Rachael's Path to a New Pancreas

Rachael's Path to a New Pancreas Follow Rachael's journey of receiving a pancreas transplant to cure her type 1 diabetes!

🌟 COOL NEWS 🌟 Apparently, I was UW Health’s 2,000th pancreas transplant patient! 🎉 I was asked to do a phone interview w...
04/06/2026

🌟 COOL NEWS 🌟

Apparently, I was UW Health’s 2,000th pancreas transplant patient! 🎉

I was asked to do a phone interview with the hospital’s media team on Wednesday morning 😊

I’M OKAY! I spent the night in the local ER due to severe abdominal pain, nausea & vomiting 🤮 The medical staff believes...
03/31/2026

I’M OKAY!

I spent the night in the local ER due to severe abdominal pain, nausea & vomiting 🤮

The medical staff believes it was caused by a recent increase in the amount of Prednisone I’m taking. Prednisone is a steroid which can be hard on your stomach. 💊

The pain I was in had nothing to do with the fact that I went running earlier in the evening 🏃🏻‍♀️

Another abdominal CT was negative and I was given a cocktail of medication that has me feeling much better!

I’m taking the day off work to rest but I fully expect to be back to normal tomorrow.

Thanks to my surrogate mom and Super Nurse, Carol Eddy, for taking me to the hospital after midnight and staying with me for 8 hours until I was discharged! 💕

I WENT RUNNING TODAY!! 🎉🎉 Granted, it was Day 1 of a walk-run program and I only ran for a total of 6 minutes. However -...
03/31/2026

I WENT RUNNING TODAY!! 🎉🎉

Granted, it was Day 1 of a walk-run program and I only ran for a total of 6 minutes. However - I have not run in SIX YEARS!! I struggled to balance my blood sugar while exercising when I was first diagnosed and gave up things like running and riding my bike outdoors. I know other people with T1D who were able to make the adjustment. There are even professional athletes who are able to manage their blood sugar while playing their sport! I couldn’t get the hang of it.

I feel good, no abdominal pain. Just my legs 😂 The nurses told me I can do more strenuous exercises now. I just have to listen to my body and not push it. We’ll see how the rest of the week goes. This program has me walking and/or running 6 days a week for 8 weeks.

💪🏼

The number of pills I’m currently taking each morning. Only 4 in the evenings 💊 💊 💊 💊 I would MUCH rather take all these...
03/30/2026

The number of pills I’m currently taking each morning. Only 4 in the evenings 💊 💊 💊 💊

I would MUCH rather take all these pills than have to deal with the complications of Type 1 Diabetes! 🙂

Narrative from the abdominal CT scan: “The native pancreas is moderately atrophic but otherwise unremarkable.”Native Pan...
03/27/2026

Narrative from the abdominal CT scan: “The native pancreas is moderately atrophic but otherwise unremarkable.”

Native Pancreas = Tweedle Dumb
Moderately Atrophic = decreasing in size or wasting away

I’m in Madison, WI today for a scheduled clinic appointment! 1. Abdominal CT - check blood flow to Tweedle Dee (new panc...
03/25/2026

I’m in Madison, WI today for a scheduled clinic appointment!

1. Abdominal CT - check blood flow to Tweedle Dee (new pancreas)
2. Blood work
3. Doctor visit

I’ll keep you posted on the results!

TODAY is the LAST DAY I have to take the “Nasty Nystatin” aka “Swish & Swallow” - a medication to prevent Thrush (a fung...
03/12/2026

TODAY is the LAST DAY I have to take the “Nasty Nystatin” aka “Swish & Swallow” - a medication to prevent Thrush (a fungal infection in the mouth).

This stuff is NASTY! I have been taking it twice a day, everyday for 3 months after surgery. The only reason why I took it diligently is because I was told that having Thrush is worse and I would have to take the medication 3x a day 😝

I’m SO HAPPY this phase is over 🎉🎉

Today is the 3 month milestone since my pancreatic transplant surgery and I got to celebrate with most of my Care Team! ...
03/06/2026

Today is the 3 month milestone since my pancreatic transplant surgery and I got to celebrate with most of my Care Team! 🎉 🎉

I’m considered “fully healed” at this point but my body is not quite to 100% even though my mind is. I still cannot lift heavy things and after a couple hours of walking or moving around, I need to rest. I see progress every week though!

