What’s Up With Jack?
Chapter Five: Back to Normal
Author: Julia Ransohoff, high school student writer
Jack knew there would be a lot of work to make up when he went back to school, but the biggest challenge was going to be facing his classmates. He arranged with his homeroom teacher to give a presentation on diabetes and what had happened to him at the pool. They arranged for him to present the day he came back to school.
When Jack arrived in class, he felt people staring at him, but he marched right up to the front of the classroom. His teacher announced, “Today we are going to have a very special presentation from Jack.”
Nervous at first, Jack began, “Four weeks ago, I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. This means that…” He explained about the pump, his blood sugar levels and, of course, the juice boxes. At the end, some of the kids who had teased him earlier looked ashamed. One classmate said, “Dude, you’re really brave to go through all of that. I don’t think I could do it.” As Jack walked back to his seat, a smile spread across his face.
His teacher said, “Let’s have a round of applause thanking Jack for sharing his experience with us.”
Later that day, Jack found himself in the locker room again before swim practice. Everyone knew that he had diabetes, but he didn’t care anymore. No one seemed to be staring at him or talking behind his back. In fact, people were standing around him asking questions because they were curious, not because they wanted to make fun of him.
As he headed for the pool, Jack remembered the gift he had made for his coach: a batch of homemade cookies and a card. “Hey, I have a little something for you. I know it isn’t much, but I baked some cookies from my grandmother’s favorite recipe and I made you a card,” Jack said.
“Thanks bud, and thanks for coming back. Now go hop in, let’s get started,” his coach said. Jack did as he was told and practice began. Halfway through practice, Jack’s coach asked if Jack wanted a break, but Jack said no, he would definitely let him know if he did. With 15 minutes left, Jack’s teammate suggested Jack take a quick break just to be sure his glucose level was right, and he followed his friend’s suggestion. He pricked his finger and saw his number was pretty good, but he decided to have a quick snack anyway.
As practice ended, some teammates told Jack it was great to have him back. Before heading off to the locker room, Jack said to his team, “I just want to thank you guys for helping me get through this and for being such great friends.”
One of his teammates said, “Hey Jack, if you ever need anything, we’d be glad to help you.” Another friend added, “Yeah, you know where to find us; that’s what friends are for.”
Jack smiled. Things were back to normal.