Double-Organ transplant ends woman's lifelong battle with diabetes

By Meta Hemenway-Forbes, Courier Life Editor

November 27, 2008

Darrell, left, and Nancy Schipper in their Hudson home Monday 11/24/2008. (RICK CHASE/ WATERLOO COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

HUDSON -- Nancy Schipper may have had a piece or two of pumpkin pie over the years, but today when she dishes up a slice of the Thanksgiving staple, she'll enjoy it without worry.

Last Thanksgiving, failing kidneys and a faulty pancreas kept the lifelong diabetic from truly delighting in holiday fare. A double-organ transplant in January, though, changed everything.

"It's a miracle, really. Sometimes I still can't believe it," Schipper said.

Schipper was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes, at the age of 7. She was in first grade.

"She was a very active little girl," recalls her mother, Marvalene Hendrickson. "There was no stopping her. We tried to not make her feel any different. I think we did a very good job of it."

Indeed. Schipper was a talented athlete who excelled in softball. In fact, she received hall of fame honors for pitching more than 100 wins in her high school athletic career.

"It was quite trying on her sometimes," Hendrickson said. "With all that activity, blood sugar drops. She took lots of timeouts to suck on an orange to help regulate her blood sugar. But she was an outstanding athlete."

Managing Schipper's diabetes was a family affair. Shortly after her diagnosis, her parents sent her to a camp for children with diabetes where she learned to give herself insulin injections. Her blood sugar levels were constantly monitored.

"When she and her brothers would take off on bikes after school, they would always make sure they had individual boxes of raisins or hard candy in case her blood sugar dropped. Her brothers were right there to feed her," Hendrickson said.

Treatment for diabetes has come a long way since Schipper was a child. Today, needles and syringes are disposable. Hendrickson recalls having to boil reusable syringes and sharpening multiple-use needles.

"And now there is sugar-free syrup and Jell-O and soda. We didn't have any of that. We were so excited when we could get sugar-free syrup," she said.

A lifetime of highs and lows began to take its toll when Schipper reached her early 40s. The diabetes began to affect her vision. Her kidneys began to wear out. In March 2007, she was put on dialysis.

Three times a week for four hours at a time, Schipper sat while dialysis machines did the work her kidneys could no longer do. She was sent to a specialist at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison, Wis., who suggested a kidney and pancreas transplant. The pancreas regulates insulin, and a new one would mean a new life.

"She could have gotten just a kidney, but eventually the highs and lows of type 1 diabetes would shorten the life of that organ, too. Having a new pancreas would change everything," said Schipper's husband, Darrell.

Schipper, now 53, was placed on a transplant waiting list, but removed shortly thereafter when an arterial blockage was found. Patients must be free of other serious health issues to be eligible to receive donor organs.

In January, the arterial blockage resolved, Schipper was placed back on the transplant waiting list. Just eight days later, she got the call. Donor organs were on their way to the Madison hospital.

"I thought it was a joke," Schipper said. "The average wait is seven months, and many people wait even longer. It was a miracle."

Eight days after surgery, Schipper returned home. Before the transplant, she took daily insulin injections and 42 pills a day. Today, she takes 21 pills per day to prevent her body from rejecting the donor organs.

But the most noticeable difference? No insulin shots. No constant monitoring of blood sugar.

"Her blood sugars have been normal ever since the transplant," Darrell said. "I knew her life had changed when we went to a basketball game and afterwards we went out to eat ... To be able to watch her eat and not worry about taking an insulin shot," he said, his voice breaking with emotion.

"Everything has gone so well. It's hard to believe. I might have some extra pumpkin pie this year," Schipper said, laughing.

Contact Meta Hemenway-Forbes at (319) 291-1483 or meta.hemenway-forbes@wcfcourier.com.

Copyright © 2008, Courier Communications, Waterloo, IA, a subsidiary of Lee Enterprises.

This article posted December 4, 2008.