YES! Your child can do anything other kids can do. It is important that you encourage them. Diabetes is not your child and shouldn’t be the center of your child’s life. It is just one facet of your child that needs to be addressed.
Children with Type One Diabetes Can Do Anything
Children with juvenile diabetes have become inventors, musicians and celebrities.
Nick Jonas — The Jonas Brothers
Thomas Edison
Justice Sonya Sotomayor—Supreme Court Justice
Mary Tyler Moore—actress
Most parents worry about having their child participate in sports. However, children with diabetes have become Olympians, pitchers in Major League Baseball, Professional Hockey and Football players. Here are a few examples:
Gary Hall Jr. — US Olympic Gold Medalist, Swimming
Mike Sinclair — NFL – Philadelphia Eagles
Kris Freeman — Olympic and National Champion Cross-Country Skier
Walt Frazier — NBA – New York Knicks
Arthur Ashe — Tennis – Wimbledon winner
Chris Dudley— NBA
Nick Boynton — Philadelphia Flyer
Kris Freeman— Olympic cross-country skier
Missy Foy— ultramarathoner
Being Prepared with Juvenile Diabetes
Children with type one diabetes play, shop, dance, learn to drive and do everything other children do. The main difference is that they and you have to be prepared. They have to take special precautions and always have 2 or 3 bottles of insulin, 2 or 3 syringes, a blood glucose meter, blood glucose test strips, and a source of carbs with them.
Participation in group activities like sports or band will probably require meetings with school officials, coaches and teachers prior to school starting and every year your child is in school.
Blood Sugar Management
There are also important pre-activity, blood sugar management measures that can help.
1) Check your child’s blood glucose and ketone levels prior to competitive sports
2) Check your child’s blood sugar levels at regular intervals throughout the event
3) Have extra water available
4) Keep a record of blood sugar, water and carb needs. Your Dario blood glucose management system can help you keep those records.
5) Find out from your child’s physician if s/he should have a slightly higher than normal blood sugar range so there is less danger of going low during the extreme activity
6) Don’t leave diabetes management to the coach, staff or your child
7) Watch your child’s performance and praise their efforts
If there is a sports injury it is important to check blood sugar levels. This is because our bodies react to injury by becoming more insulin resistant and by releasing glycogen from the liver. Be sure that your child is wearing a medical ID bracelet or necklace.
And let them do anything that the other kids do.