The Diabetic Adventures of Jack and Jill
For the Type 1 Diabetic Child Story and Illustrations by: Alicia Segovia
Chapters 1.
Jack and Jill
2.
What is Type 1 Diabetes?
3.
Telling Friends
4.
Myths
5.
Let’s Go to the Doctor
6.
What is Insulin?
7.
Eating Healthy
8.
Glucose Check
9.
Sports and Fun!
10. Hypoglycemia 11. Hyperglycemia 12. Family Fun 13. Your Diabetic Adventures
Chapter 1: Jack and Jill Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after.
Ever wonder why Jack fell down after getting some water? And why exactly did Jill come tumbling after?
Well ‌
Jack and Jill both have Type 1 Diabetes!
During recess, Jack pretended to be a king while Jill pretended to be a queen. Jill even made a crown for Jack! Suddenly, Jack and Jill started to feel funny.
Jack was shaking and Jill was dizzy! “Maybe some water will help!” Jill said. “That sounds like a great idea,” said Jack. “I’ll race you to the top of the hill!” When they got to the water fountain, Jack and Jill were feeling very weak. Then Jack fainted and tumbled down the hill! Jill fell down too! A teacher saw them fall and rushed to help. Although Jack’s crown broke, and they were both scared, Jack and Jill lived! They will teach you about Type 1 Diabetes so this never happens to you.
Chapter 2: What is Type 1 Diabetes? You are not alone! Many children who have Type 1 Diabetes still live healthy and happy lives. They can still play sports, eat great food, and hang out with friends. Children with Type 1 diabetes can do anything anyone else can do! Even some famous people have Type 1 Diabetes: Actress Halle Berry didn’t let Type 1 Diabetes stop her from being Catwoman or Storm in X-Men. Singer Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers didn’t let Type 1 Diabetes stop him from singing. So, if Type 1 Diabetes didn’t stop these amazing people from doing amazing things, what makes someone with Type 1 Diabetes different?
Think of yourself as a car.
You may look great on the outside but even the nicest cars need gas to get us places. GLUCOSE is the gas we get from foods we eat.
Without glucose, we cannot play!
We open the cap to our cars, put in the fuel pump, and get as much gas we need. But what happens if the cap doesn’t open?
We cannot get glucose into our car and it will not run!
To open the caps to our cars, we need a hormone called INSULIN. People with Type 1 Diabetes do not make any insulin. They must get their insulin from injections!
REMEMBER: Your car can still run like any other car, go fast as any other car, and is as special as any other car. It only takes a little bit more work to open your cap! IN A NUT SHELL: FOOD/GLUCOSE = GAS! INSULIN = opens the caps to our cars.
Chapter 3: Telling Friends So you just found out that you have Type 1 Diabetes.
How do you feel?
Are you scared? Are you angry? Are you confused?
It is ok to feel this way!
Maybe you’re wondering how you are going to tell your friends. Let’s pretend you are telling Jack and Jill that you have Type 1 Diabetes.
Say: “Hey, Jack and Jill. I have Type 1 Diabetes.”
Jack may be scared! He may say, “Oh no! Are you going to be okay?” Tell Jack not to worry! Many people with Type 1 Diabetes live normal lives!
Jill may say, “Can I catch Type 1 Diabetes too?” Tell Jill that diabetes it not contagious like a cold. Jack and Jill may feel weird around you and treat you differently because they think you’re sick. Tell them if you take care of your blood glucose, you can do anything they can. Jack and Jill may want to help. You can tell them what to look for if your blood glucose drops so that they can help you!
Chapter 4: Myths Have you had someone you know tell you … • You can’t eat candy • You can’t play sports • You have diabetes because you are overweight • Taking insulin cures diabetes These are all FALSE! Eating less sweets can control your blood glucose but you can still eat them! You may need to have sweets if your blood glucose drops too low. Playing sports is important for staying healthy! Weight has nothing to do with type 1 diabetes. No one knows what causes type 1 diabetes but it is definitely NOT food! There is no cure for type 1 diabetes! You will ALWAYS need to take insulin.
Chapter 5: Let’s Go to the Doctor
You have a bunch of team mates who will help you with your Type 1 Diabetes! Let’s make up a name for your team. The Type 1 Diabetic Team? The Diabetic Squad! Whatever name you pick, put it here. ______________________________________________________ Let’s get to know some of the people on your team! COACH Pediatrician This is a doctor who ONLY helps kids. You can think of him as being a coach! He has the game plan so that you can win! He’ll teach you facts about diabetes, ways to keep from getting sick, and how to live a great life with Type 1 Diabetes. It is important to let him know how you feel. He may need to change the game plan so that you will feel better and stronger!
