Today 11/30/2020 is my 15th transplant anniversary! I decided it is a good day to tell my transplant story. I am 63 years old and was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 1975 at age 18. It turned out to be uncontrollable despite all the treatments available. It affected all aspects of my health & life and vice versa. Everything in life impacted my diabetes. Over the years I developed the usual complications: retinopathy, peripheral & autonomic neuropathy, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Day to day living became a constant balancing act while juggling a bazillion balls. The pregnancies & births of my two daughters were more difficult than usual. My husband & family dealt with many ordeals of insulin reactions & hypoglycemic unawareness. I felt like a ping pong ball as blood sugar routinely bounced from 20s - hundreds (or simply “HI” because old meters wouldn’t register that high a number) and back again.

In 2005 my primary recommended that I look into transplant. I applied for simultaneous kidney / pancreas transplant. The pretransplant evaluation was rigorous but I was told that my CKD was only mild / moderate and that I did not need a kidney transplant. I was approved & accepted for pancreas transplant alone. I was told that due to blood type and matching factors the wait would be about 1 1/2 years or more. I was listed on 11/15/2005 at age 48 and settled in for the wait. I and my family / friends also prayed. I am a Christian and have put my life in God’s hands. Living this way, I believe that whatever happens it is in God’s timing and for His good purposes.

On 11/30/2005 (just 2 weeks later) I got “the call”! It was like my own personal miracle. I was not instantly cured of diabetes as skeptics like to point out but my diabetes is finally controlled. Pretransplant I had multiple daily insulin injections that totaled over 50 units a day. Now I have 11 units of a long lasting insulin at bedtime. The HbA1c test was always in the double digits pretransplant. Three weeks after transplant it was 5.3 Even now 15 years later when it is tested it is 6 - 8. My blood pressure and cholesterol are finally in range. My retinopathy was reversed and I just use reading glasses. The neuropathy resolved. The CKD remained stable for 11 years.

In 2016 my kidney function began to decline. I’m not afraid of transplant so I got back in line for a kidney transplant evaluation and started looking for a living donor. I was approved & accepted for kidney transplant. I haven’t had much “luck” with finding a donor. But I don’t believe in “luck”. I have faith in God’s Providence. If a kidney transplant is God’s will for me, it will be in His timing with the donor of His choosing. Meanwhile in the past 4 years my GFR has been 14 - 42. It is currently at 24 and my listing was changed to inactive. I’m not on dialysis and I was told that I’m “too healthy” for transplant at this time!

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