Other Diabetics Keep Boy on Track

Hanssel is an angry 12-year-old. For six years, he has been struggling to come to terms with his diabetes. Lately he has been hanging out on the streets near his downtown apartment. He has been in and out of foster homes because his single mother has difficulty managing his diet and insulin shots.

Diabetes can be a great manipulation tool, according to Tamara Smith, director of operations at Diabetic Youth Services. “If her son doesn’t take his shot, he will go to the hospital, and that means Social Services will come in again and take him away. It is a common story for these kids. ‘If you don’t make me what I want to eat, I’ll pass out, you’ll get in trouble.’ A parent doesn’t want to do that to her child.”

In Hanssel’s case, Smith said, “when he is placed back with his mother, he doesn’t always get the support he needs. He lashes out, and he’s put into a foster home until Social Services comes in and puts him back with his mom again.” His inability to deal with his diabetes lands him in the hospital several times a year.

Camp will provide the seventh-grader, who has been described by teachers as bright but unmotivated, an opportunity to learn life skills with other diabetic children. In between the usual dances, bike riding and catching lizards at Camp Conrad-Chinook, counselors show campers how to monitor their carbohydrates.

For the three years Hanssel went to camp, doctors reported that he did very well for about five months following his stay and then started to slide. “Now he is skipping his shots again, not keeping to his diet, and those are two major things,” said Smith. “It makes it harder to feel good, harder to concentrate; he gets angry and depressed.”

The camp counselors, 90% of whom are also diabetic, explain the need to take care of diabetes and show the children that they can lead normal lives. Smith said that “the kids don’t want to be with a loser who doesn’t take care of diabetes. There is a peer pressure to stay healthy.”

She added, “A lot of these kids think they will die at 20. When they see counselors, it gives them hope; it makes a big difference. They think it is hilarious that the staff members who are not diabetic are the ones that are different.”

The biggest challenge for Hanssel is to overcome his anger and accept his diabetes. “Now that he’s in his teenage years, he doesn’t want to deal with diabetes,” said Smith. “We’re trying to teach him not to let go of all he’s learned and to find a way to tell people he’s diabetic and not deny it.”

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