The

Diabetic Adventures of

Jack and Jill

For the Type 1 Diabetic Child

Story and Illustrations by:

Alicia Segovia

Chapters

1. Jack and Jill

2. What is Type 1 Diabetes?

3. Telling Friends

4. Myths

5. Let’s Go to the Doctor

6. What is Insulin?

7. Eating Healthy

8. Glucose Check

9. Sports and Fun!

10. Hypoglycemia

11. Hyperglycemia

12. Family Fun

13. Your Diabetic Adventures

Chapter 1: Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a

pail of water. Jack fell down and broke

his crown and Jill came tumbling after.

Ever wonder why Jack fell down after getting some water?

And why exactly did Jill come tumbling after?

Well …

Jack and Jill both have Type 1 Diabetes!

During recess, Jack pretended to be a king while Jill pretended to be a

queen. Jill even made a crown for Jack!

Suddenly, Jack and Jill started to feel funny.

Jack was shaking and Jill was dizzy!

“Maybe some water will help!” Jill said. “That sounds like a great idea,”

said Jack. “I’ll race you to the top of the hill!”

When they got to the water fountain, Jack and Jill were feeling very

weak. Then Jack fainted and tumbled down the hill! Jill fell down too!

A teacher saw them fall and rushed to help. Although Jack’s crown

broke, and they were both scared, Jack and Jill lived!

They will teach you about Type 1 Diabetes so this never happens to you.

Chapter 2: What is Type 1 Diabetes?

You are not alone!

Many children who have Type 1 Diabetes still live healthy and happy

lives. They can still play sports, eat great food, and hang out with

friends. Children with Type 1 diabetes can do anything anyone else can

do!

Even some famous people have Type 1 Diabetes:

Actress Halle Berry didn’t let Type 1 Diabetes stop her from being

Catwoman or Storm in X-Men.

Singer Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers didn’t let Type 1 Diabetes stop

him from singing.

So, if Type 1 Diabetes didn’t stop these amazing people from doing

amazing things, what makes someone with Type 1 Diabetes different?

Think of yourself as a car.

You may look great on the outside but even the nicest cars need gas to

get us places. GLUCOSE is the gas we get from foods we eat.

Without glucose, we cannot play!

We open the cap to our cars, put in the fuel pump, and get as much gas

we need. But what happens if the cap doesn’t open?

We cannot get glucose into our car and it will not run!

To open the caps to our cars, we need a hormone called INSULIN.

People with Type 1 Diabetes do not make any insulin.

They must get their insulin from injections!

REMEMBER: Your car can still run like any other car, go fast as any

other car, and is as special as any other car. It only takes a little bit more

work to open your cap!

IN A NUT SHELL:

FOOD/GLUCOSE = GAS!

INSULIN = opens the caps to our cars.

Chapter 3: Telling Friends

So you just found out that you have Type 1 Diabetes.

How do you feel?

Are you scared? Are you angry? Are you confused?

It is ok to feel this way!

Maybe you’re wondering how you are going to tell your friends. Let’s

pretend you are telling Jack and Jill that you have Type 1 Diabetes.

Say: “Hey, Jack and Jill. I have Type 1 Diabetes.”

Jack may be scared! He may say, “Oh no! Are you going to be okay?”

Tell Jack not to worry! Many people with Type 1 Diabetes live normal

lives!

Jill may say, “Can I catch Type 1 Diabetes too?”

Tell Jill that diabetes it not contagious like a cold.

Jack and Jill may feel weird around you and treat you differently

because they think you’re sick.

Tell them if you take care of your blood glucose, you can do anything

they can.

Jack and Jill may want to help.

You can tell them what to look for if your blood glucose drops so that

they can help you!

Chapter 4: Myths

Have you had someone you know tell you …

• You can’t eat candy

• You can’t play sports

• You have diabetes because you are overweight

• Taking insulin cures diabetes

These are all FALSE!

Eating less sweets can control your blood glucose but you can still

eat them! You may need to have sweets if your blood glucose

drops too low.

Playing sports is important for staying healthy!

Weight has nothing to do with type 1 diabetes. No one knows what

causes type 1 diabetes but it is definitely NOT food!

There is no cure for type 1 diabetes! You will ALWAYS need to

take insulin.

Chapter 5: Let’s Go to the Doctor

You have a bunch of team mates who will help you with your

Type 1 Diabetes!

Let’s make up a name for your team. The Type 1 Diabetic Team?

The Diabetic Squad! Whatever name you pick, put it here.

______________________________________________________

Let’s get to know some of the people on your team!

COACH

Pediatrician

This is a doctor who ONLY helps kids.

You can think of him as being a coach!

