Monday, June 21, 2010

Goals for Matthew

A few weeks ago when I was making goals for myself, I made a few "diabetes goals" for Matthew as well. There is so much that he'll need to learn to take care of himself, but I'm determined to go slow. I don't want to drive him crazy with diabetes education. So......

There are 3 main goals I'm focusing on this summer:
  1. Recognize lows. Sometimes he's great on this. Other times, he misses them completely. It's not a problem if he's with me, but if he's at a friend's house. Well, you just worry more when he doesn't catch them. When he does miss them, we've been reviewing how he felt. Did you feel tired at all? A headache? Hungry? I think it's helping. I hope.
  2. Taking his kit everywhere. This is the camouflaged lunchbox he uses to carry his glucose kit in. He also has food and juice to treat lows. When summer started, I would toss these things into my purse, but I realized that Matthew needs to get into the habit of carrying his kit with him. He never minds and we just need to keep building that habit.
  3. Know how to treat himself when he's low. Of course, Matthew knows to have sugar if he's low. But sometimes that kid is starving when he drops!! He'd eat the house! LOL! I just want him to have a basic understanding of what to eat or drink and how much sugar he really needs. As many d-moms know, overtreat a high and then you just have to to correct later. Not a fun rollercoater to be on.

Sidenote: This weekend, Matthew was next door playing with his friend. He caught a low (52-- Of course, it would have been nice for him to catch it sooner, but.......), he drank some juice, tested again in 10 minutes and was great (88). We tested an hour later and he was 89.....perfect treatment! Go Matthew!

I was really proud of him for not freaking out. I asked him if he was scared. He said he could tell his mind wasn't working quite right, but he knew to drink the juice and he'd be okay.

As a mom, it feels so good to know that he's learning to take care of himself. God is so good.

5 comments:

Meri said...

Great catch Matthew!! You have every reason to be proud mom! I think those are great goals!

phonelady said...

Yes and that says that you are on the right track teaching him how to take care of himself I did the same thing with my oldest jack and now he takes very good care of himself as he is 25 and I dont get to see him much at all . but I know i did my job and you will too when he gets older especially when he is a teenager . Yes god is good . I have gotten so low at one time I had a seizure and my husband flipped out and i felt bad that he flipped out but I told him I need him to keep a clear head when i get like that cause I might need his help . he understood how imperative it was that he remain calm . at least I hope he did LOL !! sorry did not mean for this to turn into a book .

connie said...

That's great Tracy! I think it is wonderful how you are helping Mathew to be a part of his diabetes care and you are helping him understand the importance of taking care of himself and recognizing lows.

Lows are my biggest fear lately for my daughters, although they are only two and four I still try to talk to them about how they felt when we have had a low blood sugar...I want them to be able to communicate to me how they are feeling so they can recognize the lows in the future.

I love your goal list for Mathew, good luck with it all...I know that you guys will do great and you have such a wonderful approach to all of this.

Keep up the good work Tracy...(((hugs))) :)

Pam said...

What a brave little boy. Can you imagine what it must be like to feel like your mind isn't working quite right?

It's a great idea to set some goals for the summer. Taking the kit everywhere is a tough one. Even my husband forgets that one!

Lorraine of "This is Caleb..." said...

Wonderful story! Way to go!