Many years ago, perhaps before I was even born (?), my insulin-dependent Type I diabetic Dad had been working at the farm all day, and came home with (unknown to him, because it is insidious) really low blood glucose levels. He made it to an intersection a block from his house and passed out, stopped at the intersection. Someone saw him and called the cops. They showed up, determined he was drunk, and were in the process of arresting him. A neighbor who was also diabetic and knew him well, figured out what was going on and tried to explain it to them. They didn't want to listen, but he was insistent. Somehow, he talked them into letting him get a Coke down him. Within 10 minutes he was back to himself, fully alert and making perfect sense answering all their questions. The cops told the neighbor that if he hadn't showed up and convinced them to reconsider their conclusion that he was drunk, he would have been taken to jail and thrown into the drunk tank for the night to "sober up". What actually would have happened is that his glucose level would have continued to plummet until he started having hypoglycemic seizures and potentially died without medical intervention.
