Saturday, March 3, 2012

The Babysitter

Ky! 

I have always been a babysitter.  It has been a go-to-job since I was twelve, which is perfect because I enjoy being with children and who doesn't love to get paid to have fun.  It's always been an easy job for me and it seems like all of the children I have babysat over the years enjoyed having me.

When I was diagnosed with diabetes, I knew that babysitting was going to be a little different. Not only did I need to worry about the children, but I had to keep some of my 'diabetes' priorities in check as well.  It's really, really easy to forget to take care of yourself when you are taking care of others. It isn't easy to treat low blood sugars when the children are asking for help putting together a game and it isn't easy to just stop playing a game of tag with them to go check your blood sugar.  

Most of the kids know that I have diabetes, and it starts by them asking what my pump is.  It isn't all that easy to explain and often times I resort to telling them that it is my medicine. I also worked with children at a daycare, so I would get this question frequently.   Usually, they don't think much of it, they might ask a few more questions like where the tubing goes and what it does and why I need it, but soon something has already distracted them and my pump is yesterdays news.

My most frequent children that I babysit are Ky, Nolan and Josh and really, I think of them more as my little brothers than anything else.  I have known these three since my first year at college (three years ago) and they have picked up the diabetes lifestyle pretty quickly.

I always enjoy hearing what they have to say about diabetes, and it's incredibly adorable when Josh tells me to check my blood pressure (when he means to say, my blood sugar). I never really realized what impact my diabetes could make on them, until I read a post made by Ky (he wanted to create a blog, so I made him one last week)

Now, let's see if you can read this without shedding a tear or smiling.


http://www.lifeaccordingtoky.blogspot.com/2012/03/what-ive-learned-from-kayla-about-type.html

Please leave him some love on his page and encourage him to keep on writing just like his babysitter!  (P.s he's TEN!)

Kayla



2 comments:

  1. Thanks for writing about me=)!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  2. i have a 2 1/2 yr old and a 6month old. i have been T1 since 2010. I am still doing MDI's and my toddler knows that when mommy disappears before a meal, or when he sees me poking and proding myself, that i am doing my "medicine". i am impressed at how attentive he is - kids are amazing! sounds like you and ky are lucky to have each other!

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