Danny Stephen has had a tough go of it. Diagnosed twenty-six years ago with diabetes, he's struggled in recent months to buy the medical supplies needed to take care of himself after being laid off from his job in construction.
What's more, Danny Stephen is a single dad - his wife Michelle died following a stroke in the fall.
For all those lemons thrown curveball-style his way, Danny Stephen is still filling up on lemonade (sugar free, natch). He's got a son, five-year-old Jude, who last weekend rescued Danny from a diabetic coma by forcefeeding him sweets.
With his dad flitting in and out of consciousness all day, Jude kept himself out of trouble at the Stephens' Florida home. But when dinner time came and Dad wasn't up, Jude went to his side, but Danny literally couldn't move. He could only mumble nonsense - even his attempt to get the boy to understand he needed juice to pump up his sugar levels were for naught. The boy thought he was saying "Jude." But Jude eventually got the juice, along with honey and cupcakes, which he practically shoved down his father's throat - enough to bring Danny Stephen out of the coma. Paramedics said without the tot's intervention, Danny would have died.
If you're sobbing at this story - from the passing of mom to dad losing his job to the little hero - you're not alone. The other part of me is just stark raving mad. Danny Stephen couldn't afford medical supplies, so a little boy almost lost his second parent in as many years.
What kind of country do we live in where a single dad can't get test strips to keep track of his blood sugar levels? Criticize socialized medicine all you want (and it does have its faults), but the basic medical supplies are taken care of - even for single parents who have lost their jobs in the midst of an economic crisis. Or we could keep going along as we are - leaving men like Danny Stephen to be rescued by their quick-witted kindergartners.
On a lighter note, the first comment on the site of the Tampa Bay newspaper that broke the story comes from a medical company owner - he's putting up all the test strips Danny Stephen could use. Bravo.
Image: TopNews
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