March 25 is my next clinic appointment at UW Health in Madison, WI and they will do an abdominal CT to check blood flow to Tweedle Dee (my new pancreas).

The words “Thank You” do not do justice for what I owe these women for helping me through a life changing & life saving operation!! ❤️

💪🏼

I’m on the move just 11 weeks after surgery! 😃Yes, I am being careful and not over doing it. I take breaks and work from...
02/28/2026

I’m on the move just 11 weeks after surgery! 😃

Yes, I am being careful and not over doing it. I take breaks and work from home when I need to rest.

I worked in the office everyday this week, some days I was there for 6 hours. Just last week, I could only work a few hours for a few days. This is tremendous progress 🎉

My hands still shake from the anti-rejection medication. That’s the only side effect right now. If you see me shaking, please don’t be shy about talking about it. I’m happy to share information about my journey.

💪🏼

I received a positive report from the surgeon today! 🎉 ✅ My A1C is FIVE (5.0) ‼️ THIS IS INSANE!! For six years, I strug...
02/21/2026

I received a positive report from the surgeon today! 🎉

✅ My A1C is FIVE (5.0) ‼️ THIS IS INSANE!! For six years, I struggled to get my A1C below 7.0. The A1C is a three month average of your blood sugar.
✅ My average glucose has DROPPED from 140 to 117 to now 97 ‼️ 🤯
✅ 5 medication refills cost me ZERO DOLLARS today!! Thank you Illinois Senate Democrats for providing top notch healthcare insurance!
✅ Bloodwork & Vitals are all good
✅ The incision is healing nicely (I’ll show it to you if you want)
✅ One medication will stop, one is being reduced.
✅ Local lab visits are reduced to once every two weeks, from once a week.
✅ Only have to check my vitals at home once a day, instead of twice.
✅ I’m being transitioned from the surgeon’s care to a long term transplant medication provider.

Next Steps:
• March 5 - will be 3 months since surgery and I’ll be considered “fully healed”
• March 27 - next clinic visit to UW, abdominal CT to check blood flow to Tweedle Dee (new pancreas)
• Continue building up my strength 💪🏼

Background: On December 11, 2025, I had a pancreatic transplant which CURED my Type 1 Diabetes! 🎉


AI generated image

Great News 🎉 After insurance pays their fair share, I’ve been approved for an 80% discount through UW Health - the hospi...
02/19/2026

Great News 🎉

After insurance pays their fair share, I’ve been approved for an 80% discount through UW Health - the hospital where my surgery was done! 👏🏼

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois denied the claim for the hospital stay when I had COVID and BLOOD CLOTS in my lungs just 2 weeks after a transplant surgery, saying it was medically unnecessary 😑 I’m appealing that decision. I have a bill for $10,000 that should be fully or mostly covered.

A few updates to share: ⬇️ LOW Blood Sugar - Wednesday, I experienced a severe blood sugar low (51). I recognized the sy...
02/14/2026

A few updates to share:

⬇️ LOW Blood Sugar - Wednesday, I experienced a severe blood sugar low (51). I recognized the symptoms right away (shaking, sweating, light headed) even though I don’t wear a glucose monitor anymore. I didn’t think this was supposed to happen anymore! I was afraid the new pancreas had failed. The nurse assured me that it’s not uncommon this soon after surgery to have a low. She said the new pancreas is still trying to get used to my body, especially now that I’m up and moving about more frequently.

🩸 BLOODWORK - everything looks great! The Donor Specific Antibodies came down by HALF of what they were previously. The nurse does NOT think the doctor will want to do another biopsy, just waiting for his confirmation. I go back up to the clinic at UW one week from today. After that, I can reduce my local lab visits from once a week to once every two weeks.

🫨 REST - I need to remind myself to take it easy. That's the hardest part about this time period. My body is not 100%, even though my mind is. I worked out of the office for a few hours today, my hands started shaking uncontrollably. The anti-rejection drugs have given me tremors. I was able to sit down, drink some water, and rest until I felt better.

Overall, things are good and the transplant team is happy with my progress. Only 3 more weeks until I’m considered “fully healed”. Please continue to have patience with me if I don’t answer you right away or get the same quantity of work done as I did before surgery. I’ll get back to 100% soon. I’m just not there yet.

THANK YOU for patience & understanding 💟

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1829 2nd Ave. Rock Island
Rock Island, IL
61201

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