YEAH for Tegaderm!!

We seem to have to relearn how to do the beach every year. This is what K's inset looked like after our first beach trip this summer. The brownish stuff in the middle there is sand. I never even unplugged her pump that day - and the sand still got in. When she was close to 400 mg/dl after we got home is when I realized there was a pump problem and saw this. 

At our next beach trip, I remembered to bring lots of Tegaderm. Tegaderm is generally used for wound care -but we use it roughly every three days when we numb a spot on K's tush with lidocain cream (for inserting the new inset) and it has to be covered for about 30 minutes. But at the beach, the ones we have are just big enough to cover the inset to keep sand out!  This is what Tegaderm looks like for those that don't know. 

The white part peels off and it is very sticky and creates a seal with the skin. 

Our second beach trip was much warmer and K was instantly ready to go in the water, so the pump came off and a Tegaderm went on. She was hungry soon after, so the Tegaderm came off so the pump could click into the inset, during which time, she cannot go play in the sand. Then a new Tegaderm goes on until she wants more to eat or needs to be checked otherwise, and so on and so on.  Frequent checks are definitely needed during an hours long trip to the beach; if she's not wearing the pump, she's going to go high, despite the activity. So, beaches still aren't easy, but with extra diligence, it's enjoyable for our K. 

Summer programming update:

I went every day last week and yesterday at 9:45 - the time K checks herself - as health clerk dosed her with meter/pump, at first, walking her through it and then sitting there quietly in case she had questions. Today, I told health clerk I'd come because I know she is more comfortable with me there and it's not that inconvenient because my gym class ends at 9:30 and the school is on the way back home. When my phone rang at 9:44, I was a block from the school and said "I'm almost there." The health clerk said, excitedly, "I did it!" She checked her early because apparently K was feeling low, so went a few minutes early to check herself. It was perfect because she wasn't low and the health clerk dosed her without me around - proving to herself she could do it. It was the perfect situation.