OT.. ADA Diabetic Camp

[Chloesmom]

I just wanted to praise our experience at ADA Diabetic Camp. My DD7 is in our local one now and I juts cannot say enough great things about it. It is so nice to have people who understand around my DD. She is in heaven beacuse the whole diabetes thing is still new and she sometimes feels like she is the only one around with it. All of the counselors are fantastic. Most are diabetic themselves so they know all about it. They have " free carb" foods available to everyone and snacks with carbs are also provided. DD has raved about the fact that they can eat all the cheese or jello they want there. DD is getting moved to a pump in a few weeks so this has been great for her to see other kids with a pump and be able to ask questions.
If you have a diabetic child and one of these camps is close please look into taking them.. it has been a great experience for all of us. Next year DD is old enough to go to the overnight camp and she is so excited.. and so am I. I always worry about her when she is away but I think this would be one week that I would not worry.
I just wanted everyone to know how great this experience has been for us and encourage them to look into it themselves.

 

[Selket]

What a great experience for your daughter! William is just 4 yrs old so too young for anything but the "family camps" but I've heard so many good stories about kids learning independence and gaining confidence to handle type 1 that I'd like to send him some day. So it was a day camp? I didn't know they had those - all the ones I've seen were overnight!

You will LOVE the pump! William has been pumping since he was 2 yrs old and it allows so much more flexibility and ease really. The pump start can be a wee bit challenging but really nothing you're not already used to. I highly recommend buying (if you don't have it) a Precision Xtra meter which uses strips - just like glucose strips - to test ketones. You put a drop of blood on it and get the reading in 30 seconds. Ketones can build up very quickly if there is a pump problem (like overnight) and if you get unexpected high readings and don't want to wake them this is a good way to check. Not trying to scare you - just telling you about something that has saved our neck! LOL!

Best of luck!

 

[Chloesmom]

I live bascially in Cincinnati and we have an ADA day camp for kids 5-9 and then a week long camp for 8 and up. Chloe came home today and said " I love diabetic camp.. I thought I was the only kid like me but there are so many".
I have been in a legal battle with my ex over getting the pump and I am hoping that this is the end of it. She has wanted one ever since they said she could be on one. We were waiting for summer but then the ex stepped up and started the trouble. Currently we are waiting for insurance to give the ok and actually get the pump and hopefully by then we will have a court order blocking him from blocking it.
I have heard so much about the ketone test meter. It is for sure on my list of things at aquire. My endo told of the horrors of pump problems and although I am pretty on top of things with her ( I am a worrier big time) I know things will get by me.
Thank you so much for your kind words. I encourage you to look into a day camp that is close. I am actually sad that this one will be ending in 2 days!

 

[jayandstacey]

Pump problems?!?!?!

Our 5 yr old daughter (diagnosed at 13 months) has had 2 years without a pump and (now) 2 years with a pump.

Prior to the pump, we were in hospitals about 3 times a year - with seizures, highs or lows we couldn't get out of, or other complications.

Since we got on the pump, she hasn't been back. Not once, not in two years. Her A1C is now below 7.0 and her sugar numbers are in a nice tight range of about 75 to 175 most of the time. For a 5 year old, that's really good.

IF YOU CAN GET THE PUMP, DO IT. And if you care enough to know about the pump, you can easily 'learn' it.

Anyway, our daughter is looking forward to being old enough for camp. Personally, I don't want her growing up that fast

 

[Chloesmom]

Pump problems?!?!?!

Our 5 yr old daughter (diagnosed at 13 months) has had 2 years without a pump and (now) 2 years with a pump.

Prior to the pump, we were in hospitals about 3 times a year - with seizures, highs or lows we couldn't get out of, or other complications.

Since we got on the pump, she hasn't been back. Not once, not in two years. Her A1C is now below 7.0 and her sugar numbers are in a nice tight range of about 75 to 175 most of the time. For a 5 year old, that's really good.

IF YOU CAN GET THE PUMP, DO IT. And if you care enough to know about the pump, you can easily 'learn' it.

Anyway, our daughter is looking forward to being old enough for camp. Personally, I don't want her growing up that fast

When I went for my pump education class the nurse beat into us that if the set is bad and you don't realize it your child could get ketones fast. It had me a bit shook up for the day but then when I calmed down I remembered that I am a testing control freak. DD's A1c was 5.9 last time. If her number is anywhere over 150 I start to do serious investigation work.. what did she eat? what did she do? is she sick? It has gotten better over time but I still fret and worry.
Thankfully we have had no problems or complications. DD wants the pump because she wants to be normal. She totally has to set her schedule around eating and shots. She is very smart and independant. I have never been allowed to test her sugar and the last shot I actually gave was a week after she was diagnosed. She insists on doing it all and understanding it all. Its very cute to hear to explain to another child why she is sick and what she has to do. She sounds like Doogie Howser.

 

[jayandstacey]

When I went for my pump education class the nurse beat into us that if the set is bad and you don't realize it your child could get ketones fast. It had me a bit shook up for the day but then when I calmed down I remembered that I am a testing control freak. DD's A1c was 5.9 last time. If her number is anywhere over 150 I start to do serious investigation work.. what did she eat? what did she do? is she sick? It has gotten better over time but I still fret and worry.
Thankfully we have had no problems or complications. DD wants the pump because she wants to be normal. She totally has to set her schedule around eating and shots. She is very smart and independant. I have never been allowed to test her sugar and the last shot I actually gave was a week after she was diagnosed. She insists on doing it all and understanding it all. Its very cute to hear to explain to another child why she is sick and what she has to do. She sounds like Doogie Howser.

That is awesome. 5.9 - wow.

And yeah, if the set is bad things happen quickly. We've had a few bad sets here and there, but generally it is "all good." It reminds me of Reagan's stance against Russia as they dismantled - trust, but verify. So the pump makes life easier, but you still check just as often, just to be sure.

Our DD is 5 and we're going to Disney for the first time with her (I went 15 years ago...)

Being in WDW is SOOO different from the normal routine - it is different:
- exercise
- foods (for which carbs counts are apparently not readily available)
- temperatures
- sleep patterns

How far off did your DD Dougie Howser stray from her normal numbers? Did you simply increase the BG measurements and keep adjusting through the day? Or do things remain pretty stable?

We're getting the continuous BG system sometime in the winter. I hope (but don't think) we'll have it by our Nov trip.