TEAM MATES
Nurse The nurse will take your blood pressure or can take your blood glucose. The nurse is like a team mate. She wants you to do well and can also give you tips on how to be safe and healthy with Type 1 Diabetes. Dietician The dietician wants you to eat healthy foods that will keep you strong and that are good for you. The dietician is like another team mate. She wants you to be your best when you are playing with your friends or having fun with your family.
REMEMBER: All of these people are on YOUR side and want YOU to do great! In order for you to win and play your best, you need to listen to your coach and play together with your team mates!
The doctor may have you do different kinds of tests like a
blood pressure or a urine sample. It does not mean you are sick! He just wants to make sure you are healthy. What is a urine sample? The doctor may have you pee in a cup to test if your blood glucose is high. This is just so the doctor can make sure you are taking enough insulin. What is a blood pressure? The doctor will put a blood pressure cuff on your arm. It is used to see how fast blood is traveling in your body. It’ll squeeze your arm and then start to let go. It won’t hurt but your arm might feel tingly and funny!
Chapter 6: What is Insulin? REMEMBER: FOOD/GLUCOSE = GAS! INSULIN = opens the caps to our cars If you have Type 1 Diabetes, you have to give yourself insulin injections. You need this to open your cap so gas can get in! Without gas, we cannot do fun stuff like run and play! It can hurt a little but it can hurt worse if you give it in the wrong places. Here are some places you can give your medicine ‌ The FATTY part of the legs, abdomen, and arms REMEMBER: CHANGE PLACES EVERY TIME! Why? If you give your medicine in the SAME place ALL the time, the skin will get hard and thick! This means the medicine will not work as well.
***READ THIS PART WITH AN ADULT*** REMEMBER: ALWAYS give injections with an adult Are you ready to give your own insulin injection? Yes? Well, ALWAYS make sure you have an adult with you for help. You could hurt yourself if you do not do it right. Step 1. Open the bottle cap and throw it away. Clean the top with an alcohol wipe. Step 2. Uncap the needle. Pull the plunger back and insert 25-units of air into the vial. Step 3. Turn vial upside down and take out the insulin you need! HOORAY! You did it!
Chapter 7: Eating Healthy We get carbohydrates from the foods we eat. Foods like pasta, bread, and potatoes, have a lot of carbohydrates. Even though these are good for us, if we eat too many they can be bad for us! It can cause something called “HYPERGLYCEMIA.” What is “HYPERGLYCEMIA”? REMEMBER: FOOD/GLUCOSE = GAS! Hyperglycemia means we have too much gas for our cars! This is a good thing, right? WRONG! Too much gas means our car won’t work the way it should! We will be tired, sluggish, and drowsy.
For every 15 grams of carbohydrate you eat, you can give 1 unit of insulin. 1 unit = 15 grams Here are some foods that have 15 grams of carbohydrate!
Common Foods with 15 grams of Carbohydrate 1 slice of bread (1 oz)
6 chicken nuggets
½ cup of oatmeal
2 inch square brownie/cake (without frosting)
1/3 cup of pasta or rice
2 small cookies
¼ serving of medium french
½ English muffin
fries ½ cup of canned or frozen
4-6 crackers
fruit 1 cup of soup
1 (6 inch) tortilla
If I eat 6 chicken nuggets and 2 small cookies, how many carbohydrates am I eating? 15+15 = 30 carbohydrates 30 carbohydrates!
How many units of insulin will I need?
REMEMBER: 1 unit = 15 grams of carbohydrate How many units of insulin will I need? 15+15 = 2 units of insulin I need 2 units of insulin!
YAY! You did it!
Fiber does not affect blood glucose!
What are some foods high in fiber?
Popcorn, whole-wheat spaghetti, brown cooked rice, and pecans are some examples of foods with a lot of fiber!
Chapter 8: Glucose Check You will need to give yourself a little poke on the finger to test your blood glucose ESPECIALLY if you feel DIZZY, SHAKY, and WEAK When do you test your blood glucose? Before you eat and at bedtime! First we will put the strip into the glucose meter. The glucose meter is a machine that tells you your blood glucose. A lancet can be a little scary! The lancet is what pokes your finger to get your blood glucose. Don’t worry! It’s only a little poke on the SIDE of the finger! Now that we are set up and ready to go … Let’s play the GUESSING GAME! What do you think your blood glucose is?
