Since being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 9, Suzan struggled to manage her disease. As a child growing up in N.J., she would lose consciousness from either low or high blood sugar—a side effect that continued into adulthood.
Type 1 diabetes is a medical condition where the pancreas doesn’t make or makes too little insulin. Insulin helps blood sugar enter cells in the body to create energy. Without insulin, blood sugar can’t get into cells; instead, it builds up in the bloodstream.
High blood sugar is damaging to the body and causes many symptoms and complications of diabetes, including fatigue, blurry vision, weight loss, frequent urination, and even kidney failure.
Kidney failure is what led Suzan to UPMC.
The Diagnosis
Suzan was diagnosed with the beginning stages of kidney disease in 1990 when she was in her late 20s. She married shortly after and moved to Conn. with her husband and later R.I., where they spent the majority of their lives.
After teaching nursery school, Suzan became an active volunteer for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in Rhode Island.
“I met a lot of children that were diagnosed like myself but are doing way better than I was doing because when I was a child, we didn’t have the tools like we have now,” Suzan said. “We didn’t have insulin pumps, and you couldn’t check your blood sugar. When this advanced technology came out when I was an adult, I think that’s what made my kidneys last longer, since my blood sugars were more controlled. If I was diagnosed with diabetes 20 years before, I probably wouldn’t be here.”
A few years after learning she had kidney disease, Suzan was also diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy. This diabetes complication is caused by damage to the blood vessels in the tissue at the back of the eye, and a risk factor is poorly controlled blood sugar. Early symptoms include floaters, blurriness, dark areas of vision, and difficulty perceiving colors.
After diagnosing Suzan with diabetic retinopathy, her doctors said that she would eventually need a kidney transplant, as her kidney health was also declining.
“In 2018, my kidney function was at 4%,” Suzan said. “I was eating well, exercising, and doing everything that I could possibly do, then my kidneys just went. I was on dialysis for five years up until I received my kidney transplant.”
The Path to UPMC
Suzan was on the waitlist for a new kidney for seven years. Suzan’s sisters, sister-in-law, and husband tested to become her living donor but weren't compatible.
Suzan was initially on the waitlist at an academic medical center in Hershey. After receiving a referral from her nephrologist, she switched her care to the UPMC Kidney Transplant Program at UPMC Harrisburg, which is only 45 minutes from where she and her husband now live in Carlisle, Pa.
Suzan was called to receive a deceased kidney at UPMC Harrisburg three times within two years. The first call, she had COVID-19, and the second time “just didn’t work out.” But the third call led to her receiving a new kidney.
“I got the call that a new kidney was available for me at 3 a.m.,” Suzan said. “I was just watching TV and eating popcorn with my husband.”
Suzan’s transplant was scheduled for July 20, 2023.
"The first thing I thought of when I woke up after the surgery was, ‘Good Lord, is everything working?’” Suzan said. “After surgery, I was so hopeful and excited. I felt fine, just really swollen, just because they kept pumping fluids in me. The team did a great job. I'm considered high risk, but I've been doing well under their care.”
Suzan was in the hospital for about two weeks after surgery before being discharged, and was pleased with the care she received at UPMC Harrisburg.
Life After Transplant
Even while on dialysis, Suzan remained active. But post-transplant, she doesn't get as fatigued exercising on the elliptical machine and can now run faster.
“I don’t feel like I have to sit down after a workout,” Suzan said. “The little things like that make a big difference.”
Prior to her transplant, Suzan would also fall asleep during the day on the sofa and wake up extremely confused.
“Now, that doesn’t happen,” she said. “When I was on dialysis, I would go on walks and would come back dead tired. After my transplant, there is no issue. My energy levels are definitely higher now.”
In addition, the kidney transplant has made a difference in the management of Suzan's diabetes.
“I still get low blood sugar occasionally, but not nearly as much as before,” she said. “This is huge for me since I have been diabetic for about 50 years. The fact that insulin is now leaving my body makes it a lot easier to control the sugar. My skin is even better now, too; I’m not yellow like I was before.”
In her free time, Suzan continues to see friends and family. She also enjoys cooking, reading about nutrition and history, and traveling with her husband.
“For my 60th birthday this year, my sisters and I went to Gettysburg, Pa., to go on a walking tour," she said. "I was able to walk the entire time, which I wouldn’t have been able to do before my transplant. My new kidney has helped me so much.”
Suzan’s treatment and results may not be representative of other cases.