Diabetes and Pancreas/Kidney Implant

The little girl was eleven years old and it was summertime. She was in the hospital with her dad so they could both get a check up at the same time. The pediatrician had her in for tests because she was eating and drinking, yet losing weight quickly. She was given blood tests and an enema close together so no blood results had been reported. She went quickly into a diabetic coma and because of her age she was rushed to Texas Children's Hospital in downtown Houston, Texas, where the doctors saved her life.. She was in Texas Children's Hospital for a week before hearing of the death of Elvis on August sixteenth, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and seventy-seven. Forty-four years later at the age of fifty-five, she has been an avid Elvis fan.

She learned to give her first shot in an orange, but she always preferred that her mother give the shot. Diagnosed as a Type I diabetic and insulin dependent. She hated being a diabetic, because she always felt different and unable to do what others did. Many times her mother heard, "I want to be like everyone else, normal." She'd forget her shot or she would eat candy and end up in the hospital. Quite often, her mother put orange juice under her tongue to bring her around, even before she could prick her finger for a blood test. It is hard to determine between high and low blood sugar without the blood test. Explaining to her that just a few years earlier people her age died from diabetes and how fortunate she was to be able to get insulin, made no difference. She hated being diabetic. After high school, she found a young man and married. Soon after a child was conceived which greatly worried her mother, because she'd been told that under only the best of circumstances should she be allowed to give birth to a child. Twice during the pregnancy the baby took all the food and her blood sugar went extremely low and she was rushed to the ER. Food and Insulin must always be balanced. Pregnancy for a Type I diabetic is a High Risk Pregnancy. She gave birth by C-Section and for awhile seemed to be okay. At least happy that she had a healthy baby.

Eventually the Endocrinologist put her on an insulin machine attached to her to give insulin automatically. At age thirty-six, she began losing her eye sight and underwent nine eye surgeries to save a portion of her eyesight. Almost immediately, her kidney's began functioning abnormally and by age thirty-eight she was on dialysis (Peritoneal.) She didn't do well on dialysis and by age thirty-nine in the year of our Lord, two thousand and five she had a pancreas/kidney transplant operation. The doctor leaves the old and implants the new. She has two pancreas and three kidneys. That was sixteen years ago and she is fifty-five years old today and doing fine. Her eyesight is bad, but she can do whatever she wants and eat whatever she wants. Her eyesight disables her from working a job, but she has so many other things to be thankful. She thanks the Lord for every day that He gives her.

This was written to give understanding to those with similar diagnosis.

The End.

Author Notes: A true life story.

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