Ashley became diabetic when she was only 1 years old so her blood glucose rollercoaster was part of her entire life.
Not anymore! Yesterday, she received her islets transplant.
"…I have never had blood glucose like that over last 38 years!" said Ashley looking at her CGM next day after her islet transplant procedure.
"... they are amazing.. I am so grateful..." she added when she saw the picture of islets under the microscope.
Ashley is about to leave hospital in 2 days, and travel with her family for her son's hokey game next week.
Her islet transplantation was made possible due to the efforts of the entire team of the New Jersey Sharing Network and the family of the deceased donor, which generously offered pancreas for islet transplantation for Ashely.
We are all so grateful for that!
Ashley story:
“I have never known a life without diabetes. My entire life revolved around 24 hour care, starting with injections at 21 months old, leading to an insulin pump when I was 14 years old. Hypoglycemic unawareness has led me to the inability to make decisions to ensure safety for my family, hallucinations, and loss of consciousness. The anxiety, stress, & constant worry, put a huge burden on my family and restricted my freedom of getting out and enjoying life.
A life without constant worry is something I’ve never experienced. Not being attached to a life saving device seemed unrealistic, until I spoke with Lindsay, Laurencia & met Dr. Witkowski and the entire transplant team.
The day of the transplant:
I was afraid, felt out of control and worried that a single decision could mess with my normal routine, a routine I have never been without. I was nervous & scared, but proceeded on putting my faith in the transplant team. After the transplant, actually a couple of hours after the transplant, I realized that all of the stress and concern whether I was making the decision was not necessary, because I honestly have not seen numbers like this in 38 years of living with this life controlling disease! It has been an amazing experience and I give all of my thanks to Dr. Witkowski, his entire transplant team and his two wonderful assistants, Lindsay & Laurencia. The detail, the compassion, and the process was such an amazing experience. The care I received during the entire process was beyond amazing!! I want in all of this, to help others and share my experience because it has been something that every diabetic deserves. I look forward to what the future holds!
Islet Tx in US.
Islet transplantation is still not broadly available to patients with diabetes in the US, while it has been approved and reimbursed procedure in Canada, Australia, Japan and several Europeans countries (UK, France etc), where islets are regulated as any other organ/tissue for transplantation. In contrast, FDA has been regulating islets as drugs, which compromises patient safety and creates bureaucratic barrier for the approval of islet transplantation as a standard of care in the US. Unfortunately, expert physician and scientist call for the regulatory update remains unanswered