OK.

Zack was still in bed after a week and a half of a bad case of the flu.

Cody got over it quickly. Carey got over it quickly. So why wasn't Zack getting over it?

Because he simply had a worse case. Remember that; it'll be relevant later.

Because this is Zack's story, and the flu plays an important part in it.

Now that you know that, let's get to what's going on in Zack's life...

"Zack, I'm going to the store, and I might go to the candy counter before I come up here when I get back. Do you want anything from either of those places?" Carey asked.

"Can you get some vegetable soup from the store and a dark chocolate bar from the candy counter?" Zack replied.

"Sure."

About 6 Days Later...

"Hey, Zack, you feeling better?" Cody asked, surprised that his brother was dressed for school after two weeks of the flu.

"Yeah, a lot!" Zack practically screamed.

But over the next week, Zack's hunger and thirst increased, he was using the bathroom a whole lot more, and despite his calorie intake, he seemed to be losing weight.

"Zack, are you okay? That's the second cup of water you've had in the past six minutes!" Lexy exclaimed.

"Yeah, you don't seem yourself," Jessica said.

"I'm perfectly fine!" Zack snapped.

But it was true. He wasn't himself, and he would get more unlike himself over the next weeks. Carey noticed that he seemed to be sick again and made him stay home the next day. He stayed home for a grand total of three weeks. Let's see what's happening now, after his three weeks of absence from school...

"You have to go back to school tomorrow, Zack," Carey said.

"But Mom, I still feel horrible!"

"Hey, Zack, you can't stay home forever!"

"Can't you home school me?"

"No! You have to go back to school!"

"Mom, I have got to be sick with something! I'm tired all the time, I'm thirsty all the time, I'm using the bathroom all the time! And now, my stomach hurts and I feel nauseous!"

"I'm sorry, honey, but if you don't go back tomorrow, unless it's a medical emergency that I can prove, you'll have to retake the entire year! You should be lucky they're giving you more absent days as it is!"

"But--"

"End of discussion. Go get a shower. And I'd rather you not drink that water! Come out here to get a drink!"

After Zack's shower...

"Mom, I'm sorry, but I did drink some of the shower water. I was so thirsty, and I thought it would be faster than coming out here, getting a drink, and then getting back in the shower."

Carey sighed. "It's fine. I thought about what you said before your shower, about how you have got to be sick with something. So I'm going to try to schedule a doctor's appointment."

"Okay. Mom, can I have a cup of water?"

Carey looked hard at Zack.

"I'm sorry; I'm just so thirsty!" Zack said.

"Sure. But after that, you have to go to bed!"

Sometime around 12 midnight to 1 in the morning...

Zack got up out of his bed.

The guest in the suite below the Martins heard a flush and a thump.

A couple of minutes later...

"Carey, wake up!" Mr. Moseby had used his master key to get into the room after pounding on the door for 3 minutes, and was now shaking Carey awake.

Carey awoke with a start. "What is it?!" she screamed. Her scream was so loud, it got Cody out of his bedroom.

"I got a complaint."

"Wait, what kind of complaint?"

"Well--"

There was a knock at the entrance to the suite. It was Jessica.

"Sorry, I heard commotion, and I can't resist commotion. May I come in?" she asked.

"Sure, why not? We may as well have a party in here! By the way, do you know where Zack is? He's not in our room," Cody said.

"Well, that's what I came up here to talk about. Is Zack still sick? The complaint was more of a concern from the guest below you. She heard a toilet flush, and then a thump," Mr. Moseby said.

"Well then, he must be in the bathroom," said Carey, obviously worried.

"Wait a second!" Jessica interjected. "If it's what I think it is, you might wanna call 911 and let Moseby and I go in first."

"Okay. But we're going to be right behind you."

Jessica and Moseby walked slowly into the bathroom, with Carey and Cody following. Carey pressed the "call" button on her cell phone, on which 911 was already dialed, as soon as she saw the scene in the bathroom.

Zack was lying unconscious on the floor.

Everyone immediately ran to his side.

"What happened?" Cody said.

"I think he's in diabetic ketoacidosis," Jessica said.

"What?" everyone in the room exclaimed.

"Diabetic ketoacidosis. That's why I have these things. I'll explain why I thought what I thought later." Jessica emptied her pajama pockets (Yes, she really has pajama pockets! Well... I don't!), pulling out a lancet, a lancing device, some test strips, and a Precision Xtra meter. She had gotten the supplies earlier that day and was planning on telling Zack, Cody, and Carey of her suspicions at a more convenient time the next day, but apparently, Zack couldn't wait until then.

She calibrated the meter for the glucose test strip and ketone test strip she was using and then inserted a glucose test strip. She poked Zack's finger with the lancet and put his blood on the test strip. Carey was explaining all of this to the 911 operator, who had heard the DKA comment and sent an ambulance immediately.

"'HI'?! Dang it!"

She put in a ketone test strip. Zack's finger had not stopped bleeding, but Jessica wanted a sample almost completely uncontaminated, so she wiped his finger and waited until there was enough blood to test with. Luckily, the meter hadn't turned off, and she put his blood on this test strip.

"'HI' again?! Oh, man, this is bad!"

Carey had put her phone on speaker.

"What do all of the 'HIs' mean?" Cody asked.

"Well, Zack is probably in a diabetic coma, and will need emergency care to get his blood glucose levels down. The 'HI' on the meter means the glucose and ketone levels in his blood are too high for the meter to read. He probably has diabetes, and that's his body's way of telling us. When the body doesn't have insulin, glucose can't get into the cells. When Zack's body couldn't use the glucose in his blood properly, it started burning body fat for energy. The problem with that is that burning fat creates stuff called ketones, and in high enough amounts, ketones are dangerous and can kill you. They change the pH of your blood. The ketones make the blood more acidic, and that messes with your body," Jessica said.

"So... you mean..."

"Cody, I know you don't really want any of these things to be happening, but the truth is they are, and there's nothing we can do about them. Zack has diabetes, and we can't get rid of it. But it'll be okay."

"But--"

"Trust me. Whatever happens, it will be okay."

And everyone sat there in silence until the ambulance came.