My number one reservation about starting Nightscout was the size and weight of the rig. It’s a definite price to pay. It’s not ideal, but Caleb’s been able to manage, and the benefits are currently worth the price.
My next concern was taking a step backward in the progress we had made in Caleb’s self-care.
Since he was in preschool, Caleb has always had some level of responsibility in his care, and it has advanced both organically and with careful planning each year. In third grade, we (his school nurse at the time, Caleb and I) started to take steps to prepare him for middle school. We targeted specific milestones for each of the next three years. Caleb was caring for himself as I expected a middle schooler would by the beginning of his last year in elementary school.
Given this success in autonomy, and on the verge of starting middle school, I didn’t want to compromise his progress. If I started watching his bgs, would the torch come back to me? That was absolutely not the goal. Why would we need remote access to his CGM data if he was now running the show? I didn’t have the answers to these questions, but I started seeing successes with the Nightscout Project, got over the hurdle of the rig size, and figured with a limited financial investment, why not give it a try.
The role Nighscout played in Caleb’s autonomy was not one I anticipated. Knowing that he was no longer “alone” when I dropped him off somewhere, gave him security. This increased the opportunities to be places by himself because he was comfortable. The more he did this and saw that he could care for himself by himself, the more confidence he gained. Increased confidence added more security, which led to more confidence, and before we knew it, things had changed dramatically.
We had gone from discussing a careful plan of “what ifs” each time he was dropped somewhere, to no longer even thinking about it. This was a change in Caleb. Where he was once anxious, he was now assured. School days became easier as well. A middle school schedule is pretty hectic; he never seems to have a spare moment. He has greater flexibility to go throughout his day as he pleases, without being a slave to a diabetes care schedule. We probably would have gotten to that point because of Dexcom alone, but Nightscout got us there immediately upon starting school.
Does Caleb care for himself entirely independently? I’d say he does 90% of the work when he and I are apart. When he’s home, we’re definitely a team. He makes decisions, I make decisions, we make decisions together. When he’s at school or elsewhere, he’s in the driver’s seat. We consult throughout the day if needed. There are times when I see something on Nightscout that he hasn’t noticed yet and I will prompt him. I don’t feel like I’ve taken back control though. I feel like I’m helping him at a level that is appropriate for someone his age. He’s continued to move forward in his level of self-care. He hasn’t taken any steps back, which was my concern.
The biggest issue we were having when we starting using Nightscout, was Caleb’s self-confidence in his diabetes care. I knew he was capable, he wasn’t as sure. Nightscout propelled his confidence forward, the exact opposite outcome I had anticipated.
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