Every year since her diagnosis in 2002, Lucy Kerrigan has found a special way to celebrate World Diabetes Day. At first it started off small: trips to a new lunch spot (they tried to give her starfruit there to “cure” her?), a coffee date with a friend (extra sugar, obviously). It expanded as the years passed: pump-bedazzling parties, Dexcom swaps, a nationwide virtual “write a fan letter to your favorite diabetic celebrity” extravaganza (I LOVE YOU, JEAN SMART).
After 14 years of fiestas, soirees and gatherings, she knew she would have to do something special for the big 15. But what?
In the months leading up the big day, Kerrigan had been having low blood sugar in the ungodly, disgusting hours of the morning. Shaking and sweating while waiting for her levels to stabilize, she passed the time watching late-night sketch comedy shows and talk shows. A light bulb, although a hypoglycemic one, flashed in her mind.
“I’ve had a few people tell me I should ‘try stand-up,’” Kerrigan tells us. “I thought maybe I could do something funny for the big day. Should I try an open mic?”
Some might call it fate. Some might call it destiny. Some might call it the sheer blessing of the dead-pancreas gods above. Kerrigan calls it “an internal technical malfunction of my insulin pump that almost killed me.”
On World Diabetes Day, Kerrigan ended up with the audience of a lifetime: the staff and patients at the emergency room.
We interviewed Laura Schaeffer, a New Jersey native and resident ER nurse who was there on that historic day. “She came in asking for insulin, and I said, ‘We don’t have any left here.’ Then she started cracking some jokes.” Schaeffer had to pause to laugh. “Kerrigan said, ‘I’m here because I’ve got DKA.’ I said, ‘Diabetic ketoacidosis?’ Then she said, “No. Dat krazy ass.’”
Kerrigan kept goofing while her organs actively shut down. The material was raw, emotional and, honestly, just so goddamn hilarious because she’s in the EMERGENCY ROOM for diabetes on WORLD DIABETES DAY.
Her humor was infectious, and fortunately it inspired the hospital staff to go to CVS to get some insulin and save her life.