September 10, 2001
Exercise and Sports
Question from Oakdale, California, USA:
My 14 year old daughter, who has had type 1 diabetes for a year and a half and uses an insulin pump, is a cheerleader, and her coach told her that she couldn’t fly (FLY – a sport where cheerleaders do basket tosses, pop-flies, are held up in the air by other cheerleaders called bases) because she is worried my daughter’s infusion set might come out even though my daughter disconnects from her pump during workout. We feel that she should be able to fly as long as she checks her blood sugar before and after practice.
Answer:
I would agree totally that it is fine to do this cheerleading activity. I would think the coach would be more concerned about going too low rather than the infusion set coming out. If the infusion set does come out, your daughter will just have to get another one in after practice.
LSF
