Diabetes Camp: Day One

I recently spent five days on an optional rotation at a summer camp with the American Diabetes Association. Here's what day one was like:

Early departure at 6:30 am. I carpooled with Maria, who just finished the Bastyr internship in June and is about to take the RD exam (good luck, Maria!). Besides having Bastyr in common, Maria and I have a connection through a very good friend of mine. Maria's husband is a childhood friend of my friend's husband. Five degrees of separation.

I actually brought my Krause with me because I hadn’t had a chance to read up on MNT for diabetes. When I told Maria I’d brought it she just laughed. She said that the diabetes experience at ADA (American Diabetes Association) camp was barely touching the tip of diabetes, and she should know because besides having done camp before, she’s a Russian-trained endocrinologist with extensive experience with diabetes.

Maria and me at the shoreline

The drive and ferry ride were uneventful, except in how charming and rustic Vashon Island was. We arrived at Camp Sealth just in time for breakfast. And what do you imagine was being served to the Type I diabetics in the dining hall? Belgian waffles with syrupy strawberries and whipped cream (oh, but the syrup was sugar-free!), an assortment of refined cereals like rice crispies and corn flakes, and fresh fruit. The protein was bacon. The fresh fruit was nice, but I had expected there would be a greater attempt at providing more blood sugar-friendly food for our beleaguered little ones.

I should clarify a couple of things before I go on. This was not a camp for diabetics. This was a regular summer camp session with special provisions (i.e., the presence of the ADA staff) for kids with diabetes. We were told at orientation that about 70 kids out of 300 would be Type I diabetics. Secondly, the primary goal of the ADA in this setting was to keep the ADA kids safe while they had a "normal" summer camp experience. Apparently, this included eating the same non-food as the "normal" kids. The only special provision for the kids made by the kitchen was to provide sugar-free syrup for the waffles, and sugar-free canned strawberries for the strawberry shortcake. I hope I don't have to point out the irony of this to you...

Interestingly, special care was taken to provide options for the four vegans/vegetarians at camp, and for the one child in camp with a severe peanut allergy.

The rest of the day was a blur of meeting the ADA staff (most of whom would be replaced the next day by a new crew), getting the lowdown on the life of a camp intern from Misha, another Bastyr intern, and learning to carb count… oh joy! My preceptor would not arrive until late that evening, so Misha’s preceptor, Susie, helped to orient me.

Inside the ADA cabin: tables for checking BS and getting dosed

By mid-afternoon I had a fair idea of what my days at camp would look like:

There would be two ADA staff locations at camp, called “pods.” ADA kids would come to one of the pods before each meal to look at a sample plate of food for that meal, tell us what and how much they were going to eat, and we would count up their carbs. The kids would then do a finger stick and get their insulin dose based on the carbs they planned to eat and their blood glucose level. The insulin dose was decided by the providers, most of whom were nurse practitioners, and administered by nurses or by the kids themselves.

Other than mealtimes, ADA kids would come in if they weren’t feeling well (and go through the same drill except for the carb counting), and at bedtime so that they could get a snack or an insulin dose to take them through the night.

These were my main duties: 1) Prior to every meal, get the menu and do a carb count based on product labels or carb counting books; 2) Plate up reference portions of food for the kids to look at; 3) Write the menu and carb counts on a board; 4) Go through the menu with the kids before each meal, tallying the amount of carbs they planned to eat. Other than that, I would have a chance to supervise the kids doing their finger sticks, participate in midnight blood sugar checks, and wear an insulin pump loaded with saline for a day or two.

Sleeping arrangements: I slept in one of four beds in an area behind a partition at the back of the main room of the ADA cabin. Since this was open to the front of the cabin, I knew there would be no rest for me until midnight checks were done and all the lights were off. I’m a very light sleeper so I always come prepared with ear plugs and eyeshades, but the effects of these were dulled by my racing mind, an awareness of stealthy activity in the next room where staff members were passing the time until midnight checks (more on this later), and SNORING! I counted three different snorers that night, one of them so loud that the noise penetrated my ear plugs (rated for 30 decibels) from a room down the hallway and through a closed door.

Everyone quieted down within a couple of hours and I did eventually fall asleep, but I had a long time to mull over my day and ponder how a snoring person could sleep with such a thunderous sound vibrating through their own skull. ZZZZzzzzzzzZZZzzZ.

First Rotation Done!

I finished my first rotation for my internship yesterday. I actually have two summer rotations, the second of which comes around in another week, and which you will hear all about when it’s over. This first rotation came as a surprise from my director about a week after graduation. She emailed us about the possibility of helping out with two summer food programs in the Auburn School District.

The cool and unusual thing about this rotation is that the internship director’s husband is the Food Service Director for the Auburn School District and I know his reputation for being passionate about whole foods, good nutrition and supporting local farmers. I also know that he started an organic garden and fruit orchard at one of his schools with the hope of bringing fresh food into the cafeteria and teaching the kids about gardening. This rotation would involve working with two different programs in the Auburn school district – the Summer Food Service program and the Summer Food Academy – so I immediately signed up.

