Christine's History
I have never really posted a history of Chris' condition so here it is.
Chris became a diabetic late in life. In 1987 at the age of 17 she developed the chicken pox. No one really thought anything of it until 1992, when at the age of 23 she developed type one diabetes. We later found out that she had the diabetic gene all along and the chicken pox was the trigger it needed.
Christine did not have health insurance as she was working as a part time warehouse clerk so the next few years were challenging. She was in complete denial about her condition so her sugars were completely erratic. She was not taking proper care of herself.
In 1995 at the age of 25 she started to get really sick with uncontrollable vomiting. The doctors had no idea what was wrong with her. After being in the hospital several times that year she dropped down to 85 pounds (she is 5’8”). Since the doctors didn’t know what was wrong they just assumed she had an eating disorder and placed her in a treatment center for anorexia patients. She was in this facility twice.
When she was released she did rather well for a few years. In 1999 she got her dream job. She was a public service aide for the Broward Sheriff’s office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She loved her job and the best part was she now had medical insurance.
Her first few years on the job she did not get sick at all and was doing really well. In 2002 she started to have the episodes again and would wind up in the hospital. Her sister, Jeanne, did some research on her symptoms and determined that what she had was gastroparesis which was related to her diabetes.
When Jeanne talked to the doctors they agreed that this was most likely the problem. They begin running a batter of tests including stomach emptying studies to confirm the diagnosis. The episodes continued. They started her on Reglan, compazine, eruthromyacin, and Zofran for the nausea. Ultimately she was given Phenergan for nausea since it seemed to be the only thing that worked. At this time they also attempted the botox injections. The first injection worked and the second one didn’t.
After multiple hospital stays in 2003 at the age of 33 she was approved for the gastric pacemaker. The pacemaker was placed and she did well on this for several years.
Life went back to normal and she got to do the things she loved doing. Working, going to church, and spending time with her family. She would drive up to West Palm Beach visiting her sister and her then fiancé often. Things were looking up for her. The pacemaker was working well and she was keeping her sugars under control with a pump. She was the healthiest she had been since she was a teenager. She was looking forward to being a bridesmaid at Jeanne’s wedding.
The end of 2004 she started to have problems with her kidneys as a result of the constant high sugar levels during her vomiting episodes. Her kidney function was severely impaired. One kidney was not working at all and the other was only working at 6%. She was immediately started on dialysis. She was on dialysis 3 times a week, dealing with the gastroparesis, and working full time. She handled it all.
In December of 2005 Christine received the call that there was a match and she would be getting a new kidney and pancreas. This was the best Christmas gift she could have ever received. The family spent the night in the hospital while she had the surgery. The recovery was hard but she did really well. Before we knew it she was back to work and doing great. She no longer needed insulin. For the first time ever Chris could eat without worrying what it would do to her sugar.
The peacefulness she was feeling was short lived. In April of 2007 she moved in with her sister. In February 2007 the episodes started to come back. Her first night in her sister’s house was after a hospital stay. In June of 2007 she was having a lot of pain. She had a bladder stone that needed to be removed. After the surgery they gave her morphine for pain; big mistake. She couldn’t stop vomiting. She was released from the hospital on TPN as she could hold nothing down. She was in the hospital constantly.
The doctors told her that she needed a feeding tube. At first she resisted but Jeanne and her mom told her she had no other options. She agreed to the feeding tube placement. She was sent down to Jackson. After the placement of the tube she aspirated and wound up on a ventilator. The family thought they had lost her. In October she was released from the hospital on her tube feeds. This time was hard on both her and Jeanne. Jeanne was tending to the tube and setting up the feeds for Chris around the clock. Chris suffered from dehydration frequently since she was unable to keep anything down. She was in and out of hospitals up until December.
In December Jeanne took her to see a motility specialist at Cleveland Clinic. He promised to get her off all of the tubes and eating again. He determined she needed a gastrectomy. We consulted with the same surgeon who got her the pacemaker. In February 2008 the surgery was scheduled. Once they went in they determined that they could not perform the surgery. She had adhesions on her small bowel and it would have been too risky. Jeanne had to break the news to her. She was devastated. They took her off the feeding tube since she was not tolerating it well and got her on liquids and TPN again and sent her home. She seemed to be doing ok. We were even able to get her to eat mashed potatoes and thought we were on the road to recovery. Three days later she threw up the potatoes and we were back in the hospital.