He has the game plan so that you can win! He’ll teach you facts

about diabetes, ways to keep from getting sick, and how to live a

great life with Type 1 Diabetes. It is important to let him know

how you feel. He may need to change the game plan so that you

will feel better and stronger!

TEAM MATES

Nurse

The nurse will take your blood pressure or can take your blood

glucose.

The nurse is like a team mate.

She wants you to do well and can also give you tips on how to be

safe and healthy with Type 1 Diabetes.

Dietician

The dietician wants you to eat healthy foods that will keep you strong

and that are good for you.

The dietician is like another team mate.

She wants you to be your best when you are playing with your friends

or having fun with your family.

REMEMBER: All of these people are on YOUR side and want

YOU to do great! In order for you to win and play your best, you

need to listen to your coach and play together with your team

mates!

The doctor may have you do different kinds of tests like a

blood pressure or a urine sample.

It does not mean you are sick! He just wants to make sure you are

healthy.

What is a urine sample?

The doctor may have you pee in a cup to test if your blood glucose

is high. This is just so the doctor can make sure you are taking

enough insulin.

What is a blood pressure?

The doctor will put a blood pressure cuff on your arm. It is used

to see how fast blood is traveling in your body. It’ll squeeze your

arm and then start to let go. It won’t hurt but your arm might feel

tingly and funny!

Chapter 6: What is Insulin? REMEMBER:

FOOD/GLUCOSE = GAS!

INSULIN = opens the caps to our cars

If you have Type 1 Diabetes, you have to give yourself insulin

injections. You need this to open your cap so gas can get in!

Without gas, we cannot do fun stuff like run and play!

It can hurt a little but it can hurt worse if you give it in the wrong

places.

Here are some places you can give your medicine …

The FATTY part of the

legs, abdomen, and arms

REMEMBER: CHANGE PLACES EVERY TIME!

Why?

If you give your medicine in the SAME place ALL the time, the

skin will get hard and thick! This means the medicine will not

work as well.

***READ THIS PART WITH AN ADULT***

REMEMBER: ALWAYS give injections with an adult

Are you ready to give your own insulin injection?

Yes?

Well, ALWAYS make sure you have an adult with you for help.

You could hurt yourself if you do not do it right.

Step 1. Open the bottle cap and throw it away. Clean the top with

an alcohol wipe.

Step 2. Uncap the needle. Pull the plunger back and insert 25-units

of air into the vial.

Step 3. Turn vial upside down and take out the insulin you need!

HOORAY! You did it!

Chapter 7: Eating Healthy We get carbohydrates from the foods we eat.

Foods like pasta, bread, and potatoes, have a lot of carbohydrates.

Even though these are good for us, if we eat too many they can be

bad for us!

It can cause something called “HYPERGLYCEMIA.”

What is “HYPERGLYCEMIA”?

REMEMBER:

FOOD/GLUCOSE = GAS!

Hyperglycemia means we have too much gas for our cars! This is a

good thing, right?

WRONG!

Too much gas means our car won’t work the way it should! We

will be tired, sluggish, and drowsy.

For every 15 grams of carbohydrate you eat, you can give 1 unit of

insulin.

1 unit = 15 grams

Here are some foods that have 15 grams of carbohydrate!

Common Foods with 15 grams of Carbohydrate

1 slice of bread (1 oz) 6 chicken nuggets

½ cup of oatmeal 2 inch square brownie/cake

(without frosting)

1/3 cup of pasta or rice 2 small cookies

¼ serving of medium french

fries

½ English muffin

½ cup of canned or frozen

fruit

4-6 crackers

1 cup of soup 1 (6 inch) tortilla

If I eat 6 chicken nuggets and 2 small cookies, how many carbohydrates

am I eating?

15+15 = 30 carbohydrates

30 carbohydrates!

How many units of insulin will I need?

REMEMBER: 1 unit = 15 grams of carbohydrate

How many units of insulin will I need?

15+15 = 2 units of insulin

I need 2 units of insulin!

YAY! You did it!

Fiber does not affect blood glucose!

What are some foods high in fiber?

Popcorn, whole-wheat spaghetti, brown cooked rice, and pecans are

some examples of foods with a lot of fiber!

Chapter 8: Glucose Check You will need to give yourself a little poke on the finger to test

your blood glucose ESPECIALLY if you feel

DIZZY, SHAKY, and WEAK

When do you test your blood glucose?

Before you eat and at bedtime!

First we will put the strip into the glucose meter.

The glucose meter is a machine that tells you your blood glucose.

A lancet can be a little scary!

The lancet is what pokes your finger to get your blood glucose.

Don’t worry! It’s only a little poke on the SIDE of the finger!

Now that we are set up and ready to go …

Let’s play the GUESSING GAME!

What do you think your blood glucose is?

