Diabetic Teen Leaves School, Passes Out
DETROIT (WJBK) – 14-year-old Timothy Moore seems happy and healthy now. It’s hard to believe just hours earlier, his parents say his life was hanging in the balance.
“If they wouldn’t of found him, he could’ve been dead,” said Carol Moore, his mother.
It started when Timothy, who suffers from Type 1 diabetes, didn’t eat enough breakfast Thursday after taking his medicine to regulate his blood sugar. As each hour at Detroit’s Western International High School passed, this ninth grader would fall into a deeper diabetic haze.
“The last thing I remember is I walked to school with my friends,” said Timothy Moore. “Then I went into shock. I couldn’t remember anything else.”
However, no one noticed — not his teachers, his friends or security guards at the doors. Dozens of cameras didn’t even catch Timothy as he was stumbled out of the building.
It’s believed Timothy walked out of school right before lunch. Since he was so out of it, he would wander around the neighborhood and eventually pass out in some bushes. A neighbor finally spotted him on the brink of diabetic coma.
“He was sick. He was down. He was helpless,” said Olivia Dejesus. “I had to help him.”
Timothy was laying there for close to two hours before Dejesus found him, dialed 911 and had another neighbor carry him home.
EMS arrived and was able to treat the teen before he slipped into a diabetic coma, but Albert and Carol Moore feel it didn’t have to get to this point.
“He’s been diabetic since he was four years old. He’s been in DPS ever since that time,” Carol Moore explained. “They have all that information in his file.”
“All the teachers are supposed to know all the diabetic symptoms and signs, which they were informed of before school started,” said Albert Moore.
However, a DPS spokesperson tells FOX 2 there is no medical documentation on record that shows Timothy is a diabetic.
“They’re suppose to be watching after my kid. They’re supposed to be making sure he’s in his class. He’s diabetic, they’re supposed to make sure that he’s not walking out of the building,” Albert Moore told FOX 2′s Taryn Asher.
DPS may not have been watching, but the Moores are grateful their neighbors were.
“They’re a blessing. I’m glad they found him,” said Carol Moore.
“I think it was really nice of them. If it wasn’t for them, I couldn’t of been here right now,” Timothy Moore said.
