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A 9-year-old girl in New Lenox, Ill., is being called a hero for saving her mother's life by stopping their speeding car from crashing.
"At one point she went through a stop light and then at another point she was going over 70 miles per hour, and on the secondary road," said Alex Sheridan about the incident that happened a week earlier.
Sheridan's mother, Jennifer, went into diabetic shock while driving them home from a cousin's basketball game and lost control of their vehicle.
"I guess I went off the road and down through a little ditch and we were kind of heading towards trees and a sign and a utility pole," said Jennifer, who was phasing in and out of consciousness during the shock.
The vehicle was about to hit a tree when Sheridan reached over and turned off the key to stop the car. Then she continued to hold the key to prevent her mother from starting the car before help arrived.
When her father called to check on their delay, Sheridan told him what had happened and that they were lost. She then quickly snapped a picture of "Wood's Auto Body" and sent it to her dad, who was able to determine they were on Laraway Road in Frankfort.
Fortunately, both mom and daughter were OK. Jennifer is now wearing a special insulin pump to help prevent her going back into shock. She is grateful for her daughter's quick thinking.
"She saved her mom, she saved herself, she's an amazing kid," Jennifer said.
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The headline said SPEEDING. Is that a legal term, or a physical description? And are people always using that word properly? I dont think so. Just sayin.
What a wonderful smart child and saved herself and her mom and so many innocent people on the road.
You know people are asking how did she get a licence to drive?
In Florida if you are deaf you can get a licence to drive of which I think that is insane but that is the way it is.
IN Florida you have Rick Scott. The biggest Medicare ripoff person in the history of the United States. You elected him Governor.
Carol, That's because there are different levels of deafness. Deaf doesn't automatically mean not able to hear anything. Also, there are restrictions on getting a Florida drivers license if one is deaf.
From the Florida DMV website: Hearing - Drivers applying for a license who are deaf, or cannot hear
conversation spoken in a normal tone of voice, are restricted to driving with an
outside rearview mirror which should be mounted on the left side of the vehicle,
or wearing of a hearing aid.
Though it's not clear on the website, I would assume those that still cannot hear or use this accommodation for some reason would be restricted from driving.
Just like those that are vision impaired (like deafness, there is a spectrum of vision impaired), dead people must have equipment to help compensate for their lack of hearing. I'm required to wear glasses or contacts to drive - without those, my license isn't valid for driving purposes. Of course, my vision is bad enough that I can't walk through a door without my glasses or contacts without running into the wall - so I wear them all the time, whether driving or not. Like many people, my vision isn't correctable to 20/20. Same with deaf people, there hearing often times isn't correctable to "normal" - but, good enough they can function safely.
I just want to give my 2 cents here. I have many deaf friends, my husband and I are fluent in sign language and very active in our deaf community. Many of those friends are profoundly deaf- meaning zero hearing abilities- and they drive, no problem. A person DOES NOT need to hear to drive. Many people think it's unsafe as they could not hear a siren or a car horn, but how many times has a hearing person's radio been up so loud that they can't hear it either? If a deaf person has no hereditary or other vision loss, their vision is incredible. They rely on their vision for communication, so they notice EVERYTHING. Seriously. In that way, they are much safer drivers- they do not get distracted. It is similar to how a blind person's hearing is sharpened and very acute.
That Florida law stated they must have a rearview mirror OR hearing aids. In some cases, like in the profoundly deaf, hearing aids do nothing for them. As long as they can see their mirrors, they are fine to drive.
Summer, I agree with you completely but I had a real laugh at the typo in: "dead people must have equipment to help compensate for their lack of hearing." By the way, my wife is mostly deaf, wears hearing aids and is a better driver than I am.
LOL, Okie joe, oops!! I obviously missed that. Haha. Guess I was typing too fast and didn't proof read well enough.
Yeah, I have two neighbors that are deaf, and not dead (lol), the husband drives, the wife does not. She never got her driver's license because she grew up in a city where having a car was pretty useless (unless you wanted to pay extremely high fees just to park it). He has hearing aids and has no problem driving.