Do you think it is 75?

What about 110?

What do you think?

Put it here

Now we’re ready for the little poke!

Put one drop of blood onto the strip.

And we wait …

What was your blood glucose?

Were you really close?

Were you far off?

See! This is why we need a blood glucose meter! Without it, we

cannot know what our blood glucose is!

We want our blood glucose numbers to be between 75-110!

Were you too high? You may need more insulin!

Were you too low? You may need a snack!

If we are sick and

VOMITING, NOT EATING, OR FEELING TIRED

we STILL have to give ourselves insulin!

We have to check our blood glucose MORE because our body may

need more medicine!

Chapter 9: Sports and Fun! Whenever we run and play our cars go into TURBO MODE! We

need TURBO MODE so we can do cool stuff like play sports and

play with our friends!

When we go into TURBO MODE our cars run out of gas faster! REMEMBER: Glucose/Food = GAS

This means that we should ALWAYS carry a snack when we are

playing …

Just in case we need more gas for our cars!

It is important to ALWAYS have a friend or adult with you!

Remember Jack and Jill? They were feeling…

DIZZY, SHAKY, and WEAK

What happened to them? They fell down the hill!

Imagine what would have happened if their teachers weren’t

around to help them.

They could have gotten really hurt!

We can have fun but we must be safe first!

Another way to stay safe is by having a bracelet or necklace that

tells adults you are diabetic!

Why?

If you need help because you start feeling

SHAKY, HUNGRY, DIZZY

friends, family, or adults

need to know that you have type 1 diabetes so that they can help

you the right away!

We like to play with our friends but sometimes we need to take a

SUGAR STOP.

Do you know what a SUGAR STOP is?

If you are in a soccer game, a football game, or just playing with

your friends and you start feeling

SHAKY, HUNGRY, DIZZY

we need to take a SUGAR STOP so that we can grab a snack!

We need snacks to play our best!

REMEMBER:

Food/Glucose = GAS

and without gas our cars cannot run!

Chapter 10: Hypoglycemia What is HYPOGLYCEMIA?

Hypoglycemia is when our blood sugar is too LOW!

We start feeling …

DIZZY, HUNGRY, SHAKY

What do you do if you feel this way?

You can …

• Eat 1 tablespoon of honey

• 1 cup of orange juice

• 1 cup of apple juice

Or eat something sweet like candy!

Did you know there are 3 types of hypoglycemia?

3 Stages of Hypoglycemia

Mild 75 mg/dl You start feeling

hungry. Eat a snack!

Moderate 65 mg/dl You start feeling

really dizzy. A adult

will need to give

you 3 glucose

tablets or some fruit

juice.

Severe <55 mg/dl This is REALLY

BAD! You need an

adult or 911 to help

you because you

cannot wake up!

They will give you a

glucose injection.

What kind of hypoglycemia do you think made Jack and Jill fall

down the hill?

Mild, Moderate, or Severe?

SEVERE hypoglycemia!

Without the teacher being able to help them, they could have been

in big trouble!

Chapter 11: Hyperglycemia What is HYPERGLYCEMIA?

Hyperglycemia is when our blood sugar is too HIGH!

We start feeling …

THIRSY, WEAK, AND PEE A LOT

What do you do if you feel this way?

You need to let an adult KNOW!

They will test your blood sugar and see what it is.

This may mean you need more insulin.

If your blood glucose is REALLY high, you may have

ketones in your pee.

What are ketones?

REMEMBER:

FOOD/GLUCOSE = GAS

INSULIN = opens the caps to our cars

What happens if we do not have insulin? We cannot get glucose in

our cars and we cannot run!

The body will start to break down our fat so that we can use it as

energy for our cars instead. This makes ketones!

THIS IS BAD!

If you

VOMIT, FEEL SICK, AND PEE A LOT

let an adult know!

This may mean that you need more insulin.

If you have a lot of ketones, you may need to go see a doctor!

Chapter 12: Family Fun

It is ok to feel different from your family.

But there are things you and your family can do to have fun with

Type 1 Diabetes!

You can shop for foods together. You can even add new meals to

cook that all of you can enjoy!

You can help the family cook by measuring ingredients, beating

eggs, or scrubbing vegetables.

REMEMBER: ALWAYS have a parent with you when you are

cooking!

If you have extra space in your back yard, you can even plant a

garden!

Vegetables like zucchini, squash, or tomatoes are healthy foods

that are fun to grow and eat!

Chapter 13: Your Diabetic

Adventures Play sports, hang out with your friends, have fun, but always

remember what happened to Jack and Jill when they went up the

hill!

Now that Jack and Jill have taught you everything you need to

know about Type 1 Diabetes, it is time to make your own diabetic

adventures!

Be safe!