diabetic kids and clubs

[suzannef]

My 7year old dd was diagnosed this week with juvenile diabetes. To say that we are shocked and saddend doesn't begin to cover the range of emotions we are feeling. We are going on the four day wonder 5/15 and are wondering if any of you seasoned cruisers have a child with diabetes and how this worked out for you on the cruise. Can they go to the clubs? Is it very difficult because of all the food options on the cruise? We also have a 5 year olddd and 9 year old dd and will be traveling with two cousins 5 and 9. This is all so new to us and we are quite frankly over whelmed.

Any ideas, comments, and or thoughts are greatly appreciated.


tia
Suzanne

 

[CdnMom2]

I remember well those overwhelming early days when my DD was diagnosed (5 yrs next week). You will -- all of you -- get through this. The good news is that you now know what was making your daughter ill & her insulin will let her function again.
The website www.childrenwithdiabetes.com is very helpful.

We are going on our 1st cruise in December so we are not seasoned DCL passengers. Our 16 yr old DD & her 3 younger sibs will be with us too. I do know that you can have doc sign a Medical Circumstances form (from TA/DCL) and get a real fridge in room for her insulin.

You need to learn to carb count -- even pack a guide with you as trip is pretty soon. Measure & weigh some food at home so you get an idea what a cup, 1/2 cup of cereal, pudding, etc. looks like. Ounces of cheese, meat, etc. This will help you keep on track with her diet plan. Start reading some labels on bread, bagels, ice cream, etc. (some of these vary wildly) for carbohydrates & fibre. I would think you'd want to make a Family rule that Meal time will be Family time rather than letting her go to meals with the Club. This way you can steer her towards better choices for her diet & count her carbs & increase her insulin to cover any special treat desserts. Have the whole family together at this time to share your day's activities so that your DD w/ diabetes is not singled out having to leave the Club.

She should understand firmly that she is not to have ANY regular pop/regular Jell-o or more than the 1/2 cup juice you see her have at breakfast with you. She can have Diet Pop/Diet Jell-o & water's best for thirst anyway. Be sure the CMs & waiters know she has diabetes so they don't inadvertently give her some of that or make a big deal of handing her a giant sundae thinking bigger is better -- not in this case! I would be cautious with any smoothies/milkshakes. They can contain as much as her whole day's worth of carbohydrates in that 1 drink. Small amounts, share things, take smaller slices, pieces, etc. of decadent things if she really wants to try something, especially if other kids are having.

She doesn't have to have only diabetic-choc/sugar-reduced goodies. Though I'm sure you can easily request these on DCL as the restaurants are very accommodating at WDW. These sweeteners can often give diarrhea. Moderation is the key. But there will be so many different goodies on the Cruise that she doesn't need to feel left out. She can be active also to counter some of the possible over-eating. Room service nightly in your room will limit the temptations at bed-time snack time & make cheese, crackers, grapes & a chocolate chip cookie awful special for all to share.

Also be sure the CMs & the kids you are travelling with know the symptoms of a "hypo" (low blood sugar) & how to so easily treat it. Give her 1/2 cup NORMAL pop/juice & don't leave her alone. Then page/get you. Even though it sounds like food is everywhere on the boat I would be sure to carry & have her carry on her a sugar source just-in-case (individual sugar cubes/life savers if you think she won't just eat them as candy). Do make sure you have quick-acting sugar source & a snack on you if you are going off boat on Nassau day. Do get her a Medic-Alert bracelet too!

We always travel with extra insulin packed separately in case anything happens to the 1 set. Also take an extra glucometer & battery. We also have a note from doc that DD has diabetes & therefore needs the syringes in case of any questions at border-crossings.

Getting up at regular times & eating at regular times is important. Sounds like that's doable on the ship with all the activities & the fact that your dinner is regularly scheduled. Do request early dinner -- normal dinner-time. Let your Dietician & Educator Nurse know and they can help you with the planning.

The DisAbilities board on here also has several helpful people with Diabetes knowledge.

Long post, sorry. I truly feel for you, your DD, & family. You will all have a fantastic cruise still though!

 

[crisi]

Actually, food isn't everywhere on ship - and with a young child its pretty easy to watch. They don't feed kids in the clubs except at mealtimes. I'd recommend not letting her eat in the club - the counselors aren't going to be as careful or aware as you are, communication gets messed up, and it will be too new to her to be able to ask and make sure she was given a diabetic plate.

Food is on deck 9, in the restaurants (and the bars, not a problem for a seven year old), and via room service. There are not trays of brownies in the hall. Paid for food can be gotten from the stands in front of the theatres (popcorn, theatre candy), but its easy enough to miss these.

 

[Oliviaclare]

I am well aware of your stress. My daughter at age 15 was diagnosed with Type I diabetes mellitus, and even though I am an RN I was terrorized. That was in 1978 and now my lovely daughter is 42 years of age and the mother of a 9 year old healthy daughter.

