Just when I think that I’ve got all the kinks out of dealing with running and diabetes, I get my ass kicked. And it’s hard not to panic and have this sky-is-falling perspective. I KNOW the dangers and possibilities of dying, but people risk death everyday. I just happen to have a quicker access.
I woke up around 3 very disoriented and a massive headache. I recognized the headache, didn’t realize I wasn’t thinking so clearly. I tested my sugar and it was the highest it’s ever been…630. I knew I had to get it down quick or it was a happy trip to the ER for insulin. I grabbed my shorts from the previous run that day and hit the road.
I’m not sure how long I ran, but all of a sudden, I started feeling better and clearer. I turned the corner and saw the house and slowed my pace a little because I didn’t…want…my…..sugar…to….oh shit….it’s dropping…..and it hit me that I had nothing with me. A high of 630 will bottom out and that’s when things get dangerous. Diabetic coma alone on the road means certain death.
I saw the house as I started falling and I was grabbing for my clothes praying for something and I found the Life Saver in my shorts. I fell, rolled and got the thing in my mouth then had the clarity to roll on my side so I wouldn’t choke and that’s the last thing I remember.
When I came to, I was gagging and throwing up, but I was alive. I half crawled and walked home and tested my sugar…42. Holy hell, it had to have been in the 20’s. I’ve never come this close. Never.
And even after that, I can’t put my life on hold. I just can’t. I’m determined to live a normal life with a chronic disease. I’ve said it before. I will be the best diabetic out there.