Since she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, Cindy McLeansa国际传媒檚 bodysa国际传媒檚 immune system has been attacking itself, destroying insulin-producing beta cells in her pancreas. Those cells are needed to convert blood sugar into energy.
sa国际传媒淭he kidney disease didnsa国际传媒檛 come until about 45 years (after the diagnosis),sa国际传媒� says McLean. sa国际传媒淎s much as you try and control your blood sugars, you cansa国际传媒檛 do it all the time. It just doesnsa国际传媒檛 work that way.sa国际传媒�
Growing up with Type 1 diabetes, McLean says, was a challenge. Her classmates were always asking why she was allowed to get juice or candy when no one else could. Sometimes this would lead her to hide when her blood sugar was low, causing her to go into a seizure.
Another challenge was the lack of knowledge on diabetes. While medical professionals and scientists know a lot more about diabetes, there is still a lot to learn, like what causes Type 1 diabetes. Leading theories suggest genetic and environmental factors lead to the autoimmune disease.
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McLean, who was born and raised in Campbell River, started struggling with kidney disease 17 or so years ago and needed a transplant when she started going into renal failure 11 years ago. She didnsa国际传媒檛 find a donor until last year.
sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 not sure how long Heather [Thomas] has been in Campbell River, but wesa国际传媒檝e kind of always known each other like acquaintances,sa国际传媒� she says. sa国际传媒淲e would run into each other. Of course, shesa国际传媒檚 a dance instructor, so she was teaching at my granddaughtersa国际传媒檚 school sa国际传媒� who lives with me full time sa国际传媒� so we would talk there.sa国际传媒�
When McLean started her business, Thomas would come to visit her. At one point, Thomas, whose son also lives with Type 1 diabetes, was adamant she was a match for McLean and continued looking into it. McLean wasnsa国际传媒檛 so confident Thomas would be match after searching for a kidney donor for ten years, including putting an ad out in the Campbell River Mirror.
sa国际传媒淪ure enough, probably six months later she comes into the shop and says sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 your match,sa国际传媒� McLean says.
The transplant was originally supposed to happen in June 2023, but it didnsa国际传媒檛 work out for either of the two. Thomas called McLean and said the only time they could do it was on July 19.
sa国际传媒淚 said, sa国际传媒榊ou got to be kidding me, thatsa国际传媒檚 my birthday.sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒� So she said, sa国际传媒淥h my God, do you want to do it on your birthday?sa国际传媒� recalls McLean.
Her response? sa国际传媒淗ell yeah, wesa国际传媒檙e going to do it on my birthday.sa国际传媒�
She couldnsa国际传媒檛 have received a better birthday present.
The transplant was a success. McLean still needs to go to Vancouver every three weeks.
sa国际传媒淲hat happened while I was there is the Kidney Research Institute approached me and they said I was the perfect candidate to start this new drug they are trying to get approved. After, listening to their story, I was like this is a no-brainer, so I decided Isa国际传媒檓 going to do this research, Isa国际传媒檓 actually on the research team.sa国际传媒�
The drug is AT-1501, also known as Tegoprubart. It was originally developed to treat ALS and Alzheimersa国际传媒檚 disease. McLean is one of seven people worldwide trialling the drug for Type 1 Diabetes. The trial is only in phase one of three.
While she is in Vancouver, she has to take intravenous medication for the research.
sa国际传媒淲e still have phase two and phase three to get through, but as it goes now Isa国际传媒檓 feeling amazing, Isa国际传媒檓 doing amazing, everything is just going really good,sa国际传媒� she says. sa国际传媒淚 started at eight/nine pills a day. Isa国际传媒檓 now down to three.sa国际传媒�
Before the transplant, McLean had to adhere to a very strict diet, like fruit and vegetables or anything very high in potassium. Now, she can eat and drink almost anything, except grapefruit, green teas and Earl Grey because they interfere with her medication.
sa国际传媒淭he first thing I had after my transplant was French fries. I havensa国际传媒檛 had French fries or potatoes in ten yearssa国际传媒hey werensa国际传媒檛 even the best French fries but they were good.sa国际传媒�
