We have a rule at our house. If Luke is home alone, he cannot scooter. Recently, I’ve been rethinking this. He’s 13 now. Very responsible. It should be okay, right?

Well, today I’m grateful that we haven’t changed the rule yet. Today is the day that proved that our rule is still a rule… and might be for a very long time.

The perfect storm happened today.

Today is a rainy, wet day. After being cooped inside for most of the day, Luke decided to take his scooter out for a few rides around the block. About 15 minutes after venturing out, he came running inside. One elbow was dripping with blood. The other was scraped up, as well. We go to the bathroom to get it cleaned up, first with soap and water.

“I don’t feel very good, mom. I feel like I’m going to pass out. I think I’m low. Like, really low.”

By this time he was also dripping with sweat. He felt like he was going to vomit. He was dizzy. He was grouchy and argumentative. Everything I wanted to do- clean his wound, test his blood sugar, get him sugar- he didn’t want me to do.

“What do you want me to do, Luke?”

“Get me some sugar!” I literally sprinted to the kitchen and grabbed a juice box and ran it back to him. He guzzled it down, which made him feel even more nauseous. “I need to throw up.” He sat next to the toilet. I prayed he wouldn’t throw up. Throwing up would cause him to go even lower than he already was.

He started feeling a little better. We were able to finish cleaning up and bandaging his wounds. He washed the dirt and grass off of his hands. At that point, I made him test his blood sugar. Even after 4 oz of apple juice, his blood sugar was 87. It had to have been super low and most likely dropping fast.

We had just experienced the perfect storm. A scootering accident coinciding with extremely low blood sugar. It was only twenty minutes, but it felt like an eternity.

And, by the way, it’s settled. He’s not going outside the house when we aren’t home until his 35 years old.