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I yawned, suddenly feeling like I’d had the best nap ever.
“I’m fine. They’ll be in to remove this in a minute.” I studied the near empty bag that was hanging near my bed and the line that carried its fluid into my vein.
Paxton was right, I’d done this song and dance a time or two. I couldn’t say if the part about not prescribing was accurate, but the bit about urgent care was spot on.
As long as I was able to walk, I could drag my ass into the urgent care waiting room, and they’d take care of me .Once I was heaving and unable to open my eyes, though, it usually meant an emergency room trip.
A faint tap sounded at the door.
“Come in,” I mumbled, tucking the cover around my bare left lower leg.
A fresh-faced physician with an eager smile and metal-framed glasses stepped into the room.
“Hello. Kennedy, you’re awake. That’s great. How are you feeling? On a scale of one to–”
“Zero,” I cut him off, knowing the pain scale all too well.”
“If it starts at one, how can you be a zero?” Paxton teased.
“I’m fine. Really. The pain is gone.”
“What about the other symptoms?” the physician asked, pressing the bridge of his glasses until they returned to their intended location on his face.
“What other symptoms?” I glanced from Paxton to my dad.
“You were unconscious when you arrived,” the doctor pointed out.
I gave a slow nod, not having truly thought about it.
“I suppose I was. It was probably the pain. I was spinning and–”
“Spinning?”
“Maybe if she were prescribed the right medication for her condition she wouldn’t have to end up in the hospital spinning or unconscious,” Dad grumped.
I nodded again, flashing an apologetic grin to the doctor. “Yeah, dizzy. Thankfully I didn’t eat much last night, so my belly was empty, or I’d have probably made a mess.”
“I see. Have you ever been told you’re diabetic?” he asked, not seeming to be bothered one bit by dad’s disposition.
“What?” I laughed, raising my hand to wave away the idea, “I was an athlete in high school, and I don’t eat a lot of sweets.”
I wasn’t exactly part of any team now, but I wasn’t sedentary. I got enough exercise to maintain a healthy weight.
“Some patients have episodes of low blood sugars, it causes them to have vision problems, shakiness, and are usually found to be, as we always say, cold and clammy. And yes, they lose consciousness sometimes if it gets too low.”
“Are you thinking that is what happened to her?” Dad spoke up.
“I’m certain of it. Her lab results said as much.”
“My mother was diabetic like that,” Roach quietly offered, before looking to the physician, “What was Kennedy’s blood sugar level?
“Your… blood sugar, as the young lady put it, was forty-eight upon admission.”
“What is it supposed to be?” Paxton asked for me.
The doctor bobbled his head, “Ninety to one hundred and twenty is textbook ideal, but some patients run a little under and are completely asymptomatic. I would wager you’re one of those patients. You’re likely completely unaware, and just fine, unless you skip meals or exert yourself more than normal. A day at an amusement park, touring a college, sometimes simple things can cause us to burn through more calories and sugar than we might on a typical day.”
Everyone nodded like it made perfect sense.