Please be aware that her physicians are cognizant of her condition, and if your MDs approved of the cruise, that is the way to go. When my daughter was diagnosed, her pediatrician insisted that we go on vacation a few weeks later and even insisted on a leave-of-absence from the hospital so that she could go to a midnight showing of "Sgt. Pepper' Lonely Hearts Club" movie. (She and her friends had won tickets.)

Please be assured that Disney will take good care of her, I am sure, in the clubs. Have lots of snacks, just in case, and monitor her BG frequently and most of all, let her know that everything is OK and she will do fine.

 

[CdnMom2]

Now that would make life difficult for all of us I think!

No, I was under the impression that kids could go somewhere near the pool to Counter-type stand & request pizza/nuggets or something & ice cream just whenever. I guess the purpose is for families who are not eating until late eve & for people having lunch whenever they wish. I also thought this was the same place the CMs at the Clubs marched the kids to at meal-time routinely if any kids were there during meals. And I had understood that some kids were quite willingly there as they preferred the fun there & with new friends over sit-down restaurant time with the parents. Now I realize your 7 year old is probably not running freely through the ship, but if you or other trusted adult were at the pool with her & the other 3 also saw other kids saunter over & order pizza or ice-cream or get pop (oops..."soda") in middle of day (outside of lunch) then the temptation might be something you'd have to deal with. So be prepared. Of course, I may be way off on all the above.

I haven't been on ship yet nor I am I an expert in your child's diabetes, but I do love that you posted your question & I can also learn from others here who have been there. Thanks crisi.

 

[suzannef]

Thank you so much for all of your extremely helpful insights and good wishes. We are taking this cruise as afamily cruise and want to spend the majority of time with our girls so having meals together is a must. I am glad to know there are not huge plates of brownies in the hallway That would be too tempting for me too. I am hoping as each day goes by we will learn more and feel more confidant in her care. We have our first meeting with the nutrionist on Wed. and the poor thing has no idea of the page full of questions I have Today was her first day to school with this illness and I am right now waiting for the bus and have been sick to my stomach all day hoping that all went well. Our school nurse was wonderful this morning and reassured me she would take good care of her.


Anyhow thankyou all again and boy are we going to need this cruise.

Suzanne

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Sorry to hear about the Diabetis.
WE have been on 6 disney cruises and my husband is a diabetic. Tell them ahead of time and you will get a great menu selection to choose from. The are very good, even great about answering questions about the foods on the menu.They have this situation with hundreds of people every crusie so you are not alone. Diet pop can be found 24 hours a day at a drink stand next to the mickey pool. Diet coke and diet sprite are your choices. If you want to bring some sugar free swiss miss on board, do it. lots of kids drink cocoa around the pool in the early and late hours. They get that by the mickey pool too , but do not have sugar free. Bring your own and she can feel like a regular kid too. We also bring Crystal lite lemonade to mix in the ice water at the same place. They make it in individual packets now so easy to bring along and easy to mix up. At lunch in the buffet they have sugar free desserts, you have to ask for them. There is an attendant on hand by the desserts to ask. they have cheesecake, strawberry shortcake, blueberry cobbler and lots more. We asked for two sometimes and put one in the frig for later, in case my husband got a sweet tooth at one of the late night parties. There is sugar freee desserts at all the restaurants at dinner too. At scoops ice cream parlor, (by the pools) they have lots of wonderful fresh fruit that make a great snack for diabetics. Take a little extra and put in the frig in your room, again you have a great dessert or have a nice healthy snack for your child.
We have been encouraging people to write, e-mail or call the cruise lines with suggestions for diabetics so we can make a few inprovements for them. So if you could do this too it may help all of us out there, especially the kids. #1 suggestion is sugar free ice cream at scoops so the kids playing in the pool can get an ice cream like everyone else. It's very important to feel like everyone else and that you can still do what they can, especially a child. They already have sugar free ice cream in the dining rooms so it shouldnt be much more to put it out there by the pool with the regular ice cream.
#2. Was to suggest they have a sugar free cookie on the tray of cookies they bring out by the pool in the afternoons. Again so we can all have atreat when the rest of the family does.
#3. To have some sugar free Root beer or lemonade or a fruit punch so people have more of a choice. They have a contract with coke, but coke makes diet Barq's root beer and minute maid lemonade and fruit punch. This would really be nice for the kids especially as you may not want them having so much pop. They do have equal and splenda on the table too.
Well good luck and believe me you'll have a magical cruise. Just let them know that is she has her meals with the kids club that she is diabeitic and they will monitor the sugar stuff. But you have to call and let the cruise line know before your cruise. Be sure to get you child a medical ID tag, that will help others not to give her sugar items if your not there. Disney is very accommodating to people with special need. sincerely mom x4,grandma x4

 

[crisi]

Now that would make life difficult for all of us I think!

