Well, it has been a while since my last post and that is because things have been good. Sue is doing very well with regard to her TP-AIT. Something to mention that Sue deals with almost on a regular bases is her sugar levels. Sue is using the Dexcom system to monitor her sugar levels and it works GREAT! In fact, I can monitor her sugars also. Sue still injects about 7 or 8 units of long-acting insulin daily. She just can’t get off that. Sue’s sugar is doing pretty well but it does go low more often than I guess it should. Sue is hypoglycemic so at times her sugar levels can drop. having the Dexcom monitor no matter where I am at I get an alarm. When I do I can check on her. Usually, she has already been alerted and is addressing it and she tells me. But, if I cannot reach her then I can call 911 if I am not where she is and send help ASAP. Having someone alerted when the sugar goes low is a great safety feature and gives us both a little ease to make sure Sue is looked out for.
Something else that Sue deals with is other things related to her body. She had a hernia at her surgical area from the TP-AIT. It required attention and surgery. Sue also needed shoulder surgery, a replacement, and just this past week neck surgery. When she goes through her life and the various things she deals with that causes her to need medical attention it becomes clear that Sue does experience her difficulties and the doctors recognize when she says she has a problem it is genuine, something that was not the case years ago before her TP-AIT. While some doctors do not fully understand the TP-AIT procedure they do recognize that Susan is truly experiencing a problem and they address it. Something else that we have to say that has been really amazing is that even after 3 years and 8 months Doctor Bielman and his team are still a phone call away to help, and the doctors who take care of Sue with her other problems have called the team especially to better understand what steroids can do to the Islet cells. And, this has been great to protect her cells but it does make other matters that steroids help harder to deal with. The Doctors are great they find ways around the problem of no steroids and things work pretty darn good.
I am so proud of Sue. She has taken every health challenge and dealt with it head-on. If it were me I would be a chicken and will avoid things if at all possible. Sue is a great person and role model to those who have doubts about investigating what needs to be done to stay healthy and deal with the curve balls they are given. And, Sue is great at staying positive which is very important to think straight make decisions and get well.
For now, this is the latest regarding the ongoing story of Sue’s TP-AIT journey.