Do you think it is 75? What about 110? What do you think? Put it here
Now we’re ready for the little poke! Put one drop of blood onto the strip. And we wait … What was your blood glucose? Were you really close? Were you far off? See! This is why we need a blood glucose meter! Without it, we cannot know what our blood glucose is! We want our blood glucose numbers to be between 75-110! Were you too high? You may need more insulin!
Were you too low? You may need a snack! If we are sick and VOMITING, NOT EATING, OR FEELING TIRED we STILL have to give ourselves insulin! We have to check our blood glucose MORE because our body may need more medicine!
Chapter 9: Sports and Fun! Whenever we run and play our cars go into TURBO MODE! We need TURBO MODE so we can do cool stuff like play sports and play with our friends! When we go into TURBO MODE our cars run out of gas faster! REMEMBER: Glucose/Food = GAS This means that we should ALWAYS carry a snack when we are playing … Just in case we need more gas for our cars! It is important to ALWAYS have a friend or adult with you! Remember Jack and Jill? They were feeling… DIZZY, SHAKY, and WEAK What happened to them? They fell down the hill! Imagine what would have happened if their teachers weren’t around to help them.
They could have gotten really hurt! We can have fun but we must be safe first! Another way to stay safe is by having a bracelet or necklace that tells adults you are diabetic! Why? If you need help because you start feeling SHAKY, HUNGRY, DIZZY friends, family, or adults need to know that you have type 1 diabetes so that they can help you the right away! We like to play with our friends but sometimes we need to take a SUGAR STOP. Do you know what a SUGAR STOP is?
If you are in a soccer game, a football game, or just playing with your friends and you start feeling SHAKY, HUNGRY, DIZZY we need to take a SUGAR STOP so that we can grab a snack! We need snacks to play our best! REMEMBER: Food/Glucose = GAS and without gas our cars cannot run!
Chapter 10: Hypoglycemia What is HYPOGLYCEMIA? Hypoglycemia is when our blood sugar is too LOW! We start feeling … DIZZY, HUNGRY, SHAKY What do you do if you feel this way? You can … • Eat 1 tablespoon of honey • 1 cup of orange juice • 1 cup of apple juice Or eat something sweet like candy! Did you know there are 3 types of hypoglycemia?
3 Stages of Hypoglycemia Mild
75 mg/dl
You start feeling hungry. Eat a snack!
Moderate
65 mg/dl
You start feeling really dizzy. A adult will need to give you 3 glucose tablets or some fruit juice.
Severe
<55 mg/dl
This is REALLY BAD! You need an adult or 911 to help you because you cannot wake up! They will give you a glucose injection.
What kind of hypoglycemia do you think made Jack and Jill fall down the hill? Mild, Moderate, or Severe? SEVERE hypoglycemia!
Without the teacher being able to help them, they could have been in big trouble!
Chapter 11: Hyperglycemia What is HYPERGLYCEMIA? Hyperglycemia is when our blood sugar is too HIGH! We start feeling â&#x20AC;Ś THIRSY, WEAK, AND PEE A LOT What do you do if you feel this way? You need to let an adult KNOW! They will test your blood sugar and see what it is. This may mean you need more insulin. If your blood glucose is REALLY high, you may have ketones in your pee. What are ketones? REMEMBER: FOOD/GLUCOSE = GAS INSULIN = opens the caps to our cars
What happens if we do not have insulin? We cannot get glucose in our cars and we cannot run! The body will start to break down our fat so that we can use it as energy for our cars instead. This makes ketones! THIS IS BAD! If you VOMIT, FEEL SICK, AND PEE A LOT let an adult know! This may mean that you need more insulin. If you have a lot of ketones, you may need to go see a doctor!
Chapter 12: Family Fun It is ok to feel different from your family. But there are things you and your family can do to have fun with Type 1 Diabetes! You can shop for foods together. You can even add new meals to cook that all of you can enjoy! You can help the family cook by measuring ingredients, beating eggs, or scrubbing vegetables. REMEMBER: ALWAYS have a parent with you when you are cooking! If you have extra space in your back yard, you can even plant a garden! Vegetables like zucchini, squash, or tomatoes are healthy foods that are fun to grow and eat!
Chapter 13: Your Diabetic Adventures Play sports, hang out with your friends, have fun, but always remember what happened to Jack and Jill when they went up the hill! Now that Jack and Jill have taught you everything you need to know about Type 1 Diabetes, it is time to make your own diabetic adventures! Be safe!