At Cleveland Clinic her specialist told her that there was nothing else he could do for her. This is the same man that promised her the world. He basically told her that she would never eat again and she would be on TPN the rest of her life. Amazingly enough through all this she stayed positive and was not giving up.
They transferred her to a long term care hospital as they felt they could offer her nothing further. The doctor said that he didn’t know how to keep her out of the hospital. Jeanne contacted Chris’ transplant coordinator in an attempt to see if they would consider her for a mulivisceral transplant. This would have given her a transplanted digestive system. They would not even evaluate her. The doctors felt the measure was too drastic. The doctors kept telling her that all she needed was a feeding tube and she would eventually eat on her own.
Jeanne then got a call from the doctor treating her at Kindred. He told Jeanne that Chris was deteriorating and the TPN was the only thing keeping her alive. The malnutrition had atrophied her muscles to the point where she couldn’t walk without assistance. Chris was being given a choice. She could live out her days in a nursing home on TPN or go off the TPN and have 4 to 6 weeks of life. She chose to go off the TPN.
She has been off the IV nutrition for about two and a half weeks now. She is getting weaker and her organs are slowing down. Currently she is under hospice care and has around the clock nursing care. She gets around the clock pain medicine as well as IV Phenergan (the only thing that keeps her from throwing up). She sleeps about 18 to 20 hours a day, but she is comfortable. She is surrounded by family and will be until she passes. Her family is doing what they can for her and they are happy knowing that soon she will no longer be suffering.
Christine is an amazingly strong woman. She was not once complained about her condition and cares more about others then herself. She has given her family so much without even realizing it. She has truly been a blessing to all that have had the pleasure of knowing her.
Chris became a diabetic late in life. In 1987 at the age of 17 she developed the chicken pox. No one really thought anything of it until 1992, when at the age of 23 she developed type one diabetes. We later found out that she had the diabetic gene all along and the chicken pox was the trigger it needed.
Christine did not have health insurance as she was working as a part time warehouse clerk so the next few years were challenging. She was in complete denial about her condition so her sugars were completely erratic. She was not taking proper care of herself.
In 1995 at the age of 25 she started to get really sick with uncontrollable vomiting. The doctors had no idea what was wrong with her. After being in the hospital several times that year she dropped down to 85 pounds (she is 5’8”). Since the doctors didn’t know what was wrong they just assumed she had an eating disorder and placed her in a treatment center for anorexia patients. She was in this facility twice.
When she was released she did rather well for a few years. In 1999 she got her dream job. She was a public service aide for the Broward Sheriff’s office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She loved her job and the best part was she now had medical insurance.
Her first few years on the job she did not get sick at all and was doing really well. In 2002 she started to have the episodes again and would wind up in the hospital. Her sister, Jeanne, did some research on her symptoms and determined that what she had was gastroparesis which was related to her diabetes.
When Jeanne talked to the doctors they agreed that this was most likely the problem. They begin running a batter of tests including stomach emptying studies to confirm the diagnosis. The episodes continued. They started her on Reglan, compazine, eruthromyacin, and Zofran for the nausea. Ultimately she was given Phenergan for nausea since it seemed to be the only thing that worked. At this time they also attempted the botox injections. The first injection worked and the second one didn’t.
After multiple hospital stays in 2003 at the age of 33 she was approved for the gastric pacemaker. The pacemaker was placed and she did well on this for several years.
Life went back to normal and she got to do the things she loved doing. Working, going to church, and spending time with her family. She would drive up to West Palm Beach visiting her sister and her then fiancé often. Things were looking up for her. The pacemaker was working well and she was keeping her sugars under control with a pump. She was the healthiest she had been since she was a teenager. She was looking forward to being a bridesmaid at Jeanne’s wedding.
The end of 2004 she started to have problems with her kidneys as a result of the constant high sugar levels during her vomiting episodes. Her kidney function was severely impaired. One kidney was not working at all and the other was only working at 6%. She was immediately started on dialysis. She was on dialysis 3 times a week, dealing with the gastroparesis, and working full time. She handled it all.