No, I was under the impression that kids could go somewhere near the pool to Counter-type stand & request pizza/nuggets or something & ice cream just whenever

Oh yes, they can. And Plutos, Scoops and Pinnocchios are open, if not all the time, enough so that it can seem like it, for the purpose of food whenever you want it. But it isn't the pushy sort of "food all the time." You need to walk up to a counter and place an order (except cookies, you can grab cookies). Scoops (which would present the most problems) is kind of tucked around the corner and has lots of trays of fresh fruit to grab along with the cookies. The other spot that would cause a lot of trouble is the deck 9 drink station. But all of these areas are right around deck 9 - very convienent if you are spending a lot of time at the Mickey pool and are looking for it, but you have to walk there from almost everywhere else, and not "in your face" if you aren't looking for it. Our kids (who were 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 and spent a lot of time in the Mickey pool area) never noticed any of the fast food options, and didn't notice the drink station either, thank goodness (mom would appear with drinks and pizza, in that magical way mom does these things). A kid a little older would probably notice.

Mine aren't diabetic (my Dad is type II diet controlled), so I didn't really need to worry about what they ate....but we discovered that they didn't eat that much out of dinner, and fruit was generally more accessible than anything else. Of course, to a diabetic, even fruit needs to be monitored.

 

[shmoogrrrl]

I assume that your daughter is on insulin? If that is the case, let your TA or Disney (if you booked directly through them) know and they will have a sharps box in your room to dispose of the needles and such. You can also get a real (albeit small) fridge in your room with a doctor's form saying that she needs it to store meds.

Oh yeah! You probably want to get her a Medical ID bracelet. That will help in case something should happen with low blood sugar or the like. http://www.laurenshope.com/ makes cute bracelets that might appeal to a child! They sure do appeal to me!



Good luck to you and I am glad that you at least know what you are dealingwith now!

 

[shinedalgarno]

I have lurked here for a long time, as we are planning on a trip in a couple of weeks to WDW.....I would be interested in hearing if diabetic children are 'allowed' to participate in the child care clubs on the cruises and at the resorts. We won't be needing to take advantage of it this trip, as I have a very young baby (3 months when we go), but would love to know for future planning.

I feel your pain. When my daughter was not yet 2, she was diagnosed with Juv. Diabetes. She is now 4 and doing GREAT! She has been on an insulin pump now since November 2004. We LOVE the pump...it is for sure worth looking in to once you get adjusted to the carb counting, lifestyle changes, etc...

Let me just tell you....I was a basketcase when she was diagnosed....for MONTHS I would cry in the car driving home from work, thinking about how unfair it is, what would her future be like, worried that the unthinkable might happen....it gets better.....it does!! You will always worry, you will always have special issues to deal with....but all of this....it becomes a new way of life for you and it becomes just as normal as brushing your teeth in the morning. Marlo is a beautiful, happy, healthy well-adjusted little girl...diabetes did not take that from us. It won't take it from you and your little girl either.....

Please, if you need to talk, or vent....anything that you need....I would be happy to email or PM with you, talk on the phone.....I know what a stressful time this is.....just know that it gets easier every day.....

A good website too is the JDRF website...this is an excellent organization...my family has found it very empowering to participate every year in their fundraising walks........

Best of luck to you and your family....

 

[suzannef]

shinedalgarno
Thank you so much for the kind words. Its hard to believe how routine things have become in the last two weeks. Luckily my daughter has been handling things very well and that has made it much easier for my husband and I. We have been on many many diabetes websites including the one you cited. The wealth of information and help is unbelievable.
I am amazed at how eager other parents in this situation are to help and offer their geuine support. I hope that one day I will be able to be in the same situation. I hope I can soon look at my daughter and just see her as her wonderful, beautiful self and not feel that twinge of pain in my heart for her. I know it will come, I hope sooner rather than later. my five year old is yelling for me gotta go


thanks again
Suzanne

 

[arlenesp]

DCL has a medical form for you and your DD doctor to fill out. The last cruise I mentioned he would be bringing his scooter onboard and our room steward was aware of his condition. I think I got it from DCL. They I think faxed it to me.
One of my friends daughter was diagnosed at age 7 also and I remember how she got the whole family involved with food choices so she didn't feel out of place at the table.

 

[chatty]

17 years ago our than 13 year old Daughter our first born went on a diet and we were so proud of her but I began to worry as she was loosing what I felt was too much weight too fast. One morning I couldn't wake her up we rushed her to the hospital and this is when we found out that she had fallen into a comma from kido asadoses (spelled wrong) We than we told that she was diabetic. We were shocked and besides ourselves. They told us her chances were not good. We paryed and never left her side and 3 days later she came out of the comma. We were so Blessed and over-joyed! She is now 33 years old and is doing fine but I so Pray for any Family that has this situation because I have never stopped worrying and never will until they find a cure. Which I hope will be tomorrow! No one in our Families on either side has diabetis nor do my other 3 children. They say it could be a viral? I'll never know I guess and it dosen't matter anyway.
You and your Daughter will be Fine I feel in my soul there will be a cure soon.
God Bless
Chatty