Lifeguard
When I worked at GCC, I was a lifeguard, along with three of the other counselors. Two were PWDs and two were PWoDs. (At the time, I was on a minimed pump). Most of the campers would be in the pool at one time, and while generally only one of the lifeguards was on at a time, it was common for many, if not all, of us to be in the pool. And then I got the question “What are you going to do with your pump?” For me, it was a simple question. I didn’t wear it. Now don’t get worried. Swim time was 45-60 minutes long (I don’t remember exactly). And we couldn’t allow the campers in unless a nurse was at the pool. So I would leave my pump with the nurse (or waiting for it), and I would get my eagle eyes on. I never had to jump in and save any kids. In the two years I was there, none of us did. But if I did, I didn’t want to have the moment of, “Should I detach my pump?” I didn’t want anything getting in the way of needing to save a child. Sometimes I would finish on the higher side, but I was okay with that because I also didn’t want to go low while guarding.
I started thinking about this picking up the Genius kids from camp where the lifeguards check IDs. And I was wondering, are there any PWD’s out there who lifeguard on a daily basis? If so, how do you manage your D while you’re there?