I had planned on writing something about school and the impact that T1D has a long time ago. Like everything in life it seems, I just never got around to it. I even started to finally write this post 2 months ago and here we are in October…
Starting school
As some of you close to us will know, T was diagnosed 2 weeks before his 5th birthday, 2 days before he was supposed to start school. It wasn’t exactly how we thought starting school would look.
Whilst people were posting ‘first day at school photos’ we were sitting on a hospital ward wondering whether T would actually be able to attend the little primary school that he was due to start. It is a very small school and they hadn’t had a child diagnosed with T1D before.
Luckily, as with everything we have experienced with the school, the support given was amazing. However, training was required and it was going to take time, understandably. Unlike being in the UK, it wasn’t going to happen in a matter of a couple of weeks. Logistics of releasing teachers/staff needed to be considered (there are only 4 classes in the school). As parents we were happy to wait as we needed to feel confident that T was going to be safe.
The first time that T put on his school uniform and stepped foot into the classroom was 3 weeks after he was due to start and even then it was only for a few hours a day.
Keen not to delay T’s education any more, we came to an agreement that I would be present in the school to do everything diabetes related (monitoring glucose levels, administering insulin, treating hypo’s).
Initially, T and I would go in for a few hours in the morning and by the end of my time ‘going to school’ I was spending the whole school day in the office reading a book or even helping out. Reflecting on that time, there was a lot of sitting around for me. Yes, it wasn’t what I envisioned when moving to Italy but I did it for T. I did it so that he could start his education and spend time with kids having a ‘normal’ childhood. It turns out that I liked the school so much I decided to get a job working there (which I am now doing).
It was only in December, so months later, that T started to go to school by himself and instead of me being in the school, I was on the end of the phone. I’m not going to lie, the early days/months were hard. It is really hard trusting another person to look after your child and keep them medically safe.
In the early days I would keep my phone constantly by my side and on loud. I would also check his levels multiple times during the day (we were warned that having the follow app for the continuous glucose monitor – CGM, could also be bad as well as useful). I would wonder whether they had reacted to that hypo or had acted to prevent the hypo from happening. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust them, I just wasn’t in control anymore and that was a big step to take.
Things that I found helpful/useful:
Diabetes Diary – something the school developed from a template provided by the hospital. At home we calculate the carbs in meals – breaking down the individual foods in case T didn’t want it all (who am I kidding) meaning that the number of carbs just needs to be inputted
Follow App on a school phone – allowed the office staff to also keep an eye on levels and take some pressure off the teacher who was also having to teach 16 other pupils
Internet on the phone connected to T’s CGM – allows staff to follow on the school phone but we can also follow on our phones
A small bag – T carries his devices in this as they need to be within a certain distance and dextrose tablets. Our friends brought the first one for him when visiting and we are now on number 3 (they get a lot of wear and tear)
Carbs and Cals book – used for pizza Wednesday and Christmas lunch
Spare Diabetes kit – a bag of spare insulin pumps, insulin, glucogel, dextrose tablets and finger prick kit are kept in the school office for quick access as somethings are time critical
Struggles:
Of late, T is starting to express more and more about how he hates his diabetes. It breaks my heart to see him cry and tell us that we don’t know what it is like.
One of the things he struggles with is not knowing anyone else with diabetes. It’s a negative of being abroad and in such a small school. Yes, I have offered to source a local support group but the language barrier is too off-putting for him. We are working with the UK team to try and match him with another child that he can talk to, a penpal of sorts (showing my age now).
Despite the slow start to school and having missed 25% of his first year in school, T is thriving. This is all down to the care and support that the school provided. I know that we are lucky for him to be in such a small and caring school but as mentioned, there are some negatives to this as he lacks the peer support from other children with T1D.
With time comes confidence. More recently I catch myself realising that I haven’t looked at his levels for a while and rushing to check what they actually are. The trust to let someone else take the reins does come slowly. Don’t get me wrong it is hard to let go completely but small steps in the right direction and finding the tools to help you do so is essential.
Lx
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