Student with autism called hero after helping diabetic teacher

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A fifth-grade student with autism is being called a hero, after he stepped in to help a diabetic teacher's aide whose blood sugar levels were dangerously low.

On the morning of February 21st, 11-year-old Michael Dupuis was with Audrey McCaulsky, a teacher's aide at New Heights Elementary School in St. Petersburg. When the two sat down for breakfast in the cafeteria, Michael noticed that something was very wrong with Audrey.

"She was sweating and getting confused," Michael said.

Since Michael's own grandmother is also a diabetic, he says he was able to recognize the symptoms. Believing she needed to quickly raise her blood sugar levels, he reached for banana bread, milk, and some orange juice. After she began to take the food, Michael got the attention of school staff member Jeffrey Lownsbury.

"Michael said something about her being sick, and that's when she grabbed my arm for support, 'cause she was getting wobbly in her seat," Lownsbury said.

Lownsbury called the nurse's office, and soon paramedics arrived. After EMT's watched her blood sugar levels go back up from the dangerously low levels they had reached, McCaulsky was sent home for the rest of the day. She says had someone not stepped in, she could have fallen into a diabetic coma.

Now back on the job, McCaulsky says MIchael's first question to her, every single day at school, is about her well-being.