We need you to recognize

This morning I read a story that is in a way similar to other stories I have read recently. The story was about a Type 1 diabetic that became hypoglycemic. This is a woman who usually wore her diabetic identification bracelet but had misplaced it that morning. She also usually carried glucose tablets wherever she went but had forgotten to grab them on the way out the door for her morning walk.

In her story she tells about it being cold. She says that there was thick snow on the ground and that she struggled to walk through it. She started to feel as if her blood sugar was getting low and she was thankful when she saw a fire station up ahead. All she wanted was a coke, or something to raise her sugar.

When she reached the station her sugar was so low that it was hard for her to express to the fireman exactly what was happening to her body. He immediately thought she was drunk and he called the police.

The police also thought she was drunk and took her to the county jail where she was booked and spent the next 7 days. She was wearing an insulin pump that eventually ran out of insulin. She says she threw the pump out of her cell and onto the ground and begged for a doctor. They took the pump and locked it up with her belongings and told her a doctor would not be at the jail until Monday, and this was on a Thursday.

She claims that her family was there everyday pleading with the police. She says that she became so sick that she started vomiting. She refused to eat or drink while she was there because she was so scared. When the doctor finally arrived on Monday he took her out of her cell and into a private room where she could receive saline. He did not check her sugar, nor give her insulin.

After she received the saline a lawyer was finally allowed to see her. He was able to get her sent to the hospital. When she arrived someone finally checked her sugar and it was 427, high..yes, but luckily not higher. It was there that she finally received insulin and saline to rehydrate her.

I tell you this story because there are too many stories like this out there. People are uneducated about diabetes. They are not aware of the symptoms and most often mistake hypoglycemia as being intoxicated. It saddens me, and worries me that these stories exist.

I ask again that you please be aware of the signs and symptoms because you never know when you might be the one to have to save some one's life.

Hypoglycemia:
Cold sweat
Fast or pounding heartbeat
Shaking
Nervous, excited
Drowsy
Personality change
Irritability
Confusion
Poor coordination
Slurred or slow speech

If you can, take some time to familiarize yourself with these symptoms. Thank you for your time.

-Kimberlee