School Attendance Meeting.....

Before I start my rant about this particular meeting I had at Samuel and Victoria’s school I want to make it clear that I am not one of those parents who get upset about their child not getting the 100% attendance award at the end of the school year. Nor do I feel aggrieved about the fact that they will never get it, to me it’s just not a battle that I personally choose to fight.

Let me tell you some things about Samuel and school. He is currently in year 8 and just picked his options, he has chosen French, History, Business and Philosophy & Ethics. Academically he is doing extremely well, in most of his core subjects he is above where he should be. He is never late for school, it’s a thing he gets quite anxious about. He has never had his expectation card signed and has never had a detention. A model student some may say.

A couple of months ago I received a letter regarding Samuels attendance, it was currently sitting at 91.3% and the school cut off is 92%. I know!! We are talking 0.7%!! The letter explained how important regular attendance is, and how poor attendance has shown to have a detrimental effect on GCSE results. Again let me remind you we are talking about 0.7%. The letter kindly invited me to attend an attendance meeting to discuss Samuels poor attendance.

So I went, armed with all my appointment letters and letters fromThe Prof.

Here are some highlights......

Me: I was a bit put out at the wording of the letter if I’m honest.
Him: Yes, we word it like that to get a reaction so you will come to the meeting.
Me: Oh. Ok, you know that he has type 1 diabetes don’t you? And he is treated up in London at UCLH as he has an insulin pump?
Him: Yes we know, but not everyone who has diabetes has this much time off. Why did you decide to get a pump?

At this point I was about to get cross as I was thinking 'how dare he question me on where and how I treat my child! However, in true Disney style I 'let it go'.

Him: Is Samuels diabetes well controlled?
Me: Well yes....unless.... He has a cold, is anxious about anything, has had a growth spurt, put on any weight, if he has walked to school, or had PE, or the weather is too hot, or too cold, or if he is tired, or hormonal. Apart from that though, yes he is well controlled.
The letter said about the attendance affecting Samuel academically, have you looked at his report / grades?
Him: Yes I have, imagine how good he could be if he was in school more.
Me; Mmmmm (inside voice said imagine how good he could be if he didn't have a life threatening illness) As you can see he is never late, has never had his card signed.
Him: Yes, a model student....so if we could just get his attendance up.
Me: You do realise that I bring him in much more that I really should do. If he has ketones he really should be at home, (out come the UCLH sick day rules) I can't do all of t his at home as he needs to me monitored as the ketones can make him sick. If he misses school he will always go round to his teachers the next day to pick up any work he has missed.
Him: You could bring him in once he starts to feel better. We would rather him late than not at all. He wouldn't have to go to lessons.

I'm now wondering if he doesn't have to go to lessons then what is the point of me bringing him in when he is feeling so rotten.
We then looked back over the previous year when he did have quite a bit of time off before the summer. For a minute I couldn't think why so I looked it up on my phone. Samuel has a couple of weeks where is was waking up extremely high and with ketones, it was like I had filled the pump with water not insulin! It turned out, once we went to clinic that the boy had grown 3cm and had put on half stone, which in return had knocked out all of his pump settings. All of this was written in a letter from The Prof which I just happened to have in my bag!
We went backward and forward a bit more which resulted in me having to sign a form to say what we had discussed. I did then ask him if I would be getting a phone call to discuss Victoria as she had had a fair amount of time off. He said possibly, so I suggested that we do it as I was there, as it would be pretty much the same as what I had said for Samuel. He declined as he didn't have any paperwork. I left the meeting in pretty much the same mood as when I went in! What a waste of my time. Don't get me wrong I understand that attendance is important, but I would lay money on the fact that there are children in that school with a far worse attendance than Samuel whose parents were not sitting in the same sort of meeting that I was!

Diabetes awareness week ‘18: The signs..

First off let me start by saying that the problem with diagnosing type 1 diabetes is that it’s symptoms are very general and can be easily explained away. When I think back to when my husband was diagnosed in 1996 we explained away every single symptom except the blurred vision. He was tired because he had been working so hard. He was up during the night going to the toilet because he used to drink quite a bit. That’s the danger with Type 1, you can explain it away, the symptoms are similar to lots of other conditions such as flu. However, if it’s left undiagnosed, so untreated the result can be fatal.
So, here they are, the four Ts

• TIRED
• THINNER
• TOILET 
• THIRSTY

If you only take away one thing away from reading my blog, make it this. If you notice any of these symptoms get it checked out. Don’t be put off, ask for a blood glucose test, don’t take no for an answer, it really could be the difference between life and death.

Diabetes awareness week ‘18: What is Type 1

What is Type 1 diabetes?

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition. For reasons we don’t yet fully understand, your immune system – which is meant to protect you from viruses and bacteria – attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in your pancreas, called beta cells.

Insulin is crucial to life. When you eat, insulin moves the energy from your food, called glucose, from your blood into the cells of your body. When the beta cells in your pancreas fail to produce insulin, glucose levels in your blood start to rise and your body can’t function properly. Over time this high level of glucose in the blood may damage nerves and blood vessels and the organs they supply.

This condition affects 400,000 people in the UK, with over 29,000 of them children. Incidence is increasing by about four per cent each year and particularly in children under five, with a five per cent increase each year in this age group over the last 20 years.

What causes it?

More than 50 genes have been identified that can increase a person’s risk of developing type 1 diabetes, but genes are only part of the cause. Scientists are also currently investigating what environmental factors play a role.

What is known is that:

• Destruction of insulin-producing beta cells is due to damage inflicted by your immune system
• Something triggered your immune system to attack your beta cells
• Certain genes put people at a greater risk of developing type 1 diabetes, but are not the only factors involved
• While there are no proven environmental triggers, researchers are looking for possible culprits, such as viral infections and particular molecules within our environment and foods.

Other facts...

• It is NOT caused by eating too many sweets.
• There is no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ type.
• Yes, it is for life, it won’t go away.
• There was nothing we could do to prevent it from happening.
• Insulin is not a ‘cure’ it is ‘life support’.
• Type 1 diabetes is a serious life threatening condition.
• Every item of food eaten has to be carb counted.
• Type 1 diabetes never sleeps.