- Where do you live?
- Massachusetts
- What Makes You Laugh
- Boy/potty humor. With a family of 3 boys , it's all about the potty and "gross" jokes
- Favorite Sports Team
- My boys love playing neighborhood whiffle ball. They also shoot basketball in our driveway with friends. Being from Massachusetts, our favorite teams come out of Boston. The Boston Red Sox! The Boston Celtics! and also the New England Patriots!
- What Helps You Get Through
- Taking breaks. Exercise. Distractions.
- Favorite Meal
- We have maintained the tradition of eating our dinners together most every night. There is always a meal served at our dinner table, where we can sit down together as a family. We also all enjoy movie/popcorn night. I make my famous airpopped popcorn with Pam butter spray and Cheese Topping. It is everyone's favorite popcorn!
- Helpful Resources
- Our Pedi Endocrinologist has always been a great resource for us. For questions or issues, they are always happy to answer questions. Zach is also on the insulin pump, and Medtronics has been very helpful and also very available for questions or concerns.
- Date Diagnosed
- June 18th, 2005
- Question for Everyone
- How do you get through the teenage years? Any tips on how to handle your child when his friends and socialization are more important than managing his diabetes? When he doesn't pull out his meter to check his blood sugar, because his friends are watching?
- Diabetes Camp
- He has not. He has attended regular camp. He's very reluctant to participate in anything or with groups that are related to diabetes.
- Vacation
- We love going to the beach in the summer. We make sure we bring bottles of insulin and syringes if Zach's pump site fails. It's very nerve wracking to go away and worry that you might have forgotten something relevant to caring for your child's diabetes
- Question For Team
- Can a specific subcutaneous site not be suitable for use? We have tried my son's stomach (he is thin) over and over and though he used it effectively for shots, it fails frequently for his pump sites. (see the answer)
Family of the Week
The Smith Family
8 Comments on “The Smith Family”
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Christy Aug 31, 2010 (1 year ago)My daughter is 13 and my son 14, both type 1. They remind each other, but actually my daughter does better by educating other people. It is something she is wildly knowledgeable about (she was dx at 6 in 2003, her brother dx two years ago, still while in Ethiopia, adopted by us and home a year now). She really finds it is something she can amaze people with, so she really finds power in it.
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Marti Jul 7, 2010 (2 years ago)I have a 14 year old son with T1-diagnosed April 2010. We have learned that giving him the opportunity and the space to manage as much of his diabetes as possible is the way to go for us. Our son is a typical teen in that he is very social and lately, never home too much. We make sure he has enough snacks and the supplies he needs to be out for the time he's away and kind-of leave it up to him to manage on his own. He would prefer it that way-otherwise he says we're "nagging all the time". We agreed to step back and try not to interfere as long as we could tell by his book that his numbers were o.k. and showing no signs or symptoms of anything going wrong. So far-so good! It's hard to give up that control, but in the end it's his disease and we need to get him independent so that he's prepared when he's away from us. I hope this helps!
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Lydia Oppen Jul 7, 2010 (2 years ago)My son says diabetes camp is the best week of the year! My son became an advocate for JDRF and the ADA, so instead of "hiding" his diabetes, he educates people about type1. Being a teenager is challenging enough, being "different" makes it a bit harder. my son embraces his difference. We travel almost every weekend because my son races a dragster. I keep a cool, QUICKSILVER, fanny pack loaded with all of our diabetes supplies- needles, strips, batteries, pump supplies, glugacon, gel, gulcose tabs, meter, etc. It is ready to go with us all the time. We have to just remember to put the insulin in the cooler.
The pump made things so much easier. -
Benita Jul 7, 2010 (2 years ago)My son is 13 and would be happy to add your son to facebook, I think that helps some. My son also attends diabetes camp, was just a CIT (counselor in Training) last week. Otherwise, my son has had it since he was 6 and hasn't had any problems with kids watching while he tests or boluses. Once when I felt like they were ALL watching, I would say 'what do you think his number is? He needs to be between 70-120' and let them start guessing! I tell them he COULD be between 50 and 500!!! LOL That kind of breaks the ice! :)
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Kristin Jul 7, 2010 (2 years ago)our daughter just turned 13 and we are going through this too..seems when she's in social situations she "forgets" what she's supposed to do..sometimes she's very good about it, and when she is I praise that. She liked camp a lot..next year she wants to do the Adventure Camp. Having a friend in school with T1 has helped a lot too..they can commiserate together and be helpful to each other..we use the stomach for infusion sites, but maybe you need an infusion set that goes in at a 45 degree angle instead of 90..we use quickset from minimed and haven't had a problem, but I think minimed has new ones that came out with the revel pump. I don't know if they are compatible with all minimed pumps or not. hope this helps.
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susan Jul 7, 2010 (2 years ago)My son went to Camp Joslin last year and had a ball, his favorite thing was that everyone was just like him. Couldn't go this year, we didn't register in time and it coincided with all-star baseball. Ben is going to be 12 in a few weeks and we have had the same problems regarding testing in front of friends and sometimes distant family members. If we address it and let him know there will be a consequence he is more apt to comply and then will test in private. We have no support groups in our area but he has been to a psychologist (strongly recommend) to help him get through some tough times. Wish you the best, it's not easy.
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Amy Gonsalves Jul 6, 2010 (2 years ago)How does any parent get through the teenage years? I don't know. I did blog about it though from my perspective (I made it through). You can see it on my website at www.diabetesoutside.com. The blog title is "it really does take a village". All the best to your family!!
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charlotte Jul 6, 2010 (2 years ago)diabetic camp! my son just went for a week and asked to go for another:) he recently made a friend a that is also type one and said it is nice to have a diabetic friend. that support makes it ok to test.
also, we have had much success with the sure t site by minimed. looks impossing with a steel needle but we insert after using some lidocaine.
best regards!
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