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Woman’s scare shows diabetes’ dangers
BOARDMAN
Mary Quisenberry remembers leaving her brother’s house in Akron. She remembers getting behind the wheel of her Pontiac Sunfire and merging onto Interstate 76 eastbound.
But that’s where her memory of last Sunday night’s drive home to Austintown ends.
Quisenberry was spotted parked in between lanes of Interstate 680 southbound about 12:30 a.m. Monday. A tow-truck driver saw her and called 911 for help, but Quisenberry began driving again.
The tow truck followed Quisenberry as she traveled at very low speeds and weaved across the lanes before stopping on the U.S. Route 224 exit.
Police thought Quisenberry, 46, was drunk, but they were wrong.
She is diabetic, and her blood-sugar level had dropped to 28 — dangerously lower than the average range of 70 to 120 for a diabetic. Diabetes is a disease caused when the body does not have enough insulin to turn sugars into energy for the body.
“I don’t remember anything,” she said. “It is scary because I could have killed someone. I could have killed myself.”
Boardman police and firefighters arrived at the scene and called for Clemente ambulance service. Boardman paramedics began treating Quisenberry, who said in slurred speech she wasn’t sure where she was and that she was diabetic.
Fire Chief George Brown said the department is seeing diabetic medical calls more often, usually at least once a week, and there is heightened awareness of the disease this month because November is National Diabetes Month.
“The biggest challenge is keeping [diabetics] in a normal lifestyle pattern — eating at the same time every day, for example — but we don’t live that way anymore. We have active days and slows days, so sugar levels vary greatly,” Brown said.
Township firefighter and paramedic Tony Steiner said signs of low blood sugar include an altered mental state and behavioral changes. He recommended first keeping the person calm and then giving the individual a sugar-filled food or drink, such as orange juice.
Gary Hemphill, a township firefighter and paramedic, cautioned people from taking action blindly.
“You have to know the patient, and sometimes even if you do, it’s not like the person will remember to swallow,” he said, referring to diabetics who may be in shock.
Paramedics were able to treat Quisenberry, who later drove herself home. The experience shook up Quisenberry, diagnosed with diabetes 10 years ago.
“I’m a brittle diabetic — I shoot low and high,” she said. “... I call in my [blood sugar] numbers. I have one of those emergency bracelets. I carry insulin and my meter with me. I have snacks in the car, but the thing is, I don’t realize until it’s too late.”
Quisenberry said she is thankful for the tow-truck driver, police, firefighters and paramedics who helped her; she hopes other diabetics don’t go through the same thing she did.
“The only advice I can give is carry candy with you, and check your sugar a lot,” she said.