DFAN/ONESTEP DIABETES NEWSLETTER
March 2000 Edition



Hi all! I'll just give a brief call this month for articles.
It's been awhile since anyone submitted an article to
the newsletter and we really need your help. We want
your diabetes stories, poems, anecdotes, tips, and
anything else you can tell us that is diabetes related.
Your piece can be from 1 line to infinity…<g>..it's
up to you. Please send your pieces to
dmmteam@...

This month's newsletter is a collection of reading
material that should keep your interested!..<g> Happy
reading!



__________POLL QUESTION__________

Once you were diagnosed with diabetes would
you say that fear or anger was your most powerful
negative emotion? How did you overcome it?
If you haven't overcome it, how do you deal with
it in your daily life?

Answering this month's poll question might make
you face some things you haven't thought about
in awhile.

Send your poll response to:'

dmmteam@... -or- belve@...




__________LAST MONTH'S POLL RESPONSE__________

Last month's poll question asked what would you do if
you could go without diabetes for a weekend. Here is one
of the poll responses we received:

Poll Response #1:

"Gob up all the cakes, sweets, pasta, etc available in the
shops/restaurants till I was about to explode."


Poll Response #2:

"I would like to eat a big plate of spaghetti and go wading
barefoot."



__________WEBSITE WORTH VISITING__________


* FREEWARE DIABETES SIMULATIONS * * *
aida_simulator-subscribe@...

If you are interested in glucose-insulin / diabetes
simulations - an updated version of the freeware
AIDA (v4) diabetes software simulator is shortly to
be released on the Internet (available from
http://www.diabetic.org.uk/aida.htm). Also a new
version of the 'AIDA on-line' Web-based diabetes
simulator (available at: http://www.shodor.org/aida)
is also being developed.

If you wish to be automatically informed when each
of these new versions becomes available - a new
dedicated AIDA simulator registration / announcement
list has been setup specifically for this purpose. The
list is open to everyone, and it is completely free to join.
However the list is 'closed' in the sense that only the
AIDA developer's can post to it. Therefore traffic on
the list is low / non-existent - and only consists of
official announcements about the AIDA simulator.

To automatically be informed about updates to the
AIDA diabetes simulator software range all you need
to do is send a blank email note to:

aida_simulator-subscribe@...

Then you can be the first to try out the updated glucose-insulin
simulators - when they become available!

Both AIDA v4 and 'AIDA on-line' are being made
available via the Web as non-commercial contributions
to continuing diabetes education. They are both completely
free to use.



__________ARTICLE_________

READING, WRITING & RIGHTS

(There are links to contact parent contributors at the
end of this article)

When a child has diabetes it has a great impact on his/her
life in many ways. They may have to change their way
of eating, the way they get their recreation, as well as
the diabetes changing the family dynamics. All of a
sudden one child needs more care than the other children
in the household. Diabetes also has an effect on the
child's schooling. Dealing with diabetes in school
is a major concern for parents. I've had problems
with schools in the past," says Kathy, whose daughter
was diagnosed two years ago. "In third and fourth
grade it was horrible. There seemed to be a lack of
knowledge and the school wouldn't let her test, etc…
The school my daughter now attends has been very
helpful."

The initial contact with the school about diabetes
might be a meeting with the school's principal to
explain that a diagnosis has been made. At this
time, the school should be informed what
accommodations the child might need, such as
access to food (sugar) in case there is an insulin
reaction, if the blood sugar goes low, or access
to a place to test (if the child is not testing in the
classroom). Arnold's daughter is nine years old
and was diagnosed in 1995, "Anyone who has
contact with Sara has been briefed on her
diabetes including the school principal, her
3rd grade teacher, the music teacher, the arts
teacher, the physical education teacher, the
school nurse, and the school secretary. As far
as food service personnel, my wife is the school
coordinator."


