Great report in Minnesota!

Dr. David Sutherland and Josh, January 5, 2011

You can see how calm we now are, as neither Josh nor I have updated the blog and it's over 2 weeks since we have returned from Minnesota.

It was of course VERY COLD in Minneapolis.  More about that later.

Josh's appointment was on January 5th.  He started with the Boost test - the test which shows whether or not he has islet function.  Then we saw Dr. Sutherland, Dr. Bellin, and naturally there was a doctor from Korea and also a medical student observing.  At that point, the results of the Boost test were not available, but Dr. Sutherland was very pleased with Josh's progress.  Dr. Bellin reviewed Josh's logbook of blood sugars, and right then and there she told Josh to stop taking his Novolog (the insulin taken with meals)!!  This was absolutely great news.

Dr. Bellin and Josh

Josh still takes 18 units of Lantus every morning.  Lantus is the long acting insulin.  He still tests his blood sugar upon waking, two hours after meals, and at bedtime. 

After we returned to Connecticut we got the results of the Boost test, which showed that Josh does have islet function (we really knew this already because he was requiring less and less insulin).

This week Josh saw Dr. Quevedo, his local endocrinologist.  Dr. Q was also very happy with the results of Josh's boost test.  He reviewed Josh's logbook of blood sugars for the last two weeks, and was very pleased.  So it appears that taking Josh off the Novolog was exactly correct - hooray!  Stopping the Novolog has also stopped the severe lows Josh was experiencing - not a pleasant experience.

So now to the weather in Minnesota.  When we arrived it was lightly snowing, but no one seemed to care much about that.  I guess they get so much that it is not a big deal.  It lightly snowed almost the entire 3 days we were there.  And it was bitter cold.

The day before the appointment, I decided to venture out to do a little shopping.  The hotel shuttle took me to the area known as "Uptown".  They told me they wouldn't be able to bring me back to the hotel, however, and that I could take a taxi or the bus.  Minneapolis has an amazing public transportation system, so I thought I'd be adventurous and try the bus.   

Things were going great, I was on the bus, and I thought wow, this couldn't be easier.  Then I realized that the bus I was on was not going to go to the University area.  I asked the bus driver,  and he told me where to get off and what bus to transfer onto.  I'm sure the wait for the other bus was not more than 6 or 8 minutes, but it seemed like HOURS.  It was so bitter cold.  I had on my NorthFace jacket which is a fleece zipped into a shell, warm Uggs boots, and I was still frozen.  Minneapolis is a great city, and beautiful in the summer, but I don't know how they survive those winters.

However, Minneapolis is home to Dr. Sutherland and his wonderful colleagues so we will always love it.  What an amazing surgery Dr. Sutherland pioneered, and continues to revise and improve.  This surgery saved Josh's life, I am sure.  We went from over 17 hospitalizations in 2 1/2 years for severe intractable pain, with most hospitalizations lasting 2 to 4 weeks, to a young man who today is working full time, starting working out at the gym (today), looks and feels healthy, and has NO pancreatic pain.

The last hurdle is to wean off all pain meds, not an easy proposition.  Josh is on less than 1/2 of what he was taking before surgery, and he continues to wean down.  He is doing it according to Dr. Sutherland's suggested schedule, with help from our dear friend Dr. Alan Greenwald.  It will take some time, but he will get there.

Happy snow day everyone!

Debbie