Re: 鈥淒iabetic passenger told not to eat on bus despite fears of seizure,鈥� Jan.聽17.
I have been a Type 1 diabetic for 50聽years, taking insulin injections three times daily. I am extremely fortunate in that I have had none of the expected physical complications, except for the occasional and suddenly acute onset of severe low blood sugar episodes, despite careful control of my diabetes.
The attitude of a sa国际传媒 Transit driver toward a young woman trying to prevent the likelihood of a convulsion when her blood sugar was dangerously low is both disgusting and totally unacceptable. What would the driver have done if she did have a convulsion on the bus, with its potential for brain damage?
Would she have been expected to wait for the next stop? If the driver鈥檚 elderly relative had severe chest pain due to a possible heart attack while riding on his bus, what would be his reaction?
No diabetic teenager is going to complain of severe low blood sugar without good reason, and she should have been treated with appropriate understanding and respect, regardless of the somewhat questionable regulations about eating on a bus.
Andr茅 Masters, MD
Victoria
