My Scariest Moment Yet
Monday, September 21, 2015 at 1:32PM It was 4AM on Sunday, August 16th. My wife woke up to use the restroom and upon returning to bed noticed that I had the blankets thrown off of me and I was covered in sweat. She knew I was low and grabbed my glucometer to check my bg.
She tried to wake me up so I could prick my own finger but I was not responsive so she did it.
26.
She tried to wake me up and tore open a packet of glucose gel to try and get me to take. My teeth were clenched together and I would not open my mouth. My wife grabbed the glucagon shot and woke my son up to call 911 while she gave me the dose.
Not knowing how quickly I would recover she stuck the needle in my thigh and injected the dose into me. My son handing the phone to her and she told the emergency operator what was happening. In just a few minutes the paramedics showed up to work on me.
The first thing they did was a finger stick.
21.
They gave me a bag of Dextrose through an IV and decided to take me to the hospital since I was still unresponsive.
At this point I believe I can tell you the first thing I remember.
I was having a really creepy dream that was unlike anything I have ever experienced. The right upper corner of my vision had images flashing like a movie theater in the distance. The images were changing so quickly that I could not make sense of any of it. Noises were also coming into my ears in pulses that I could not understand. I remember thinking that this was something I had never experienced and this nightmare was one I was going to have to just ride out. There was no way for my brain to slow down and make sense of what this was. It was terrifying.
"Is this really happening?" I heard myself say to someone standing over me. They were really tall because they had to bend over or else they would hit there heads on the ceiling!
"Yes, we are taking you to the hospital." I could feel movement and hear creaking of the ambulance shocks. Maybe it was speed bumps or a drive way?
A second later I was in another room. BEEP. People were bustling around me. BEEP BEEP. Talking to each other although I could not understand what any of them were saying. BEEP. Above me I saw a surgical lamp. The light was off but on the inside of the BEEP shade I saw a warning label. Numbers and statistics were being shared around the room. BEEP BEEP. I tried to read that warning label but I couldn't make out the words except "WARNING."
"Warning: This light will remain hot even after the light is off."
I kept reading that warning over and over. It was keeping me in that room and not letting me sink into the abyss I just came from. The beeping was going but I understood that I was in the hospital. Something happened, but what?
Just then I hear my wife's voice and instantly I start sobbing. "What happened?" I asked through tears and she said that I was low and would not wake up.
The emergency room workers asked me questions and I answered them as completely and accurately as possible. Thinking the more I say will help ground me and keep me alert. It was a weird defence mechanism.
They checked my bg and it was in the 300's although I felt still terribly low. The doctors and staff let me rest while my wife came and talked to me. She started telling me what happened and I could not believe it. When she told me about the way I was clenching my jaw I realized how sore my face felt. And also that I was still holding my mouth shut with the same intesity she described.
A nurse came by about an hour later and checked my bg. It was 127. She thought that was strange, as did I so she cleaned another finger and tried again. 130. She walked around my bed and cleaned a finger off of my other hand. 129.
That drop in bg got me sent up to ICU. While I was there the doctor on duty came by to meet me. He told me that he was going to keep me in ICU for the next few hours to make sure my bg was stable. He also said he wanted to keep my bg around 200 for the next 24 hours for some reason.
After around 4 hours I was moved up to the Cardiac Care Unit for observation. After a few hours there the doctor came back around and was happy that my bg was pretty much in the low 200's for the last few checks the nurses had done.
"Alright Mr. Simmons, we are going to run you through the night in the 200's and tomorrow we will send you home as long as we don't have any drops happen okay?"
What are you gonna do right? I felt like I could go home but I knew it wouldn't hurt to stay overnight and I didn't want to put my wife through any more drama if something did happen.
Around 4PM the next day I was released to go home. My bg had been pretty much the same all night so the doctor felt it was okay for me to go home
The next day I made an appointment to see my doctor. That was an eye opening appointment that I will have to tell in another post since this one is already a novel.
Anyhow, this event has really gotten to me. The thought of how close I came to checking out, how blessed and lucky I am to have a wife who knew what was happening and responded so quickly. How lucky I am she woke up when she did. Who knows what would have happened if she didn't?
Actually, we all know which is why it was so scary.
Reader Comments (9)
Holy smokes this post was frightening to read. I can't imagine going through it. So glad everything turned out okay... hugs to you and your family.
So glad you are okay, George, and sorry that you had to experience this. Unfortunately when I started to read this, I thought it was a repost of your severe low last winter which discussed syrup and waffles and I was sad to realize it was another devastating low. I can remember exactly where I was hiking in Arizona last winter when I listened to the DSMA Live show where you described that experience.
Your post is a reminder that regardless of how much we get excited about new diabetes tech and laboratory cures of mice, this is one s*cky disease. It definitely reminds me that I probably put too much faith in my Dexcom to protect me from severe lows and seizures. Your wife is a rockstar and man, you are sure lucky to have her:-)
Thinking of you and hope that you and your doctors figure out a way to eliminate some of these severe lows. Have you tried cinnamon or okra water?
Oh wow! No words. Only God know what he plans for us. Thank you so much for sharing. This may happen to someone else (unfortunately) and you have shown us what to do. Take care and God bless you and your family!
Reading this brings tears to my eyes. My head knows it can happen to any of us at any time. My heart hurts because it happened to you..
Glad you are ok now.
Oh gee. How really, really scary. I'm so glad your wife knew exactly what to do. You're a lucky man, George.
Holy cow Batman ... I mean Ninjaman!!! That was friggin' scary. I've only ever had a similar version ... but that was going the reverse way ... DKA ... as a teen ... lights out for 3 days ... not a pretty picture with ratted up hair due to head tossing on pillow (and I have no memory of what happened except for the drive to the ER, and I think a giant chasing after us ... who knows ... I was only 13 at the time .... vivid imagination). Hoping you have a Dexcom one day .... because that will help you hopefully (place inside of a glass with some marbles under it ... you will be woken up like the dead).
Wow, that's a touching post, and it scares the hell out of me. Thanks for sharing your story, I appreciate it. I have never passed out myself, but really do need to be prepared. I'll definitely ask the doctor for a prescription. -- Mike
Thanks for sharing