Swimming in the snow

Posted on 02. Jan, 2008 by Jillian in Glycogen Storage Disease

So, I’m not really sure if I wanted to brag about being able to safely take our GSD kids swimming outside while it’s snowing, or if I wanted to brag about our beautiful white Christmas. Either way it isn’t a very becoming attribute, but I couldn’t help myself.

This year we drove up to my parent’s house in the mountains on Christmas day. They have a geothermal swimming pool right outside their door that is wonderful to swim in- even while it is snowing. Although, it may have been a little too warm.

Dr. Weinstein likes to say that the only thing he can’t make safe for a GSD kid to do is deep sea diving.
1. because cold can drop blood sugar pretty fast
2. because so can swimming/ excercise and
3. because if you have a blood sugar emergency deep undersea medical assistance is too far away.
I’m not really sure if he ever considered anyone crazy enough to want to swim in below freezing temperatures in the mountains, but we are.

Obviously the water temperature was a nice and toasty 100 degrees, and it was only steps from the back door so we didn’t need to worry very much about the cold. We also took all of the normal precautions GSD kido-s take when swimming such as extra snacks before and after as well as monitoring their blood sugar.

Disclaimer: I’m sure you’re sick of hearing these, but it’s important to remember that every GSD kid is different, and you should talk to your specialist before you try it.