was, but I don't think it was pretty. I saw her expression change.

Then she said, " I brought some other things too, but he checked his sugar and it was high, so we decided to just let him have the ice cream."

By this time my brain was screaming "Go away before I scream at you. Just go away." Riley's sugar had been 152 at the ice cream party. This was a very lovely sugar considering he had just eaten 2 hours earlier and probably still had plenty of insulin on board. His sugar was by no means high by my standards.

I just stood there with this fake smile on my face. I knew she would get the letter the next day. It explained that Riley doesn't need sugar-free foods. I just didn't feel like dealing with any of it right then. I was afraid that if I started to speak I would start to yell.

And, really, this mom had done nothing wrong. She has actually been very sweet by thinking of Riley and bringing him sugar-free ice cream because she thought it was better for him. It's not like him eating sugar-free hurt him or anything.

But, Michael was standing next to me.

"You know, you don't have to bring sugar-free for Riley. He can eat whatever the other kids are eating, " he said.

"Oh, it was no problem. We had it at home anyway. It's what C eats all the time. So, that's what she ate at the party too."

Then, she gathered up her kids and left.

I made sure to write her a personal note on her letter thanking her for thinking of Riley and bringing the sugar free ice cream. I didn't want her to think that the letter had anything to do with her.

She was trying to do something good. But, really, if she hadn't brought the sugar-free ice cream Riley probably would have gotten insulin.

It's water under the bridge now. I hope the letter clears things up for some people.