Oh my gosh, so cute! Felt bad he had a hard time getting a blood drop, I always hate that haha.
He did a great job though 
Yeah, the more he does it the better heāll get at it. I try to let him check his own sugars at least once per day but recently heās been wanting to do it more so Iām letting him do it. The better he can get at his own management, the less heāll need to rely on others. I worry about him when itās time to go to school. How was your management during those early years? Did you use MDI or Pump during your early years (pre-k and then Elementary school). CGM? How was your experience with Diabetes and the school environment, if you remember? How were the staff in helping with management, etc.,ā¦
Canāt say a thing to management in school because I didnāt have it at that age. I can, however, tell you what a beautiful thing it is to see him learning to rely on himself. Itās a gift. 
I donāt remember everything perfectly from the super early years but Iāll do my best haha.
I went on a pump in 1st grade, and prior to that my mom was coming to my school or babysitters house whenever an injection was needed. My pre-k and kindergarten both only went to noon so it wasnāt a big issue since I didnt eat meals at school, my mom would pack super low carb snacks for me (cheese sticks and the like) that wouldnāt require insulin.
In pre-k I would test my bloodsugar myself with the supervision/assistance with either my teacher or a teacher I had previously (I did 2 years of pre-k) or the nurse as they received training from my mom. I donāt think my preschool nurse was there all the time, but I canāt really remember.
In elementary school I would go to the nurses office to test at the start of the morning break and lunch (from 1st - 5th, since there was no lunch for kindergarten). Usually accompanied by a friend since they didnāt want me to walk there alone. Once I got the pump (an Animas) I learned how to bolus with it fairly quickly and I would use the calculator to determine the needed dose and run it by the nurse before delivering it in the early stages. I got to know all of the office staff very quickly (not just the nurse but also the secretary, the office assistants, the principal, vice principal etc) since I was always at the office. In addition to the nurse, other people on staff in the office got glucagon training because they expressed interest in it, and my mom was always taking expired glucagons over there for people to practice. I was very close with the school nurse in elementary school and she actually babysat me for several years as well.
One thing that was non-ideal about my experience was that if I felt low during class I would need to take a partner and walk all the way to the nurses office in every year except one (4th grade I had a kit in my classroom, because that teacher was exceptionally cool). This was problematic for both ātraveling while lowā reasons and also missing class, since I would need to sit in the office until my bloodsugar came back up.
There was one situation in 1st grade where a glucagon had to be used - I basically went super low during a reading test, fainted, my teacher had to carry me all the way to the nurses office and when I woke up everyone was freaking out and my mom was on the phone with the nurse. I ended up going home early, for good reason I think. I was most irritated at the time that I didnāt get to redo the reading test, and that meant I had to read āeasierā books than I could have lol.
My mom always packed lunches for me and wrote the carb count on a sticky note, I assume that it was decided that guessing carb counts on school lunch would be far too difficult. I didnāt care really because I never thought he school lunches looked particularly great haha.
I got a CGM in 5th grade, an early Dexcom model. I wasnāt a big fan of it at the time because I hated hearing the alarms all the time so I would wear it at most once a month. Largely I went based on feel and only tested if I suspected I was low or if it was recess, which probably contributed to less than amazing A1Cs at the time.
I will not be ok with any school asking Liam to go to the nurseās office to do something as trivial as checking his bgsā¦ which he will do frequently during the day. I plan to fight to have that clause in the 504 because leaving classrooms isnāt fair to the student.
Thx so much for sharing your experience!
I will be honest, going to the nurse to test was common across my elementary and middle school, and all of the diabetics at my middle school went to the nurse to test at breaks (there were probably about 4 diabetics at one point at my middle school). Iām not sure if it was just something my schools preferred or what. They did let me self-manage unsupervised in high school although I seem to recall that there was a bit of debate about this at the time as well.
I agree that itās dumb, hopefully it wont be too hard for you to get Liam the ability to not have to leave class.
To me, if he knows how to check his own BG - which he does, it shouldnāt take someone watching over his shoulders as he does it. Now, if he has to deliver insulinā¦then yes, I can see how there is fear of over-dosing from someone his age so thatās something I would definitely want a Nurse to oversee until heās old enough that I know with 100% certainty that he understands the consequences of over-dosing insulinā¦itās something that he definitely (or anyone administering for him) has to be cognizant of.
That was great! He is learning so much!
I am glad you are getting use out of the strip holder.
My favorite part of the video is how he calls the lancing device āthe pokerā. lol. Makes senseā¦the poker, pokes.
I loved that too. After hearing him so formally say ātest stripā instead of just āstripā I was waiting in anticipation to hear what he called the lancing device 
I also called it a poker when I was young, made me smile. Great minds think alike!
So cute! Just makes me want to cry. Such a brave little man. Harold, you are truly blessed.
Love it. Definitely a wiper and not a licker of the finger.
Love the test strip holder.
Precious! What a trooper!
Thank goodness Iām not the only one crying! It wasnāt sad tears, exactly, but I was so proud of Liam! And you Harold, because you didnāt get flustered when it didnāt work and the strip errored out. I could feel my nerves kicking in because I know how youāve gotta be quick with those things! But thereās plenty of strips to learn with and heās so brave!
I also cried because my T2 mom whoās in her 70ās canāt figure out how to use the Freestyle meter. And your four year old can. Which made me very happy. (Wish you lived closer so Liam could teach my mom.)
I was thinking ānext thing to grab is the Lil Stabberā! Thatās what we call it! It stabs. We also call them ātest stripsā. And I struggle to get the stuff loose from the kit too. You and Liam win on the calm front! Love it!!! Best video ever? Might just be!
I think it is great for Liam to be able to do it himself! By the time he is 6 or 7 he will be an expert.
It is better if he knows how to manage himself before he gets to be a teen, because it becomes harder then. If he knows all the basic techniques before, he can focus on learning new ways to manage harder BG problems.
@ClaudnDaye, I wanted to remind you of the most important thing. Before every test, remember to do the BG āguessā.
Yes, we did that! I just didnāt get the video of that part of it! Recently, though, heās silly with this gameā¦he knows ālowsā get him treats so heās always saying āI feel lowāā¦even when heās normal or high. But we do the beat the dexcom every time now!
@ClaudnDaye Liam is amazing and unlimited! Does he give lessons? I am in need of expert advice - whatās his current daily consulting rate?
(BTW, Dexcom should license this video from Liam. This is the single best selling point for using the G5 I have ever seen)
Your battle should be fairly easy to conduct as long as your school doesnāt have existing policies. Your physician can put things in the school orders that they cannot refute, unless they have a policy. So, just remember to get your physician on board with the idea, have him/her put that in the school orders, and then ensure the school understands your wishes in the first 504 meeting and you shouldnāt have an issue.