by Jo | November 29th, 2005
CANTERBURY, N.H. –Dan Knowlton can stop constantly checking his blood sugar levels. He can unplug from the pump that sent a surge of insulin into his veins whenever that level increased, and he can stop worrying that he’ll be fired because a surprise sugar low made him act strangely on the job.
Knowlton was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at age 8. Last week, at age 41, he became the recipient of the first pancreas transplant in New Hampshire. Doctors at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center tell him he is no longer diabetic. For Knowlton, that’s hard to believe.
“I can’t wait to get home to start my life,” he said, sitting in his hospital room on Sunday. “I think that’s when it’s going to hit me.”
The article is 3 pages long, but a good read. There is hope out there. This is not the first time I’ve heard of pancreas transplants. I posted about one treatment with pancreas cells here.
