Diabetes And The Family 911 Training

Teaching children how to dial 911 might help save your life or the life of someone else with diabetes...

Diabetes is a family affair.  If you're the adult in the family it touches the lives of your children as much as it touches your life.  If you experience a hypoglycemic (insulin reaction) your child might be forced to perform tasks that could lead to your life being saved so it's important they know exactly what to do, and what to say in case of an emergency.

Make sure your child knows how to pronounce "diabetes".  It might seem like something simple but young children might not be able to remember the correct pronunciation of this work in a stressful situation.  So practice saying the word with them.

Be sure your children know their correct address.  The emergency personnel need to reach you in the least amount of time possible so make sure your child knows if he lives on a "street" or "avenue".  Make sure they know their apartment number.

You might even want to teach your child the word "insulin".  If they can't remember the word "diabetes" or "diabetic", they can tell the operator "(Mommy or Daddy) took too much insulin."

Have practice drills with your child.  Make sure they know how to dial 911.  This is another thing that might seem simple to us but can be a major task for a four year old who's upset.  You can pretend to be the 911 operator and ask your son/daughter questions.  Have these practice drills at regular intervals.

This subject strikes close to home.  I was teaching my brother and sister (seven years old at the time) how to tell a 911 operator I was having a hypoglycemic reaction.  My  little brother did fine up until the time he had to say what was wrong with me.  He said, "My sister needs help.  She has diarrhea".  I laughed about it at the time but that just made me know that more training was needed