It’s also easy to check in – without fingersticks – before Ethan starts his solo walk home after school. His teacher looks at the Follow app on her own smartphone just before school ends, and then communicates with his mom about whether he should have a carb-containing snack before leaving. Similarly, when Ethan heads to karate training three times per week, his parents no longer feel like they have to stay right outside the dojo; the ability to monitor at a distance the effect of this physical activity on his glucose levels gives them the confidence to visit a friend or run a few errands. As Melissa notes, this “brings my anxiety down to a regular level, instead of being escalated!” (Amen to that!)

In terms of managing post-meal blood sugars, the family feels more comfortable with making carb-guesses as needed – if they see that the glucose trace is still rising an hour after he has eaten, they can simply give Ethan more insulin, heading off what would otherwise be persistent high blood sugar.

But his mom’s favourite feature? The Urgent Low Soon alert lets the family know up to 20 minutes in advance when Ethan’s glucose is predicted to drop below 3.1 mmol/L. Knowing before he’s low gives them time to treat the dropping glucose before it’s actually in the low zone, which is very helpful for preventing lows. Melissa points out that Ethan has far fewer lows since he started using CGM.