Ultimate Honor

Kevin and I were honored beyond belief, when asked to be the guest speakers at a SHAC (Student Health Advisory Council) meeting last week. The meeting went wonderful. We spoke to a Doctor, the director of the American Diabetes Association, Martha who we had worked with before, the director of ARAMARK foods services. She prepares the menus of what the children will have to choose from in the lunch rooms in Lubbock Independent School District’s school cafeterias. The head health director of Lubbock ISD who is above all the school nurses was also there, she playing an instrumental role in insuring that McKenzie’s school nurse would be on campus five days a week this year. This was due to a few problems we encountered last year when she was only there three days a week. The head coach of all the Lubbock elementary school’s physical educational program AKA, McKenzie’s Coach Peirce helped to lead the meeting. She was also the person who invited us to speak, about diabetes and the different challenges McKenzie and so many other children face while attending school. We are very blessed to have a “D- Team”, that is proactive and who genuinely loves and are concerned about McKenzie. Not every child is that lucky. Kevin did a great job of covering all the everyday routine stuff and the standards that have worked so well for us. We were able to offer a few ideas that would help the staff at the schools out and make it easier for them to help children but still allow them to gain the independence they must have, in order to win the fight that each of them are dealing with. Kevin also did a great job of addressing the long term affects that uncontrolled blood sugar levels would have later in life. These are difficult for anyone to think about much less talk about. These people who have earned my total respect and appreciation asked us questions and used our answers to form a plan that will help educate teachers, school nurses, and even administrators so that they may be prepared if a situation came up that they needed to handle. I was ready to cry at the thought that we had been able to help in all of this even a little bit. Then the ultimate honor in my opinion happened. I was asked to be a Co Chair of this Council. Wow I am still in shock. I accepted of course and will do any and everything I can to help not only kids fighting diabetes but any challenges that they face.