By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
Dowagiac Union Schools nurse Eva Hecht has been taking insulin for type 1 since she was 10, going through Battle Creek schools without ever knowing another diabetic.
Hecht, a "Berrien Springs girl" in her 10th year as school nurse, wears her beeper-sized, St. Louis Cardinals-adorned pump clipped to her belt.
It pumps insulin into her body at three-minute intervals, like a pancreas.
She's waiting for the day insurance covers the newer devices that read blood sugar automatically, without finger pokes. Medicare, Medicaid and private insurances all cover the pump for insulin-dependent diabetics.
"In the old days, you could never eat anything sweet. Now, I can eat 10 hot-fudge sundaes as long as I use my pump – although that wouldn't be good for weight. I did gain about 20 pounds the first year I had my pump. It was nice to be able to eat a Snickers without feeling guilty," she said.
Hecht told Dowagiac Rotary Club Thursday noon at Elks Lodge 889 that she considers asthma the most serious health issue with which she deals because of its prevalence.
"So many kids have it," Hecht said.
"Some have it really bad, but don't have inhalers with them. When they're on the cross country team and they're running through the woods, that's a huge, huge issue.
"There might be socio-economic reasons that prevent them from going to the doctor, from having an inhaler or that prevent their parents from telling me they have asthma because they know I'll ask, 'Where's the inhaler?' Some kids keep it a secret," she continued.
Plus, "There are so many triggers out in the community. Parents smoke in the home or in the car on the way to school. I probably have two dozen kids who have asthma and use an inhaler every day and their parents smoke in the home. There's a lot of education to be done. Some don't want to hear it. Others take suggestions very well, like smoke outside. I have one student who knows that every time Mom's boyfriend lights up a cigarette, he goes upstairs."
Dr. Fred L. Mathews noted that childhood diabetes used to be primarily type I. With today's obesity epidemic from fast food and sedentary pursuits, type II shows up in kids, too, although she said all 12 insulin-dependent diabetic Dowagiac students are type I. Nine wear insulin pumps.
"They're not sure why type I is increasing," said Hecht.
"Diabetes is the number-one reason for blindness in the United States," Mathews said, "which is probably 90-percent preventable by weight control."
Previously, Hecht worked for St. Joseph Medical Center as a rehabilitation nurse for brain and spinal cord injuries.
"I think all the case management I did helped me fit into the school nurse role," she said. "Kids who don't have insurance and parents who don't have a way to drive to the doctor's office. This is the best job out there for nurses. I'm on a great schedule. I meet with a lot of well kids. The diabetic kids are my special kids and we relate very well. Twelve is a large number for this size school district. I hope they're growing up confident with their condition and able to make good decisions.
"Some kids like to come to my office to talk everyday. At the high school I always have granola bars for kids who need a snack. Some kids I feed every single day, and that's okay. I work with the staff quite a bit. Probably the most common thing I do is take blood pressures. (Former principal) Dave Strlekar was the biggest record we ever kept because he had his blood pressure documented for 30 years.
"I think I like it so well because everyone is so appreciative. They know they had a school nurse who always had granola bars for them. It's a great feeling to walk through Wal-Mart and hear, 'Nurse Eva! down the aisle. I'm waving, even though I'm not sure who's yelling it. I have a wonderful job working with wonderful people," Hecht said.
While she can't meet with all of the district's 2,500 students every day, Hecht "tries to make sure that they all know they have a school nurse. That can be challenging: 'I didn't know we had a school nurse' when I've been here 10 years."
Hecht said one of her proudest accomplishments during that decade was starting SERT, the Student Emergency Response Team.
"Next semester," Hecht said, "our high school will have a class where kids earn credit to become SERT-certified. We will have a bunch of students trained in first aid."
Immunizations "are huge," she said. According to state law, a child entering school the first time must have complete vaccinations. Re-evaluations occur at sixth grade. "Right now we are about 98 percent complete with all of our new kids who entered – even our high school kids, who have gone to Niles and then came into Dowagiac. It's really important that we have kids who are well-immunized."
Religious objections to immunization are "very well-recognized," she said. "There's a letter they sign. If there was, say, a measles outbreak, anyone who had not had immunizations due to a waiver would need to be removed from school so they don't get stick. We have a few waivers. There are a lot of new immunizations coming out right now, such as meningitis. Hepatitis A is another new one recommended for all kids. Michigan has a wonderful online system. You type their name and birthdate and their shot records come up. Any provider of shots has to put it into this program so I don't have to waste a lot of time looking for paper records. Michigan is No. 1. Indiana's trying to figure out how we did it so they can."
Asked about the incidence of teen pregnancy in Dowagiac schools, Hecht said she assumes rumors she hears at the high school to be true, whether she overhears two students talking, a student informs her or she is approached by the expectant mother herself.
"Ninety-nine percent of the time" what she hears in the halls turns out to be true. Her interest in substantiating pregnancy talk is to insure safety and health from proper prenatal care.
"I also do a lot of counseling with the parents as to what the plan is and get our wonderful counseling staff involved."
"It's not a large group," she said, "but there are always a few every year."
Sex education is regulated by the state – no distribution of condoms or discussion of abortion as a form of birth control.
"It's minimal in middle school," she said. "Sixth grade, the puberty talk. Eighth grade, they do reports on STDs (sexually-transmitted diseases). The health department comes in and talks about the STD numbers for Dowagiac, which shocks kids. The high school health class gets more into pregnancy and the process of birth, but they also get into relationships, making good choices and options instead of having sex. I do a lot of referrals to the health department. It's not my job to judge, but if they want birth control, I want them to have the resources and to know where to go to ask questions."
"It's unfortunate what's happened to Dowagiac with the number of industries and employment in these economic times," Superintendent Peg Stowers said introducing Hecht, "but once again, just to show the spirit of Dowagiac, we have never had so many calls in our school district from benefactors who want to adopt families and children for Thanksgiving and Christmas than we've had this year. It's just been wonderful, so thank you, Dowagiac."
Paul Harris Fellow Dr. Fred L. Mathews, retired after 56 years as a Dowagiac optometrist, received his sapphire Rotary pin from Dick Judd on behalf of the Rotary Foundation.
His son, Southwestern Michigan College President Dr. David Mathews, announced his engagement to Cass County Circuit Court law clerk Sarah Wilkinson. They plan to be married on Valentine's Day. Both are Rotarians.
"To celebrate his engagement," Fred Mathews said, "David's leaving Sarah and heading for Mexico to climb volcano mountains. I'm happy because while he's up in those icy mountains, my wife and I are taking his kids to Disney World, where we hope they'll be warm."
"That means you're both coming home worn out and tired," said former school superintendent Larry Crandall.
"Not yet," Wilkinson said, when asked by club President Barbara Groner if she climbs mountains.