Locked In

"Hi-- is this Joseph's mom?" asks an unfamiliar voice.

"Yes," I say into the phone.

"Ms. Miller, this is Ms. G___ , Joseph's gym teacher."

His gym teacher?

Wait, Joseph called an hour ago -- right before gym. His blood sugar was only 140, and he had a ton of insulin on board, so I had him cancel the rest of his lunch bolus, and eat a bag of cheese crackers...

Suddenly I'm feeling very afraid.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, no- he's fine now.

Now?

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"Well, you see he came to class a little late-- because he had to check in at the nurse's office -- and then he went to the boys' locker room to change, and then came back out because he couldn't remember the combination to his lock. I gave it to him, and then he went back in."

A pause.

"And then?"

"Well, the boys' locker room is on the other side of the gym, and we've had some problems with theft recently-- so we've been locking the door after classes start... "

Another pause.

And now I want to reach across the phone and pull the words right out of her throat.

"Well, I'm afraid that Joseph got locked in...

Still another pause.

For... uh... 20 minutes."

"20 minutes?"

"You see," she continues, awkwardly, "the teacher from the other side of the gym must not have called in before locking the door-- but, it's all my fault. Joseph let me know he was here when he got to the gym, and then I forgot about him."

For about a second, I don't know what to say.

I just feel sick.

"His blood sugar was falling right before your class," I tell her. "This could have been really, really bad."

"Yes, I know," she says. "I'm so sorry."

"Yesterday, his blood sugar fell nearly a hundred points in less than 15 minutes... " I say, half to myself. "Wait- are you sure he's all right?"

"Oh yes-- he was laughing when we found him in there. I asked him why he didn't call out-- he said he did, and that he banged on the door, but no one heard. That locker room is on the other side of the gym. And well, shortly after he went in, I started videotaping my student teacher... and I just forgot about him."

For a few minutes, we talk about why this could have been very serious.

And about how the school will make sure it doesn't happen again.

Then I hang up the phone, turn and lean over the kitchen counter.

And very quietly, begin to cry.