The kindness of strangers

Mark went on an all-day field trip today, and for the first time ever, I didn't go with him. He's been managing his diabetes pretty well, and his teacher feels comfortable with Mark's diabetes, so I thought it was time to reward Mark with a little independence.

And then, the best-laid plans all went to hell.

First, Mark dropped the diabetes ball, and made a really bad choice. Luckily, his amazing school nurse saved the day. Then, late yesterday afternoon, she phoned to say the teacher wasn't actually going on the field trip, a substitute teacher was.

That put us both into a bit of a panic! I couldn't take the day off, and she wasn't working, so we did a little troubleshooting to handle the situation.

The nurse came up with the best solution ever -- she enlisted the mom of another student with diabetes to substitute for Mark's class. This is a kid we both respect and admire -- he's in 8th grade, and a shining example of how to manage your diabetes. I figured any kid like that must have a pretty awesome mom. :-)

So today, instead of reporting on Mark's usual shenanigans, I'm here to praise the diabetes and nursing communities! I'm telling you, spending an afternoon in the company of families living with diabetes will renew your faith in humanity. They are the most helpful, caring people you could meet, always willing to give a hand, some advice or a quick-acting sugar source if needed.

And the people who help care for our kids -- people like our school nurse -- are literally guardian angels. I can't heap enough praise on her, or the school nurses that Mark had before her. It's the scariest thing in the world to hand over your kid and trust that someone else will keep him safe. She keeps him safe, keeps him laughing, and has become not only his nurse, but his friend as well. (And she's a wonderful sounding board for me as well!)

So thank you, Nurse King, for going above and beyond caring for Mark. And thank you Roman's mom, for knowing exactly which questions to ask, and for agreeing to watch over my son when I could not. You'll never know how much that meant to me! (Or maybe, as a fellow mom of a child with diabetes, you will...but you still have my gratitude.)