A meeting with the child's teacher should be done at
the beginning of every school year. The child's
teacher should be told about the diagnosis in person.
Don't leave it to the principal or another school
official to tell the teacher what is going on. If you
don't know who your child's teacher is find out the
name of the teacher and make an appointment to see
him/her. At the meeting you should tell the teacher
your child has diabetes and ask the teacher if he/she
knows anything about it. If they say they don't briefly
explain what diabetes is and what treatment your child
is receiving. The American Diabetes Association
and the Juvenile Diabetes Association offer booklets
and pamphlets that will help you.

At this meeting you should tell the teacher that your
child will have to eat mid-morning and mid-afternoon
snacks. Let the teacher know what time the snacks
have to be eaten and stress that this time must be
adhered to, It doesn't matter what activity is being
done, the child must be allowed to eat, even if it
means taking the food to the auditorium or into the
school yard.

Find out what time your child is having lunch since
this will have an effect on the timing of insulin doses.
The word "lunch" can mean different things in
different schools. One child may have lunch at
10:50 while another has lunch at 12:45..

It's imperative that your child's teacher and others
in the school know the symptoms of hypoglycemia
(low-blood sugar) and how your child may act is it's
happening. There are some classic symptoms
(shaking, sweating, confusion, etc….) but since
each child reacts differently it's important to point
out any symptoms that are unique to your child.
This is also the time to give the teacher a supply of
snack foods and foods and/or glucose tablets/gel
that should be used if the child experiences an insulin
low. It's important to specify that if the teacher thinks
your child is having an insulin reaction that he/she NOT
be left alone. If your child has to go to the school
nurse/clinic to test your child should NOT be sent alone.
Arnold shares, "Two years ago, Sara was getting low
and was unable to stay focused on her spelling test....it
was a child behind our daughter who informed the
substitute teacher who immediately went into action."

Meet with any other teachers or school personnel your
child may come in contact with. Meet with the gym
teacher, music teachers, librarians and lunchroom
workers. As an extra warning for gym teachers let
them know that your child should NOT exercise if
their blood sugar is 240 or higher since this may
indicate that your child is in need of insulin.

It's a good idea to give written instructions to each
teacher to make sure they know and understand
everything you've told them about diabetes and
your child. Don't leave it to memory. Write it
down and give each person a copy. Even if you
take all the advice in this article, have the talks
with the teacher, give the written warnings and
do tons of other work with the school it's still very
important to teach your child the best diabetes
management skills that you can. "Don't assume
that the teachers will really understand the ins
and outs of juvenile diabetes," says Robert,
"Don't expect others to do for your child what
you, and your child, need to be doing.."

If it's possible get a pager so the school can reach
you if there is an emergency situation with your
child. Give the number to your child's teacher and
school nurse. Kathy's daughter is 10-and-a-half-years
old, " I use a beeper or cell phone as a back up in
case I'm not home or the telephone line is busy. I
am glad I have always had another way for the school
to get a hold of me. There was an instance when
they claimed my beeper didn't work so they called
an ambulance and took my daughter to the emergency
room. It's important that you be able to be reached if
your child's blood sugar falls below a certain level.

If you find that your school and/or school board are
uncooperative with you and aren't able to or refuse
to meet your child's needs you might have to go
higher up and complain. This might include filing
a lawsuit under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973. This law deals with discrimination and can
be used to force the issue for a child who isn't being
accommodated in school due to diabetes.


You can contact Parent Contributor Arnold at: AML50311@...


__________BLAST FROM THE PAST_________
A PLACE TO THINK

Joe closed the door to the den. His day was over and he
wanted to relax a bit, “Finally, some time to myself,” he
sighed. Joe’s watch beeped letting Joe know it was time
to take his insulin injection. Joe was a Type II diabetic
but he needed to take insulin injections to help control
his diabetes. He didn’t like to take his injections in front
of anyone since Joe thought taking insulin meant he
was a failure. He’d often think to himself, “If I could
have eaten better and exercised I would never be taking
insulin.”

