Hey DOC - I just received the following letter from a parent of a CWD & this family really needs your help & input, now!

Do you have any advice for them & has any other parent out there run into a similar situation?

Hi kelly,

I just found your blog and wonder if you have some help or suggestions for me about where to get help with a school matter.

My 13 yo daughter is a type 1 diabetic and has been since age 3.

We have been well controlled until Jan of 2010 when she was hospitalized for the 1st time with ketoacidosis. She has been hospitalized several times since and in November 2010 had her first bout of pancreatitis. Then again January 2011 and late Feb. Since march we haven't been back in the hospital.

My problem is the school. We have been paying and planning for the 8th grade DC field trip for a year. Her endocrinologist and other specialists say she is medically stable and able to attend the trip.

The student travel org booking the trips feels they can handle her coming and have protocols in place.

The principal called me on the afternoon of May 25th and said he would be excluding her from going because of her health issues. I shared with him that her doctor felt she could go and he said he wanted to do this to make sure the other participants would have a good time and other inflammatory statements.

I realize what he's trying to do is illegal. I wrote an appeal to the superintendent because he said he had her support. What do you think my next course of action should be? File a complaint with ADA? The state superintendents office?

I asked for an answer from the school within 48 hours.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you may have.

Sincerely,

XXX X. XXXXXXXXX

This Memorial Day holiday weekend festivities confirmed the following:

1. After digging out my bathing suits and a few other summer outfits from their wintry resting place and trying them on, I absolutely need to drop 5 to 7 lbs sooner rather than later

2. The heat is on - And by on I mean it's REDONKULOUS. And by redonkulous I mean: WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO SPRING?

It’s freaking hot out! And by hot I mean: It's Africa hot! A sweaty, skin breaking out from a trifecta of sunscreen, heat and sweat type of hot.

Friday night required putting my air conditioning on at night for the first time in over a year.

I tried not to, but I could hardly breathe in the heat of the night and sleep would be impossible without it.

Saturday meant freezing two large bottles of water and packing a cooler for the beach , and making sure there were enough mini ice packs to rest my plastic bag encased pump on while I dug my toes in the sand and people watched with friends.

Sunday involved massive doses of sunscreen and another day at the beach with friends. I noticed my numbers creeping ever so cautiously towards Canada and correction bolused accordingly.

Monday’s numbers were wonky, and by wonky I mean that I seemed stuck in the 180‘s for most of the day. Not exactly terrible, but not where I wanted to be, or was used to being. When my correction boluses finally worked their magic, my blood sugar dropped to 70 and I downed my beach snack in two minutes flat.

Today started at 2 am, when I woke up all sweaty and shaky with a low of 45, which lead to me over treating with peanut butter smeared on a small banana and four ounces of ice cold vanilla soy-milk, which lead to a 6:30 am blood sugar of 388.

What a lovely way to start the work week!!

At 8 a.m, right before I officially started my work day, I realized that I needed to “reboot”, and by reboot I mean I needed to lock and load a new insulin reservoir.

So I did. but as I started to fill my new reservoir with insulin, I stopped short and only filled it with 100 units & had an "A-ha moment!"

The heat is officially on folks, which means that the insulin in my reservoir will come precariously close to it's "Bake Rate," and the skunky insulin phenomena occurring, which in essence requires me to throw out an almost full reservoir because the insulin had gone bad due to "heat exhaustion" and the likes there of. Seriously, who needs that?

And let's face it, bake rate & skunkified insulin was most likely what was causing my wonky numbers yesterday!

Yep, it's official, summer is here and with it comes higher temps, air conditioning as the norm, less clothing, salad days, the ocean calling and 1/2 filled insulin reservoirs as the norm, not the exception.

Let the games begin!