Wednesday, August 28, 2013

People Are Strange, When You're a Stranger

Blanche DuBois, from A Streetcar Named Desire, said, "Whoever you are, I have always depended on the kindness of strangers."

I believe this to ring true for all of us at some point in our lives, but even more so for me tonight.

I decided to go to a movie by myself. My friends all already had plans, were working or had a soccer game. It was a last minute decision and there are a few movies I have been wanting to see, so why not? It's something I do on occasion. It's nice to just pick a movie and go; not worrying about what any one else wants to see or what time to go, it's a pretty great getaway when you just need some time to do something by yourself.

Long story short, I got pretty sick last weekend. I was put on a liquid diet for one week. I'm on day two and it hasn't been fun. So far, I have been tempted by pizza, french fries, chocolate cake and movie theater popcorn. But, for the sake of my health and feeling better, I have been sticking with it thus far.

You can imagine what this has done for my blood sugars. Mostly, they have been within perfect range. Today, I ran from 80-123 every time I checked. 80 is a little low for me, but not enough to do anything. Well, since I had a meeting right after work and then went to a movie, I didn't eat. Usually, this would be an okay decision for me. I could normally make it through a couple hours and not feel anything. Unfortunately, between the liquid diet and it being four hours since I had last ate something, I started feeling really week half way through the movie.

I noticed it when I realized I was sweating. Suddenly, my face felt numb, my arms felt like jello and my legs and hands were trembling. I didn't know what to do. I reached into my bag for my meter and glucose tabs. Meter reading: 38. Glucose tablet case: empty. Shit.

I started to get up thinking I could go run to the snack bar and get some Sprite or juice. But fell right back down. Panic set in-yet I was too confused to realize what I should do.

I looked to my right and a gentleman in his early seventies or so was getting up. He moved to the seat next to me. "Are you alright?" He looked worried. I had definitely frightened him. I explained to him I was a diabetic and experiencing a low blood sugar. Without hesitation, he stood right up and said, "I'll be right back."

In minutes, the gentleman was back. In his hands, he had a small drink and some gummy bears. He had already put the straw in the drink and handed it to me. Then, he sat right down next to me and started opening the candy. I told him, "I'm on a liquid diet. I can't eat those. Thank you so much, though."

He started laughing. "These are for me. You're greedy." I laughed too.

Shortly after I drank half of the Sprite, he nudged me. "Check again before you finish that." I was astonished. I checked. 115. Perfect.

"If it's alright with you, I'm just going to sit here next to you. Movie is almost over any way." He smiled at me.  "It's nice to sit next to a pretty young lady." I felt better, both physically and emotionally.

The movie ended. The lights went up. "By the way. My name is Roy. My late wife was diabetic. A type 1. And I have a granddaughter who is a type 1. Sorry if I made you worry."

"Roy, I'm Charli. You didn't make me worry. You're my hero!"

"Well, I don't know about that. We're strangers. But I'm glad I could help.Take care of yourself"

We went our separate ways. We didn't exchange information.We just said goodbye. And I can't thank him enough.

I pride myself on my independence. I think it's cool that I can go shopping, go out to eat, go to the park, and go to movies by myself. I love that I have the confidence that some people don't to do these things. But, I am also so thankful for the people around me. I can't deny that I need help some times. And I definitely can't thank some of these people enough.But I can try.

To Roy: Thank You.

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