Joe would rarely raise his voice. As a matter of fact his
friends would be the first to tell you that Joe was the
kindest, sweetest, most jolly person they knew. He
was always making jokes. Joe even joked about his
diabetes, sometimes telling people, “Yes, I’m the one
who’s too sweet for my own good!”

This day was different. Joe had been cross with his
wife, antagonistic with his boss, and had scolded the
children for playing in the living room. This wasn’t
“like Joe”. As he sat in his den Joe started thinking
about his life. The diabetes was the latest change in
his life. Joe had always been a person who liked
changed. He liked the challenge of life and rolled
with the punches, but the diabetes-punch was one that
he couldn’t handle. He smiled on the outside and told
everyone things were, “Okay”, but they weren’t. It was
Friday and Joe decided to take an unplanned trip up to
a cabin his brother owned. It was next to a lake and Joe
thought the time alone would be good for him. He
wanted time to think about his life.

At sunrise the next morning Joe was already on the
highway driving to the cabin. It only took about an
hour to get to the cabin but Joe wanted to have as
much time as he could to be by himself. When he
spoke to his brother about using the cabin his
brother told him it might be a good idea to start
keeping a journal. So there Joe sat, alone in the
cabin with a spiral notebook, ready to write down
his thoughts. After sitting for about half an hour
the page was still empty. Joe couldn’t think of
one thought that was important enough to write
down. “Maybe that’s the problem,” he thought to
himself, “nothing seems important anymore.” Then it
hit him. That was the first sentence he would write in his
new journal.

Here’s Joe’s first journal entry:

“Nothing seems important any more. I used to think
everything was important in my life. I love my kids.
I love my wife. I love my life. Well, I used to love my
life. Ever since I was diagnosed with diabetes things
seemed to have changed. I think I’m still the same person.
I try to smile as much as I can but inside I feel like crawling
under the covers and staying there all day. I don’t know
how to handle this. Everyone told me that living with
diabetes was a piece of cake. I thought I’d be able to do it
with one hand tied behind my back, and here I am getting
nervous about taking an insulin injection.

Oh yeah. Insulin. I couldn’t even control myself
enough to stay off insulin. Sure, the doctor told me
that sometimes people with Type II diabetes just can’t
control it with pills, but I know I must have done
something wrong. I’m just fed up with not having control
over my life anymore.”
(Reader: Here’s your assignment! If Joe were one of
your close friends what advice would you give him?



____DFAN FAMILY N' FRIENDS DIABETES LEARNING CENTER_____

It's finally open! Our new Diabetes Learning Center is
open and it's specifically for the family members and friends
of people with diabetes.

This site caters to those who love us most, and is done
in a friendly atmosphere with easy to read files. There
are special sections for

Spouses, Boyfriends & Girlfriends
Others Like You
Parents

If you have family members or friends who want to learn
about diabetes but can't seem to understand the textbooks
please send them to our site. Please visit the site yourself
and let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas about
what should be added.

The URL for our site is:

http://members.aol.com/dmmteam


DFAN WEBSITES

DFAN Diabetes Webpage
http://pages.prodigy.net/dfan/dfansite

Christian Diabetes Living
http://home.att.net/~belve/

DFAN Diabetes Weightloss Site
http://members.aol.com/belve/dfan

Christian Diabetes N' Weight Loss Site
http://members.aol.com/dfanonestep

Diabetes Angel Website
http://pages.prodigy.net/dfan/angel

MyJournal
http://members.aol.com/belve/myjournal

Warm Fuzzies (Teddy Bears For Diabetic Kids)
http://members.aol.com/belve/fuzzy/

We have some DFAN e-mail discussion lists
you can join!

Christian Diabetes (dfan-Christian)
Diabetes & Weightloss (dfan-weightloss)

You can join these lists by sending a request
to dmmteam@...


Belver Ladson
Visit The DFAN Websites!
DFAN Diabetes Site: http://pages.prodigy.net/dfan/dfansite
Christian Diabetes Living: http://home.att.net/~belve
DFAN Diabetes Book Of The Week:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1580400337/teamdiabetes

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