My little brother and sister-in-law are considering everything they need to do for their daughter. They just had a baby (going on 2 weeks ago) - she is already known to be completely deaf from birth. They are just begining to figure out what they have ahead of them and what to do about all of it. Considering they are both hearing (and so is everyone else in our family) - they (and all of us) have a lot to learn.
I worked for the Drivers License Bureau for over 13 years in my state. This mother needs to be reported immediately to her state License Bureau. It may be that she cannot drive, but she knew that. She knew that BEFORE she drove, she just didn't think it would happen to her or she didn't care.
A judge will suspend her license IF the local police will ticket her and force her to get in front of a judge.
She will do this again.....don't trust the pump.
"Don't trust the pump." So, you believe all diabetics should lose their driver's license? In most, if not all, states, this woman will be reported and will, likely, have some sort of temporary suspension unless a specific cause for this incident can be determined.
Every diabetic knows, when they get behind the wheel that this sort of thing is possible. Most, do everything they can to prevent it from happening but, nothing is perfect. Having said that, there are a lot of people who, when they get behind the wheel do nothing to prevent this sort of thing from happening. Those are the ones who are undiagnosed diabetics and it is an incident like this, or fainting, or a fall, that gets them diagnosed.
I would like to think that my granddaughter would be as reactionary! Good for here...and her mother!
There are more issues here than are being discussed. The fact that the girl had to hold the key to prevent her mother from restarting the car shows that either the mother was unaware of what she was doing due to her insulin level or was in denial and wanted to continue to drive. Her response of "I guess I went off the road and we were kind of heading towards trees" sound like she's trying to minimize the severity of the incident. I have watched diabetics literally commit suicide by eating themselves to death. "I'll have another piece of cake, just give me a little more R and I'll be fine." "My blood sugar's 300? That's no problem, I feel fine." All the while cumulative damage is being done until one day it manifests itself. Apologies to diabetics who actually put forth the effort to control their diabetes, and good thinking little girl. You may have saved a few lives by doing what you did.
Obviously, you have never taken the time to really talk to someone with diabetes, especially when it comes to the issues they face on a daily basis. Even the most careful diabetic can have an incident such as this. I seriously doubt this woman is trying to minimize anything.
You are, probably, correct in assuming she was unaware of what she was doing, likely to the extent that she couldn't figure out why the car wouldn't start and/or because of the situation she may, very well, have been in denial, perhaps to the extent that she was able to deny the fact that she was off the road, UNTIL, she could get her blood sugar back in balance.
It's obvious that there is a great deal of misunderstanding about diabetes and what can happen to you, even if you are very careful, if you are diabetic. I can't help but wonder how many of these people would, willingly, give up their driver's license if they were to be diagnosed with diabetes or, if they were to suffer an incident such as the one this woman had, would tell the police that they should be given a citation for impaired driving and child endangerment?
Diabetes is an inconsistent condition. What it basically comes down to is sugar is built up within the system. Normal people regulate the sugar with insulin. Either a diabetic doesn't produce insulin or it becomes ineffective to keep the sugar rates down. Artificial insulin is given to reduce the sugar in the body.
This insulin simply put is pac man. It just keeps eating at the sugar until there is no more. So, the problems is:
1) The body needs to be in regular range of sugar levels 70-110. Otherwise the higher the sugar levels more damage is being done to the body over a long term. One can damage organs, vision (glaucoma & blindness) & go into comas which eventually lead to death. Constant urination, sleepiness, irritability are signs.
2) The medicine used to reduce sugar has no stop gap. Therefore food must be eaten every so many hours. Otherwise the extreme, low sugar occurs. Signs of low sugar of excessive sweating, sleepiness, irritability, aggressiveness, headaches & slowness. The major concern is that it can occur suddenly without warning at times. If one doesn't eat the sugar levels drop faster than the blood sugar rising. If one drops below a certain number they can die.
