Video of a BBC interview with a man has gone viral after he claimed he'd rather potentially lose his life-saving insulin than see the U.K. remain in the European Union.
As the October 31 deadline quickly approaches, reporters from the BBC approached people on the streets of Birmingham, England, to get their opinions about Brexit.
In the video, which recently aired on BBC Breakfast, the pro-Brexiteer told the reporter:
"I'm a diabetic. I rely on insulin. But I still want to leave."
Flabbergasted, the reporter responded:
"If the insulin doesn't arrive, for you as a diabetic, you think that's a price worth paying?"
The man then basically confirmed that, yes, it was worth it, replying:
"Yeah I do. Because we voted to leave. We didn't vote for a deal. We didn't vote for anything, we voted to leave Europe, right? And that's all we want, right? We're either a democracy, or we're not."
You can watch the exchange below:
So what exactly happens when someone with diabetes doesn't take their insulin?
Well, according to diabetes.co.uk:
"We need insulin. If you don't have it, your blood glucose levels will spiral out of control. Every time you eat, they will get higher and higher. Out of control blood glucose levels can make you feel tired, thirsty, hungry, make you need to wee all the time and give you blurred vision."
"High blood glucose levels are responsible for complications, both short and long term. If you regularly have high blood glucose levels, they will cause damage to various parts of your body – from the eyes to the heart to the kidneys to the brain."
And if blood glucose levels are allowed to get too high, you can develop diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which means your blood slowly turns into acid.
Bad news.
The website states:
"Symptoms of DKA include vomiting, dehydration, a weird fruity smell on your breath, rapid heartbeat and confusion. If left untreated, it can lead to coma and even death."
Sounds like fun, no?
People were dubious that someone would actually allow such a horrifying death just to support Brexit.
Perhaps this man doesn't care about getting his insulin.
But that doesn't mean all diabetics would gladly go without.
The lengths some people will go...
To learn more about Brexit, the book All Out War: The Full Story of How Brexit Sank Britain's Political Class is available here.
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