The feeling came on pretty fast this morning as I was walking through the cafeteria at work.

My thighs shook like unsteady legs of an old, wooden table supporting the weight of a rhinoceros. There was a tremor throughout my whole body. I felt the same heat on my shoulder blades and forehead that I get when I'm forced to introduce myself publicly to a large circle of strangers. I was starving.

It's not very often that I get a taste of what Charlie goes through with low blood sugars. I've been Gazellin' like a felon and dieting since January, trying to lose about 15-20 pounds. Almost half-way there. Maybe I was taking it too hard-core with my miniscule breakfast of a few sliced almonds and raisins.

Walking back to my desk, I looked at my tray of food, trying to decide what on it would take away this feeling the quickest. Not a whole lot, I thought. Small salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, baked tilapia with mango salsa, a prosciutto & provolone stuffed cherry pepper and a Diet Sprite. I sat down with my tray of food and first ate the pieces of mango one by one and then devoured the rest of my meal like a Cullen devours mountain elk. (10 points if you get the reference – a little somethin' for the moms of tween and teen girls out there and, uh, my wife).

Then I thought of all of you out there and how crappy it must be to feel this way every few days or even multiple times within a day. I thought of Charlie. He doesn't complain about feeling low now – he sees it as an opportunity for a treat. But I know someday he will. Although I live with it in my house, I only feel the effect of diabetes vicariously. I can't truly imagine what you're going through.