Why is this important to know? I mentioned inconsistency. One could have the same meal at the same time taking the same medicine at the same dosage & time and still experience highs & lows. Various reasons some people could be more active and burn out more (walking around a mall, doing yard work, etc.), sometimes people forget to eat preoccupied with other situations, others the medicine may have lost it's potency and they need more a dosage or a different medicine. An emotional argument or stressful situation might aggravate & elevate the sugar levels. Others might be uncontrollable in that they go up & down without explanation as their condition progressives. It states that she was placed on a pump. Very likely her condition changed and medicine was not regularly her well in a "consistent" manner.
I'm diabetic. I have to ensure that I am safe to drive. I was a TLC driver. Many drivers are diabetic. It's being responsible, having foods or sugar pills even sugared pop in the car while driving. There are many diabetics that experience no problems in their condition while driving. In fact, I'm wondering what the statistics are for accidents caused by drivers who were unaware they were diabetic?
That's the fear is that there are people driving with hidden medical conditions that refuse to go to the doctor or hospital and are driving around with ticking time bombs. As another person posted, someone could experience a stroke or heart attack on the highway and there are more drivers out there under the influence & texting causing more accidents.
That is one of the ways I explain the inconsistency of diabetes- if I ate the exact same thing every day at the same time and did the same level of exercise I will have days where I will oddly read high and days where I may experience constant lows.
The huge factor for both men and women: hormones. Changing hormone levels mess with sugars and insulin. My teenage years were sooooo fun! *eye roll*
I'm sorry, but comparing a diabetic seizure to an out of the blue heart attack or stroke seems to be quite ignorant to say the least. As the younger brother of a type 1 diabetic and having 3 close friends who are also, I know that blood sugar does not plummet instantly. Yes, it can happen fairly rapidly but the warning signs are there and should be recognizable to the diabetic and family or friends. As so many state that driving is not a right I point out that the right to life is. My families safety as well as everyone on the road, or near it for that matter, trumps your desire to keep driving if there is the possibility of you causing a preventable accident. It is sounding to me very much like the elderly who can no longer drive safely crying that people are trying to take away their independence. Everyone's right to be safe on the roadways trumps the inconvenience that you might experience from not being allowed to drive anymore. This being said, I wish to say GOOD JOB to the young lady who had the sense to stop the vehicle. She probably saved her mother's life as well as her own and any others who may have been in the path of the car.
I don't disagree with you entirely. You made some good points. I just want to say, however, that you know 4 Type 1's out of the 1,000,000 in the U.S. Maybe those 4 do not have blood sugars that drop in minutes, but some do. I wouldn't say it can drop one second to the next, of course, but in a matter of a few minutes it can happen. My husband went from 102 to 32 in a span of 5 minutes. It was so sudden that he could hardly articulate what was happening. It dropped for absolutely no known reason. Not all diabetics are the same.
This woman had a medical emergency, and took every appropriate action to make sure it doesn't happen again (by using a pump for better control). The article doesn't state if she will retest for her license (or if officials even think its necessary in her situation). It may be an extremely isolated incident for this woman.
I agree that everyone has a right to safety while on the road. But its hasty to call for revoking a license because of ONE accident. If that were the case, revoke all the licenses of all the people convicted of texting while driving.
Its CRAZY thinking this is the only ONE that happened. This is the ONE they wrote about,And if you can cure your type 1 by just losing wieght and dont they should take your car too
I said hasty to revoke *A* license after one accident. Meaning HER license after ONE accident. Type 1 is an autoimmune disease and is incurable. It is NOT the same as Type 2. Educate yourself please.
So many people have so little understanding of diabetes it's disheartening. The pontifications of 'she should not be driving' are indicative of this sad lack of understanding.
With the tens of millions of drivers on the road everyday....many of which have diabetes this article shows how RARE it is that a diabetic goes into shock while at the wheel.