In December of 2005 Christine received the call that there was a match and she would be getting a new kidney and pancreas. This was the best Christmas gift she could have ever received. The family spent the night in the hospital while she had the surgery. The recovery was hard but she did really well. Before we knew it she was back to work and doing great. She no longer needed insulin. For the first time ever Chris could eat without worrying what it would do to her sugar.
The peacefulness she was feeling was short lived. In April of 2007 she moved in with her sister. In February 2007 the episodes started to come back. Her first night in her sister’s house was after a hospital stay. In June of 2007 she was having a lot of pain. She had a bladder stone that needed to be removed. After the surgery they gave her morphine for pain; big mistake. She couldn’t stop vomiting. She was released from the hospital on TPN as she could hold nothing down. She was in the hospital constantly.
The doctors told her that she needed a feeding tube. At first she resisted but Jeanne and her mom told her she had no other options. She agreed to the feeding tube placement. She was sent down to Jackson. After the placement of the tube she aspirated and wound up on a ventilator. The family thought they had lost her. In October she was released from the hospital on her tube feeds. This time was hard on both her and Jeanne. Jeanne was tending to the tube and setting up the feeds for Chris around the clock. Chris suffered from dehydration frequently since she was unable to keep anything down. She was in and out of hospitals up until December.
In December Jeanne took her to see a motility specialist at Cleveland Clinic. He promised to get her off all of the tubes and eating again. He determined she needed a gastrectomy. We consulted with the same surgeon who got her the pacemaker. In February 2008 the surgery was scheduled. Once they went in they determined that they could not perform the surgery. She had adhesions on her small bowel and it would have been too risky. Jeanne had to break the news to her. She was devastated. They took her off the feeding tube since she was not tolerating it well and got her on liquids and TPN again and sent her home. She seemed to be doing ok. We were even able to get her to eat mashed potatoes and thought we were on the road to recovery. Three days later she threw up the potatoes and we were back in the hospital.
At Cleveland Clinic her specialist told her that there was nothing else he could do for her. This is the same man that promised her the world. He basically told her that she would never eat again and she would be on TPN the rest of her life. Amazingly enough through all this she stayed positive and was not giving up.
They transferred her to a long term care hospital as they felt they could offer her nothing further. The doctor said that he didn’t know how to keep her out of the hospital. Jeanne contacted Chris’ transplant coordinator in an attempt to see if they would consider her for a mulivisceral transplant. This would have given her a transplanted digestive system. They would not even evaluate her. The doctors felt the measure was too drastic. The doctors kept telling her that all she needed was a feeding tube and she would eventually eat on her own.
Jeanne then got a call from the doctor treating her at Kindred. He told Jeanne that Chris was deteriorating and the TPN was the only thing keeping her alive. The malnutrition had atrophied her muscles to the point where she couldn’t walk without assistance. Chris was being given a choice. She could live out her days in a nursing home on TPN or go off the TPN and have 4 to 6 weeks of life. She chose to go off the TPN.
She has been off the IV nutrition for about two and a half weeks now. She is getting weaker and her organs are slowing down. Currently she is under hospice care and has around the clock nursing care. She gets around the clock pain medicine as well as IV Phenergan (the only thing that keeps her from throwing up). She sleeps about 18 to 20 hours a day, but she is comfortable. She is surrounded by family and will be until she passes. Her family is doing what they can for her and they are happy knowing that soon she will no longer be suffering.
Christine is an amazingly strong woman. She was not once complained about her condition and cares more about others then herself. She has given her family so much without even realizing it. She has truly been a blessing to all that have had the pleasure of knowing her.
posted by Jeanne at
8:06 AM
3 Comments:
Thanks for sharing your sister's story. I can't imagine how sad this must be for you, but hope that you have peace knowing that soon she will not suffer. What happened to Christine's fiance? Has he come to see her?
Actually I meant my fiance who is now my husband:) I guess I didn't word that right. She has never been in any kind of romantic relationship.
You have my sympathies on the loss of your beautiful sister. Why would they not eval., for a MVTX? I read about people getting those for the same reason (gastroapresis)with tpn failure. I'm so sorry.
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