Laura Plunkett

The Challenge of Childhood Diabetes: Family Strategies for Raising a Healthy Child Laura Plunkett

When seven-year old Danny was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes, his mother Laura Plunkett desperately searched for ways to help her family cope with his life-threatening disease. Feeling anxious and overwhelmed, she struggled to manage wildly fluctuating blood sugar numbers, transform her reluctant family's diet, educate friends and teachers, and balance her family's needs with her own. Over time Danny attains excellent blood sugar control and the family reaches a new and comfortable sense of normal. To help others weather such shockingly new circumstances, Plunkett and her extended family share their three-year journey from crisis to confidence with humor and warmth. An intimate look at issues of diet, exercise, communication, sibling rivalry, medical care, and holistic medicine, The Challenge of Childhood Diabetes is the friend, coach, and consultant that the family of every newly diagnosed child will turn to on a daily basis. It includes a Survival Guide for obtaining support, maintaining self-care, developing family strategies for coping with the disease, and achieving emotional perspective. The Challenge of Childhood Diabetes is insightful and compassionate, filling the void between doctor's visits with the comforting voice of a loving and experienced caretaker. It's an invaluable resource for extended family, friends, teachers, neighbors, and medical professionals. Visit www.challengeofdiabetes.com for more information.