A pilot in Denton, Texas, made an emergency landing near a freeway yesterday because he felt lightheaded. Only one media source stated he was diabetic. Yet the article made every major newspaper in the area.

Thursday, I drove down the highway in rush hour traffic digging through my bag and eating everything I had with me. As I stuffed the glucose tabs into my mouth, I sat wondering about my fellow drivers. Were any of them diabetic? Had they driven this low before? Would they be mad because I was driving low (granted we didn't reach speeds above 15 mph)?

When I heard the pilot's story on the news this morning, those thoughts ran through my head again. Were the drivers on that freeway diabetic too? Would they be mad if they knew a plane had been flown over their cars while the pilot was low? If they were in that situation, what would they have done?

The media irritated me because of how they covered the story. One paper said he landed because he felt lightheaded, another because he was diabetic and felt ill, others could not explain why he landed. No one explained he was lightheaded because he was low (I'm only assuming here) or exactly why he couldn't continue to fly like that. Everyone just covered the story as "crazy man lands plane next to busy highway."

So I wonder, would I be covered in the news as "crazy lady stops car in rush hour traffic" without any defining details? Would people be thinking when they heard "diabetic" and "ill" that "those diabetics shouldn't be driving/flying if they can't keep their sugars maintained?"

I wonder if people actually knew how often diabetics fly or drive while low or high (we all know both affect our judgment), would they say we couldn't have our licenses renewed? Because we have seizures when we're low, should we have to take the bus or walk everywhere? If diabetes is so unpredictable, how can we be safe drivers or safe pilots?

Does diabetes prohibit me from living my life, often in the fast lane? Should diabetes get to prohibit me?