Ellen
01-01-2006, 03:12 PM
Nashua girl starts group for kids with diabetes
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nashua — When 9-year-old Marissa Droutman was diagnosed with Type I diabetes last year, she had nightmares about dying.
If she did not carefully monitor what she ate and how it affected her body’s blood sugar level, she risked kidney failure, heart disease, blindness, stroke, infertility, brain damage, and yes, even death.
It would require her to use insulin for the rest of her life.
But Droutman didn’t let fear stop her and now she wants to help others her age.
Now 10, Marissa is launching a support group run by children for children with diabetes. Called the Sweet Peas, the group will serve ages 6 to 12, meeting at Foundation Pediatrics on Tyler St.
“From the outset she was such a trooper,” said Judith Holt, a nurse practitioner who encouraged Marissa to start the support group. “She took immediate control, giving herself the shots and testing her blood sugar, taking an active interest and controlling stance. She clearly stood out as a potentially wonderful, positive role model.”
Marissa now uses an insulin pump and is prepared to demonstrate it to future members of the Sweet Peas. She also has learned to measure her blood sugar level, and with her parents help, to adjust her food intake.
She carries a cell phone to birthday parties and calls home for help to gauge her sugar intake and insulin needs.
Holt, who diagnosed Marissa, will serve as facilitator for the Sweet Peas but said she will encourage the children to run the group, deciding their own agenda, speakers, and activities.
If children learn to manage their disease early, they are less likely to rebel in adolescence by refusing to comply with treatment, she said.
Meanwhile, Marissa is planning games to help new members get acquainted. She’s looking forward to sharing her knowledge and experience with other children.
She wants them to know that diabetes is neither a death sentence nor a punishment.
And she wants them to know the comfort of having a friend who has diabetes and understands what it feels like.
http://www.theunionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Nashua+girl+starts+group+for +kids+with+diabetes&articleId=fd80d73d-1ab2-4d1a-b9c1-2286ca21400b
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nashua — When 9-year-old Marissa Droutman was diagnosed with Type I diabetes last year, she had nightmares about dying.
If she did not carefully monitor what she ate and how it affected her body’s blood sugar level, she risked kidney failure, heart disease, blindness, stroke, infertility, brain damage, and yes, even death.
It would require her to use insulin for the rest of her life.
But Droutman didn’t let fear stop her and now she wants to help others her age.
Now 10, Marissa is launching a support group run by children for children with diabetes. Called the Sweet Peas, the group will serve ages 6 to 12, meeting at Foundation Pediatrics on Tyler St.
“From the outset she was such a trooper,” said Judith Holt, a nurse practitioner who encouraged Marissa to start the support group. “She took immediate control, giving herself the shots and testing her blood sugar, taking an active interest and controlling stance. She clearly stood out as a potentially wonderful, positive role model.”
Marissa now uses an insulin pump and is prepared to demonstrate it to future members of the Sweet Peas. She also has learned to measure her blood sugar level, and with her parents help, to adjust her food intake.
She carries a cell phone to birthday parties and calls home for help to gauge her sugar intake and insulin needs.
Holt, who diagnosed Marissa, will serve as facilitator for the Sweet Peas but said she will encourage the children to run the group, deciding their own agenda, speakers, and activities.
If children learn to manage their disease early, they are less likely to rebel in adolescence by refusing to comply with treatment, she said.
Meanwhile, Marissa is planning games to help new members get acquainted. She’s looking forward to sharing her knowledge and experience with other children.
She wants them to know that diabetes is neither a death sentence nor a punishment.
And she wants them to know the comfort of having a friend who has diabetes and understands what it feels like.
http://www.theunionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Nashua+girl+starts+group+for +kids+with+diabetes&articleId=fd80d73d-1ab2-4d1a-b9c1-2286ca21400b