Heart attacks of old folks is much more common. However, the most common are the drug and alcohol addicts who happily drive in their self-caused states of impairment.
wow if I was in the place of that girl...
...goodbye world! *sniffle* i'll miss u!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ok maybe not...
The girls parents should give the kid next week off from school as a reward.
I am a Type I diabetic, and I always pop a couple of glucose tabs in my mouth before I drive, no matter what my blood sugar is. Sometimes it can drop suddenly and there is no explanation whatsoever for why this is happening. You just have to be prepared as best you can. As far as driving is concerned, if I am having a day where my sugar is trending low, then I avoid driving if at all possible. And I always have a tube of glucose tabs in the cup holder within easy reach!
title should read .... "9-year-old has more common sense than 100's of Toyota drivers"
Michael
That is funny but also so true! I wondered the same thing when the toyota stories were coming out, why not just shut the thing off?
Bravo! Congratulations young Lady. That was quick thinking and quick actions.
My father is a diabetic and we had an incident where he took his insulin shot but did not eat after the shot because he wanted to go to the Maid Rite restaurant in Springfield which was 45 miles away. He insisted on driving because it was his car. He started losing his vision and I had to talk him into a lot where he could stop. I got him stopped and took over the driving and got him lunch and a large root beer. He started feeling better but I didn't let him drive after that. The ironic part of my story is the fact that we were headed to Frankfort where my sister lives. If anyone knows the area, Rt 30 goes right through New Lenox into Frankfort. That was about 6 years ago and he is now 86, We don't let him drive anymore.
The mother should not be allowed to have a license anymore. That goes the same for anybody who has a condition that causes them to lose consciousness. They are a danger to themselves and everybody around them.
Hey, has any one started telling people to stop going to nursing school? New nurses have not been able to find jobs for the passed two graduated classes. I am an experienced RN and between jobs it took me 15 months to get another job. The government sponsored schools to teach a new breed of healthcare worker, the Medical Assistant. They taught these people to do our skills for half the salary. Now nurses can't find work. I hate when the government tries to fix things! Anyway, if you are in school you might think about changing your major.
OEL
I don't know what state you are in but in Illinois the want ads are full of "Help Wanted" RNs. Just sayin' the jobs are out there but I don't know if you live near them or if you are willing to relocate. I have a niece that graduated college and had an RN job waiting for her. She works full time and makes great money. I am wondering what your comment has to do with this story?
okie joe-3728210, actually if your car is in gear, that won't happen. In order to lock the steering wheel, the vehicle has to be in "park". Park is the only selection where the shift collar aligns with the ignition lock cylinder. Trust me, I've rebuilt more than a few steering columns.
jeklv
A little behind on your comment there pal! That point was already made several hours ago.
Ban diabetics, they kill. Maybe only a small % of folks, but we can make it sound a whole lot worse if we put it on liberal news every day.
I have a better idea and I am not directing this at you Jon but lets ban the idiots! Just think of the lives that will be saved. I did get the sarcasm and I think we can add liberals to the idiot pool.
OK, as a diabetic I never get how someone goes into insulin shock!! There are so many signs that let you know your sugar is low. for me, my heart starts beating really hard like it's going to fly out of my chest and my eyes start getting funny and ALL diabetics will start shaking when it goes low. There is no possible way she couldn't have known she was low. They sell glucose tabs that you can take that will immediately raise your sugar level and they cost around 2 bucks a roll, there is no excuse for this kind of thing to happen. I NEVER get in my car until I test my sugar, if I am under 100 I will snack before I even think about driving, I always take my monitor with me and I ALWAYS have glucose tabs in my purse, my car and my nightstand. This woman should have her license taken away and be charged with child endangerment, as I said there is absolutely no way she wouldn't have known she was low!
Maybe this was her first one.
Good job little girl. Good job!
If only should would have had an assualt rifle with her this entire thing could have been avoided, LOL.
That is one smart young lady. I hope she has a bright future.