It was a scenario that plays out a hundred times at the end of every semester at Georgia Tech: Jonathan Fitch had pulled an all-nighter, using every possible moment to study for that day’s final exam.

After putting the stress of the test behind him, Fitch returned to his fraternity house for a much-needed nap.

The difference for Fitch was that instead of waking up refreshed, he woke up in the hospital. 

Fitch has Type 1 diabetes, and he’d had a seizure because his blood sugar dropped without warning.

Fitch’s diabetes is considered well-controlled. Yet a combination of factors conspired against him that day: not enough rest and recovery, high stress levels that made the insulin in his system less effective, and then that nap. While Fitch rested, all the insulin that had been delivered by his insulin pump finally started to kick in. He got an alert that he was in trouble, but it was less than a minute before the seizure. It was simply too late.

In typical Georgia Tech engineer fashion, Fitch decided he could do something to prevent similar situations — for himself and millions of people with diabetes.

Read the full story on the College of Engineering website.

This story was featured in the spring 2024 issue of Helluva Engineer magazine, produced biannually by the College of Engineering.