Valentine's Day at School

    It is Valentine's Day at school for William. It seems like a strange day to have it but that is Okay. This is a school holiday that I still have to worry about every year. It is not because I forgot to get the cards for his classmates. We have those and the suckers that go with them. It is not because I can not find the class list because this year we did not have one. He just had to put "from William" on all of them. It really does make that easier. It is another holiday where candy is the major part. I never realized just how many holidays require something sweet as part of the day like Halloween, birthdays, Valentine's Day and may others. Almost every holiday or special day is centered around food or candy. You become acutely aware of this being the parent of a diabetic child and more so for one that has celiac disease as well. I always need to check if it has wheat and then how many carbohydrates does it have.

    William's class is having snacks as part of the celebration for today. They are having fruit, crackers, cheese and sausage. His teacher told me yesterday that they also get to play a game where M&M's are the reward for the correct answer. We do not have a school nurse at his school as most of them in Michigan do not anymore. I told his teacher that William could have the M&M's if they gave him the correction dose for them. Everything is usually labeled in William's lunch. The staff does not really ever need to look up the carbohydrates for the food that he eats because it is written on it with a black marker. I try to keep it as simple as possible. Today will be a big day where he can get a reward the same as everyone else. I told them to call me if they have any issues with understanding what they need to do. He will probably get a cupcake that we keep for him at the school (frozen in the freezer) and some cheese and sausage (both free and no wheat. That means that they have no carbohydrates so they need no insulin). He will get to feel the same as everyone else except the washing the hands for the finger poke and the insulin from the pump for food before he can eat.

    Holidays are so different for us and for everyone else that has this same struggle. Nothing is easy when it comes to food, and that is our life. It is tough sometimes being a full time pancreas. I am glad that I am keeping him alive and it really makes me appreciate what my body does all by itself.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone and thank your pancreas while your eating that candy,

Your Loving Dad