To not want 10 year old DC to go to Europe with another family this summer

[MrsCampbellBlack]

He is 10 and has diabetes which is managed by insulin injections. I do not want him to go to another european country for 5 days with his friend and his family.

He has only been diagnosed for a few months and in that time he has done a couple of sleepovers and week on a school trip in europe.

But I just feel sick at the thought of him going on this trip. DH thinks it would be ok.

So am I being silly or would other people feel the same as me?

[MrsNextDoor]

Oh how hard.

Does he do his own injections? I think in your shoes, if he really wants to go then you should let him....espcially if he does his own injections and has had sleepovers.

[NotLikingGRRMRightNow]

No way.

[Aeroflotgirl]

No, not at that age, he is still very young, and has newly been diagnosed. If he were a teenager, I would feel better about it.

[MrsCampbellBlack]

He does do all his own monitoring and injections but with quite a bit of prompting from me/school.

Also he would have to take a lot of stuff with him and it is a massive responsibility for the other family which I'm not quite sure they really appreciate.

[MrsCampbellBlack]

I did say maybe in a couple of years. Even without the diabetes thing I'd be reluctant.

[silverglitterpisser]

Think it would depend on how much I know n trust the family taking him?

[MrsNextDoor]

Don't they know he's diabetic OP?

I'm really surprised people think he shouldn't go! I think that at ten...a child is more than capable of managing away from home...how does your son feel about it all?

[MrsCampbellBlack]

They know as he's done sleepovers there but with me in a lot of contact with him, checking he'd done testing etc.

He would love to go and is on a massive campaign at the moment to persuade me.

On the surface he manages it all brilliantly but it isn't even 4 months in yet.

[Aeroflotgirl]

MrsNextdoor, he still needs prompting, really not able to take full responsibility for himself. Do the other family know the seriousness of it and what that entails.

[Aeroflotgirl]

I would go with your gut op, you know your child, wait a bit until he is older, and more confident in managing his diabetes.

[MrsCampbellBlack]

For his school trip all staff had to be trained by the Diabetes nurse and he took a lot of medical stuff with him. They were also familiar with managing him and had his care plan. Supervision also at a different level so I felt more comfortable.

And of course if something goes wrong - well it isn't as though I'm only 10 mins down the road.

[MrsNextDoor]

Could you not stay in contact when he's away though? Mobile phone?

[MrsCampbellBlack]

Thanks for all the replies - it is helpful for me to get different views.

[SylvaniansAtEase]

No no no no no no no.

A close friend's daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 last year at 13. She quickly became able to take charge of her own injections etc., all fine, however about 9 months in they went through a very sticky period where her levels became VERY hard to control, they had an admission and went through a period where she really wasn't great (and she found it very hard to handle: she went from initial shock of diagnosis to an 'Oh it's actually fine, I can totally handle this' period and was then really brought up short by becoming ill despite her best efforts - it really frightened her).

Apparently during the first year or so after diagnosis the pancreas can go through episodes of producing insulin again, a kind of series of last hurrahs before kaput, and during this time things can go haywire after an initial period of control. Not necessarily dangerous at all. But having seen this up close, I would now most strongly urge any parent in this situation to keep them VERY close and under observation for any change during the first year.

So I would say definitely absolutely not - maybe next year after a LONG period of stability.

[Aeroflotgirl]

If he's out there and runs out, could where could he get more insulin quickly, there are so much to consider. I just woulden't as yet, no.

[bettys]

I wouldn't let ds go on a similar trip when he was 10 and pre-D.

He did go on a school trip abroad 3 months after diagnosis but he was 13 then, on MDI and with teachers who knew him well and carried a complete spare set for him.

IME most adults haven't a clue how much work & responsibility it is to have a T1 child in your care.

[Aeroflotgirl]

That's no use MrsNextdoor, when you cannot get to him easily. It does place a lot of responsibility on the host parents.

[MrsCampbellBlack]

He does have phone but not always brilliant at answering it. And he would have to test an awful lot if in hot country and swimming etc. We haven't been anywhere hot since he was diagnosed so it would be a learning curve to see how it influenced his glucose levels.

Oh and we also carb count all his food and give the requisite insulin. Sorry - know I must seem not at all open to him going.

[Aeroflotgirl]

No MrsC, I just would'ent, not at this stage, no.

[MrsCampbellBlack]

He's currently in the honeymoon period - I do love that phrase

Bettys - thanks! DC also did school trip abroad a month back but the staff had all had proper training.

I think am going to go with - maybe next summer once we've had a full year of managing it.

[Silverweed]

Van the other family all be trained by a diabetic nurse?

Are they fluent in the language where they were going? I was injured in france and if i hadn't been able to talk to the hcps in some detail it would have been hard.

I must say I'd have struggled massively wiyh this even without the health issues - just sunscreen etc bad enough . How tough for your son.

[LaLyra]

I think it would depend entirely on the family/parents. One of my DDs has a fairly extensive list of medications and her conditions need to be managed properly. She has two 'best' friends - one family could take her away without a moments doubt from me. I know the parents, I know how responsible they are and I know they'd take good care of her. The other family not a chance so for me it would depend entirely on how much you trust the other parents. Could you trust them to be on top of him as much as you'd be? (and are they aware of how much work it can be?)

[MrsCampbellBlack]

And maybe they won't be friends by then and I won't have to be mean guy

[Seriouslyffs]

And away from home, different food, heat, waking up late or very early is exactly when its likely to need more careful managing.

[BettyCatKitten]

I wouldn't as pp have said he needs to be stable for a period of time and what if he gets sick?