The Summer Food Service program is a continuation of the National School Lunch Program, making free lunches available throughout the summer to those families who qualify for free or reduced lunches during the school year. Most school districts, at least in Washington, set up one or two meal sites throughout the district and require the families to bring their kids to the sites every day to get their lunches.

The Auburn School District, on the other hand, literally goes the extra mile by bringing the meals to the communities that need it most. Besides the free meals provided at schools where summer school is in session, there are about 33 other sites where free lunch is served throughout the summer. There are teams of two or three people who prepare the food, pack it into a bus or station wagon, drive out to a neighborhood and literally set up a tray line on the side of the road or in front of an apartment complex so that the kids in the neighborhood can get their free meal. Any child in the neighborhood can come have lunch. Each team goes out to 4-6 sites every day.

As an intern, I participated as part of one of these teams and observed trends in food selection by the kids. They did a pretty good job for themselves! Most of them took both fruit and vegetables, though not many of them knew that the little pinkish-yellow fruit I was offering them was an apricot. They thought it was a peach or a plum, and one kid even said, “I’ll have the mango.” Actually, I think it was the parent who called it a mango.

The Summer Food Academy (days 2 thru 4 of the rotation) is more like a day camp for kids. They enroll in the program ahead of time and pay a fee of $36.00 for a 3-day experience. They help cook breakfast and lunch for the group, and in between meals there are lessons in the organic garden about bugs and plants (and nutrition, now that there are Bastyr interns!) taught by an educator from the FoodSense program.

Part of my responsibility at the Summer Food Academy was to incorporate nutrition “messages” into the curriculum, so I taught a little lesson on “What is a Whole Food?” based on Cynthia Lair’s lesson from the Whole Foods Production course at Bastyr. The kids got really into trying to decide whether or not chicken pot pie was a whole food, and they were absolutely positive that Cheeto’s were NOT a whole food. Guess I did my job there.

The second day I talked to the kids about fiber: what kind of foods have it, what it does for the body… They liked hearing about the 100,000,000,000,000 bacteria (10x the number of cells in the human body) living in their intestines, and how eating fiber feeds the bacteria and keeps them healthy. We also talked about pooping and constipation, not the best topic for breakfast but they took it in stride.

I also did a lesson on “Chip” the compromised corn cob (from Jenn Dazey’s book Naturopathic Gardening -- Jenn teaches organic gardening at Bastyr). Jenn taught us that a plant that successfully fends off bugs and disease or survives a drought has strong genes and a powerful innate immune system that should be preserved by being replanted. The Mayans, famously reliant on corn for food, always kept the seeds from plants that bore Chip-like ears of corn and mixed them in with other corn seeds in a 50:50 ratio, thereby ensuring genetic diversity and a strong crop for the following year.

I learned in a different class altogether that plants that are allowed to defend themselves against adversity (meaning that they aren’t sprayed with pesticides or otherwise artificially protected) actually contain more phytonutrients, the compounds in plants that function as an immune system. This is good to know for those of us who are put off by the imperfect produce at the farmer’s market, or who are used to the uniform and unblemished produce in the grocery store.

I combined these two lessons and taught the kids that the imperfect or blemished fruits and vegetables they see in the store may actually be more nutritious than the perfect F&V. Carey, the garden educator, added a great illustration of this concept by explaining how having chicken pox gives our bodies the tools to fight the virus off and strengthens our immunity.

This was a fantastic experience for me. I found that I instinctively know how to talk to kids despite not having kids of my own, though I need to practice using a louder voice. I tend to start big and loud and end with a whimper. I think I could also practice making a point in two or three different ways, so that the kids who don’t understand a concept the first time around might understand the second time.

I also had some practice in asserting myself (something that is challenging for me), because the people I worked with weren’t sure what I was supposed to be doing and I needed to make sure I fit my assignments into their schedule. I think I did a good job of communicating my needs and also at being flexible about my lesson plans and when and how to offer them. On my last day, Janet, the kitchen manager, told me that I hadn’t been a pain in her butt – this was meant as a compliment. I guess she expected to have to do some hand-holding but I was independent and helpful and didn’t get in the way. Mission accomplished!

After the Pomp and Circumstance

Before all the details slip my mind, I need to write about my graduation from Bastyr University this past Monday. It was a true celebration, far more grandiose and joyful than I expected. Just trying on my gown the night before felt momentous, even if it did make me look like a linebacker.

The time spent rehearsing, eating a quick lunch provided by Bastyr, and getting lined up for the procession was our last chance to bond before going our separate ways. After all, we had spent the last two years in the same classes every quarter – these faces have become a part of my life. I felt buoyed by the collective excitement, proud of our accomplishments, and ready to move on.


My mother had flown in from California, and my brother and his family came from Arizona to witness the ceremony. As I filed into Benaroya Hall with the rest of the graduating students I had no hope of finding them in the audience because nearly every seat was full, and the noise from the cheering and clapping was so tremendous that it would surely drown out any sound they made. Nonetheless, I was not five steps down the aisle when I heard someone yell my name and, looking to my right, saw my family shouting and waving at me, my husband holding the camera up high above his head in an attempt to videotape the procession.


