“Can I help you find something?”

“Urm well thatsh okay, I’m jush lorking, but shanks,” I mumbled with a mouth full of fruit snacks. Sometimes when I get really low, as I was at this moment, I pour the entire contents of the pouch into my mouth at once. Struggling to form a coherent sentence, mouth full, and teeth sticking together, I can only imagine what the woman must have been thinking as she gave me a curious look before walking away to help someone else.

Lost amongst the racks of clothes, I managed to make my way out of the store and outside. There I stood in the middle of Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago.

There are all different kinds of low blood sugars. Some can feel much worse than others, even when they are the same number. I was experiencing one of the bad ones. In fact, both of my legs had started to tingle and feel kind of numb. What a strange and unpleasant experience to say the least.

I was alone. My friend was sitting in a coffee shop a good 4 blocks away. Not that she could do anything to help me right now. Plus I wasn’t worried. I knew that in about 12 more minutes, I would begin to feel normal again. It is just this waiting period that is the worst.

So hands shaking, head spinning, legs tingling, brain not quite thinking straight, I decided to walk. Where to? I’m not sure. I just focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

“Oh wow,” I thought. “This feels weird to walk when my legs are tingling. I wonder why they are tingling, what does that have to do with low blood sugar? Oh I like that girl’s dress! I wonder where she got it. It probably wouldn’t look like that on me though. Plus it’s almost fall, it’s going to be too cold for dresses like that soon. I wonder how many people are out shopping right now. Are there more or less because it’s Labor Day?”

Lost in thought, I had no idea where my legs were taking me until I stopped in front of a door. I looked up at the sign to see where I had walked to:

I laughed to myself. Naturally this is where I would end up with low blood sugar 🙂