Diabetic transplant recipient: 'I couldn't ask for anything more for Christmas'

A Fall River, N.S., woman who suffered unmanageable blood-sugar levels due to Type 1 diabetes is giving thanks for out-of-province transplant surgery that's freed her from insulin injection dependence.

Diann Pick-Robertson, 57, received an islet transplant at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton on Oct. 20, covered by the Nova Scotia government after more than a year of lobbying.

"I couldn't ask for anything more for Christmas," she said.

Pancreatic islets are clusters of cells that produce insulin. The cells, taken from the pancreas of someone who signed an organ donation card before they died, help recipients regain control of their blood-sugar levels.

Home in time for the holidays

After doctors monitored Pick-Robertson's blood sugar levels, liver function and her body's acceptance of the islets for seven weeks, she was cleared to return home to Nova Scotia on Dec. 12.

The transplant eliminated her need for insulin injections for the first time in 44 years — injections that would sometimes fail to stabilize her blood sugar levels. That uncertainty put her and others at risk.

"I was doing really silly things like I'd end up driving the wrong way on a road when my sugars would go low," she said. "I'd get up out of bed and not even realize where I was going and come out of it, so it's very dangerous."

'It's a horrible life, you can't do anything'

Pick-Robertson was what's known as a "brittle diabetic" because of her wild blood sugar levels. It was so severe she hadn't been able to work at her job at IMP for the last three years.

"It's a horrible life, you can't do anything," she said.

When she discovered the transplant surgery in Edmonton — considered a "breakthrough" — she also found out the procedure is not insured in Nova Scotia. 

The department told her it was an experimental surgery, she said.

The Nova Scotia Health and Wellness Department would not comment on Pick-Robertson's case for privacy reasons. 

But spokesperson Tracy Barron said in an email the department is "monitoring how this treatment is provided and covered in other provinces." She added that requests for this out-of-province service and handled on a case-by-case basis.

Only one person has met the strict criteria for the surgery, which the province considers a "specialized treatment performed in some larger provinces." 

Community backed her plea for help

Pick-Robertson's community got involved by fundraising to pay for the travel costs — including a man who shaved off his beard to raise $1,000. And her cause garnered media attention in the local newspaper, The Laker.

Pick-Robertson said after her story appeared she was contacted by about a half a dozen people who wanted to know how she went about getting the surgery covered.

She said being insulin-injection free and having stable blood sugar levels have changed her world completely.

"It's like winning the biggest lotto you could win."