I felt like a star. In retrospect, that sounds a little ridiculous, but at the time it felt great. And of course I wasn’t the only star that afternoon – we were a constellation of stars! (I can’t help being maudlin…) This was nothing like my first college graduation, twenty years ago now. I can barely remember that graduation. This one I will likely never forget. This one I really worked hard for, and this one felt like the end of a journey, not just a transition.

Later, my husband stood at the edge of the stage to capture the moment that my name was called and I crossed the stage to accept my diploma. My sister-in-law whooped loudly enough to scandalize her two boys, and Dr. Kestin, who was presenting me with my master’s hood, said, “Sounds like you’ve got a fan!” I don’t if that’s how I would put it, but I was definitely feeling the love!

When all the Master’s grads had made it onto the stage, Dr. Church officially conferred us with our degrees and reminded us to “master” ourselves, rather than others.


Five days later, I’m still feeling a little choked up and am suddenly aware of the friends who have already moved away for their dietetic internships in far-flung states. Luckily, several friends remain here in the Seattle area, some who will be interns at Bastyr with me. This next year is the proving ground for us in our chosen field of dietetics, and I’m very excited and a little fearful, but mostly looking forward to this next challenge.

And now begins the rest of our lives. Congratulations everyone!

Getting An Early Start

It’s only June, and I haven’t even graduated yet, but I’m already beginning my internship!

The Bastyr interns have been offered the opportunity to complete 32 hours of a diabetes rotation by working at a summer camp on Vashon Island for 4 days. This camp will be slightly unusual as these summer camps go because it will be a mix of “normal” kids (what kid is normal, anyway?), kids with T1DM and kids with celiac disease. Out of about 300 children, only 70 will be diabetic. This will also be the first year that the camp integrates gluten-intolerant kids (they’re expecting about 30). Since 5-10% of T1DM kids have celiac disease, there will be some overlap between the two groups.

Today I attended an orientation of sorts. The orientation took place at the GIG conference in Seattle and our small meeting was led by Cynthia Kupper, RD and executive director of GIG, the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America, and Jennifer Okemah, the lead RD and diabetes expert for the camp. Cynthia is a dynamic personality (so is Jennifer) and has been instrumental in new legislation and policy-making related to gluten-intolerance. She is the person to watch in all things gluten-free, especially in terms of gluten-free certification for food producers.

We talked briefly about the structure of the camp and how the GIG contingent and the diabetes contingent will interface. The main goal will be to monitor the children with celiac and diabetes while keeping out of their way as much as possible as they do kid-at-summer-camp things. I’ll get to practice doing finger sticks and reading blood sugar levels and, of course, counting carbs.

I’m really looking forward to this! I'll post more about the camp as it happens.

In a Mediterranean Mood

Tonight my soon-to-be-graduating class of Masters of Nutrition Science students put on a shindig for, get this, the preceptors for this year’s outgoing dietetic interns. It was a thank you dinner for the preceptors, put on by the interns, but the meal was planned and executed start-to-finish by my class as a project for Food Service Management.

It was gorgeous. I wish I had pictures of the venue and the food – I’ll try to get a hold of some from our FSM instructor. The theme was “Savoring the Mediterranean,” and in order to avoid having to make special meals for those with food intolerances we planned a gluten-free, dairy-free menu.

Let me just recount it for you here so that you can salivate over it:

Apps: Roasted red pepper and walnut pesto, hummus with preserved lemon, and olive tapenade, served with homemade sourdough bread and chickpea-rosemary GF crackers
Salad: Mixed greens with fig-shallot vinaigrette and edible flowers
Dinner: Quinoa cakes with basil and sun-dried tomatoes, served over braised greens and cannellini beans, all topped with sautéed oyster mushrooms
Dessert: Almond cream tartlet topped with fresh strawberries

If I’ve left anything off the list, I’ll certainly hear about it from my classmates.

We had a pretty great leadership team. They were bossy and got the job done! Theresa, who completed culinary school before she came to Bastyr and is a masterful vegetarian cook, was running the kitchen and the cooking crew, and Laine was in the “front of the house,” making the most of her natural leadership ability and vast experience working in restaurants.

Exuberant Wendy was in charge of us all, acting as mother hen and cheerleader. She also kept in touch with the interns and the internship director to make sure everything went smoothly. And Cheryl and her donations team raised $2000 in cash and in-kind donations to put the cherries on top of this dining experience.

And finally, let me put in a few good words for the grunts: the prep cooks, line cooks, fry cooks, pastry chefs, waitstaff, bartenders, and the decoration team. Oh, and the dishwashers! We did a great job!

The glitches were few, like when we ran out of beans-and-greens and had to whip up another batch, or when some of our tartlets collapsed into puddles of almondy deliciousness. No matter… the dinner guests knew nothing of our setbacks and had a fantastic time.

So congratulations to everyone for a job well done. If our exit exam was based on our performance tonight we would all graduate with honors!