On Saturday, after spending the entire afternoon at Jersey Gardens outlet mall, I realized I had forgotten to buy some camisoles at Old Navy. So off I went to the ridiculously huge mall that is the Garden State Plaza. When I got there, I realized it was just early enough that I would be bored if I went home (no Internet and no TV - I’m writing this at work on a Sunday), but it was late enough that I need to eat something pretty soon. I decided my course of action would be to watch the latest Harry Potter. After purchasing my camisoles, I went down to the food court to buy a sandwich to sneak into the movies (shhh, don’t tell!).Just as I got in line for Blimpie, I noticed a sleepy, heavily-perspiring African-American man sitting with a bunch of security guards standing around him.
Red alert, red alert.
I glimpsed a Mott’s Apple juice on the table next to him, so I at once gathered he was a type 1 diabetic and that he was probably going to be just fine, since he was awake and had juice.
When I went up to the security guard, I asked if he was a type 1 diabetic and if he had tested. The female officer said yes, he’s a diabetic, but that everything was fine and thanksforyourhelpnowgoaway. I asked again if he tested. She said wehavetheparamedicsontheirwaythanks. At that point, another woman came over and asked if he had tested. Which just irritated the two officers even more. I finally went up to the man and asked if he wanted to use my glucose meter. I think the man was a little embarrassed by the scene, and he weakly smiled and shook his head. A couple minutes later, his wife (I think) returned with food, so I asked her if he needed to test, but she just asked him if he needed to test and he again just shook his head. With food and his wife back, I knew the man was going to be fine, but I am still irritated by yet another person assuming they know more about how to handle the situation than an actual diabetic. I mean, honestly, you would think they would appreciate a little help.
