One of the things that bothers K is that she feels very isolated in having D. She knows she can't eat what she wants, she has to monitor herself constantly, she feels crappy at times for no apparent reason etc., etc., etc.....and she is the only kid around that has to do all this.....
So whenever we have a chance to meet up with other kids with D we jump at the chance....and this is where Sweetpea steps in.
The Sweetpea Club organises events where D-kids can meet up and spend time together. K has already gone on a teen activity day last summer (even tho' she's not quite a teen yet) and the Christmas party. We missed the chance to book a place on the family weekend last year so we made sure we got in early with our application this year.
The weekend is held in Trabolgan holiday village in Cork. Weirdly it is close to one of the more industrialised parts of Cork, however once you are in the park you're pretty much out in the middle of nowhere (as proven by the lack of mobile phone reception!).
We got there late Friday and joined the 40ish families for a parents meet and greet (the kids heading off to be entertained by the helpers). A meet and greet session is my version of hell, I don't remember names, faces, details and, in the words of Ardal O'Hanlon, I have enough friends already.... but i grinned (grimmaced?) my way through and we got our timetable for the weekend
Saturday
8-9am swimming exclusive for Sweetpea families,
10 am games etc for the kids, workshop for parents,
2pm workshop for kids with D, separate workshop for siblings, and workshop for adults
Sunday
8-9am swimming exclusive for Sweetpea families
10 am games etc again for kids & workshop for adults.
Saturdays early morning swim was lovely - the pool is nice, with a slide and wave machine. It was lovely to be in a place where K felt 'normal', i.e. not self-concious about her checks or her clucking parents constantly watching over her. Swimming pools are, however, places of..well lets call it heightened awareness, for me. We're all good swimmers, except the littlest, but I haven't quite reconciled the fear of a low with letting my daughter out of my sight, but at least K is still of the age where she doesnt mind playing with her dad so i can hang around without drawing too much resentment (that'll come soon i'm sure).
The kids headed off for their morning entertainment and we parents went for coffee & workshops. The first was a dietician who, even though she is on maternity leave, came in to give a talk. Its surprising that, although you feel you've seen it all before its great to hear a different view point - you always get more info than you expect at these things.
In the afternoon we were introduced to two young adults with T1D - again very informative.
Sundays chat was from a diabetic specialist nurse in Cork - again stuff you hear at different times but definitely had a few gems in there and it was also good to get a 'refresher'. It gave us both a boost in our mindfulness of the condition to spend this time with the experts.......
K loved the weekend, the boys and mam and dad really enjoyed themselves and we're definitely going to try go back next year.....
So whenever we have a chance to meet up with other kids with D we jump at the chance....and this is where Sweetpea steps in.
The Sweetpea Club organises events where D-kids can meet up and spend time together. K has already gone on a teen activity day last summer (even tho' she's not quite a teen yet) and the Christmas party. We missed the chance to book a place on the family weekend last year so we made sure we got in early with our application this year.
The weekend is held in Trabolgan holiday village in Cork. Weirdly it is close to one of the more industrialised parts of Cork, however once you are in the park you're pretty much out in the middle of nowhere (as proven by the lack of mobile phone reception!).
We got there late Friday and joined the 40ish families for a parents meet and greet (the kids heading off to be entertained by the helpers). A meet and greet session is my version of hell, I don't remember names, faces, details and, in the words of Ardal O'Hanlon, I have enough friends already.... but i grinned (grimmaced?) my way through and we got our timetable for the weekend
Saturday
8-9am swimming exclusive for Sweetpea families,
10 am games etc for the kids, workshop for parents,
2pm workshop for kids with D, separate workshop for siblings, and workshop for adults
Sunday
8-9am swimming exclusive for Sweetpea families
10 am games etc again for kids & workshop for adults.
Saturdays early morning swim was lovely - the pool is nice, with a slide and wave machine. It was lovely to be in a place where K felt 'normal', i.e. not self-concious about her checks or her clucking parents constantly watching over her. Swimming pools are, however, places of..well lets call it heightened awareness, for me. We're all good swimmers, except the littlest, but I haven't quite reconciled the fear of a low with letting my daughter out of my sight, but at least K is still of the age where she doesnt mind playing with her dad so i can hang around without drawing too much resentment (that'll come soon i'm sure).
The kids headed off for their morning entertainment and we parents went for coffee & workshops. The first was a dietician who, even though she is on maternity leave, came in to give a talk. Its surprising that, although you feel you've seen it all before its great to hear a different view point - you always get more info than you expect at these things.
In the afternoon we were introduced to two young adults with T1D - again very informative.
Sundays chat was from a diabetic specialist nurse in Cork - again stuff you hear at different times but definitely had a few gems in there and it was also good to get a 'refresher'. It gave us both a boost in our mindfulness of the condition to spend this time with the experts.......
K loved the weekend, the boys and mam and dad really enjoyed themselves and we're definitely going to try go back next year.....
Glad you and the family had fun. Don't know if you've "met" her yet, but there's a woman in Dublin who started following my blog. She has two t1 kids. Her blog is http://seichelberger.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteI believe her daughter is 13. Hope you guys live close enough to meet up!
I am glad you enjoyed your weekend. I understand and sometimes you just need to be with others just like you. Do you have a diabetic camp around you? I went to camp every year and LOVED it! Some of my best friends are people I met at camp. Now every summer I go and volunteer b/c it made such a huge difference in my life. You should search around for one they are really informative and offer a huge support groups not just for the kids but to the whole family. The one I went to also allowed siblings to go to but they had to be diabetic for the week and check sugars whenever all the D kids did too
ReplyDeletesorry also about my tardiness, I'm slow to get round to the blog.
DeleteWe don't have a camp here, the weekend is
as close as we get, but K loved it and has been in great form since it.
And thank you for volunteering, it means so much to the kids, and also to the parents to see young people with D who've been through it all and gotten on with their lives in a positive way.
Chris.