I am reminded every day how lucky we are to have such wonderful school nurses to care for Savanna since she was diagnosed. Last year, prior to her DX, Savanna had only been to the nurse's office once...for an upset stomach that had more to do with being hungry than anything else. The week after we got home from CHOP, I remember walking into her old school (we have since moved) and asking to speak with the nurse. Mrs. E was the kindest, most attentive nurse I have ever met! She could immediately sense how nervous I was about leaving Savanna's D (diabetes) care in someone else's hands - especially when we weren't 100% sure how comfortable we were with it at the time. She told me she had previous experience with a student with D, but that student had a pump, so insulin injections were not given. After going through everything we had learned at CHOP with her (looking back, I think she was just being nice and knew it made me feel better to explain it to her - she's a nurse, after all!), she assured me that everything would be fine and that she would call if she had any questions. At 10:15 am (snack time was at 10:30 am), I pulled my phone out and made sure it was sitting on the counter, fully charged, and working...I didn't want to miss a phone call that was this important...and I waited...and waited...around 10:45 am, the phone rang - it was Mrs. E. calling to let you know that everything (blood sugar checks, insulin injections) went well and that Savanna skipped off back to class to have her snack with no problems. When Savanna came home from school, I asked (okay bombarded her with questions) about going to the nurses office, what she did, did the nurse make sure to wipe the site before using the meter, etc. After several exhasperated sighs, Savanna said she loved Mrs. E. I knew immediately that the rest of the year would go smoothly and that she was in good hands. Of course, we had our share of phone calls - her blood sugar is REALLY high, she doesn't want her insulin, etc - but we got through the year. I'm not sure I would have survived the first several months if not for Mrs. E. - I needed to know Savanna was in good hands when she was not with me and that is a hard order to fill...but, the Nurse Gods were smiling on me and we got Mrs. E.
Fast forward a few months later - we moved into a new house and with this move came a new school district...as soon as we knew where we were going, I started calling the elementary school to leave messages for the nurse, Mrs. S. I wanted Savanna to meet her (after all, she wasn't Mrs. E, who we had come to love), I needed to meet her (again, after all, she wasn't Mrs. E), and we needed to discuss Savanna's care for school. She is in 1st grade this year, which means she eats lunch at school - and this added a whole other level of care for the school nurse. Last year, as long as her blood sugars were within her range, Savanna could go back to class with no insulin, if her snacks were low enough in carb count. This year, there was no avoiding a daily insulin shot - she would get at least one each day while at school. So, we (C, Savanna, and I) all went to the school to meet Mrs. S. We sat down, discussed what we needed from her, what she needed from us, and hoped for the best when school started. And the best, we got - Mrs. S. was attentive...she called me every day at snack and lunch times for the first few weeks of school to make sure we were on the same page with how much insulin she should get and what actions should be taken for highs and lows. I felt comfortable knowing how Savanna was doing throughout the day and that the decisions that were being made were mine, as well as Mrs. S's. And Savanna got to know and love Mrs. S - in fact, she loves her so much she was making excuses to go see her throughout the day...little stinker! Mrs. S has again made us feel comfortable with the care Savanna needs to receive in school. She created a smaller, private area just for Savanna, so that she could check her sugars and get her shots without other kids watching her, and even has a basket full of treats Savanna can pick from when she has good days at school. And so again, I thank the Nurse Gods for giving us Mrs. S - because, without her, I would be that crazy lady in the parking lot waiting for snack and lunch time each day ;)
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