Fear can look like a bus

How do you hand your child over to a stranger?  Even when there is no medical issue, sending your kids to school is a stressful thing to go through.  I always use the bus as an example.  We spent countless hours researching car seats and painstakingly strapped our kids into them.  We spent extra thousands of dollars on a car with a better crash rating and then one day we just ignored all of that and pushed our son onto a 14 ton bus with an elderly man that I never met before and waved goodbye.  Anyway you slice it, that’s not so smart.  Now I’m no paranoid and I love that my children are growing more and more independent with everyday.  In fact I understand and welcome the lessons that they will learn when they are away from us and I know that in all likelihood their bus will never be in an accident.  So I put Cole on that bus... but Cole isn’t in any reasonable risk of experiencing a dire medical emergency, Arden is.

So, Fear #1 - I’m afraid of the bus.

How did I make that fear go away? I didn’t but I did dwell it quite a bit.  First thing I did was not take my first option which was to request in Arden’s 504 plan that we be provided with a smaller, air conditioned bus with a medical aide on it.  I could have and I’d have been well within my right to do so but I don’t want that to be Arden’s experience.  I want her school days to be as normal as possible.  So I contacted the transportation department and explained Arden’s situation and we were able to adjust the bus route so that she is the last one on and the first one off.  Her bus time is as limited as possible and I think that with the nurses help we can keep Arden’s insulin peaks away from her travel time.  Additionally, the bus company found us a more empathetic then normal driver.  A very nice woman who isn’t put off by the diabetes or by the extra responsibility that we’ve unfairly asked her to shoulder.

Sadly, all of the planning in the world can’t avoid a low BG incident forever, so Arden has a cell phone and an emergency kit with food, juice and fast acting glucose.  She knows to eat and drink if she feels strange and the driver has been instructed to let her do so.  We’ve also given the driver information on how to access Arden visually and a plan for what to do in an emergency. 

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Anonymous

Hi,
I'm sure Arden will do well.  I'm excited to hear she has a pump now.  Just wanted to say hello!!!  She is getting so big.
Best of luck in school Arden.
Miss you guys.
Sakeenah Boyd, NP (former Diabetes Nurse Practitioner)

Monday, September 21, 2009 - 09:12 PM