Lucy is Diabetic, but Thriving Thanks to Your Donations

Lucy is a 2nd grader in our schools. She’s bubbly, bright, and curious. And, last summer, on the same day as her school’s year-end picnic, Lucy was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes.

So, this means that every day before PE she has her glucose levels checked to find out if she’ll need a glucose tab before running around on the yard.

And, every day before lunch Lucy talks with the nurse about what she is going to eat, and together they count her carbs.

Think about your own children. You likely ask them or check their lunch box every night to see if they ate their lunch, just hoping that they actually did before getting distracted by the monkey bars or the kickball game or whatever else was going on that might have been more exciting than actually eating lunch.

So, imagine the added stress of not just wondering if they ate but also wondering if your children counted their carbs correctly and ate just the right amount of everything to keep their glucose levels good through the afternoon.

And now imagine doing that without a trained adult on campus to help. For many kids in California, that is exactly what’s happening. The state does not fund full time health office staff at most schools, leaving busy administrators and teachers who really aren’t trained for this to fill the void.

But, because of donations to the Ed Foundation, our largest elementary schools have full time health office staff on campus. Donations to the Ed Foundation mean that kids like Lucy have a trusted health professional down the hall to check her glucose levels and food every day. And, if something does go wrong, there is health worker on campus to help right away.

We know about Lucy because her father reached out to the Ed Foundation to thank us and share his appreciation for the nursing team who helped his daughter as they made all the arrangements needed after her diagnosis. As he said, “to know someone is there to give her the fast acting sugars if her levels are too low is crucial. It’s everything for us.”

But really the thanks go to our donors, the people that make health office specialists possible in our schools!

You can make your donation to help students like Lucy now.