PATIENT STORIES
Brent
Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes during university, Brent spent decades managing the condition while working as a heating and ventilation technician to support his family. He sought islet transplantation to address debilitating, severe hypoglycemia episodes. Although his first transplant only functioned for a few weeks and he had to stop anti-rejection medications because of a rare complication, Brent remains deeply grateful for the experience. He continues to advocate for the power of research, offering hope of a better quality of life for the T1D community.
Below is his journey.
1. Living with T1D
“My diabetes was putting limits on what I could do for a living.”
Running Time 1:36
2. Considering ITx
"They said, 'No, I'm sorry, we cannot cover the procedure with you… we said, okay, we're going to move to Alberta."
Running Time 1:30
3. The ITx Procedure
"So I really considered the quality of life I wanted to have and the time with my family, that really being at the forefront."
Running Time 0:49
4. Recovery & Results
“Blood tests [showed] that my transplant had [stopped working]. Was the outcome I had a failure? No, it wasn't a failure."
Running Time 4:15
"two days after I had [my] transplant ... [my CGM] just stayed there all the way across [the graph].”
Running Time 3:06
5. Sum it Up in One Word
“Hope”
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