May 7, 2019

Hi, I’m Carolina. I’m 19 years old and was diagnosed with type one diabetes at the age of 7. My condition has deteriorated over the years and I’m now considered a very brittle diabetic. After two episodes of DKA and some seizures due to bloodsugar issues, I have moderate brain damage along with living in a constant state of diabetic HHS (my body doesn’t metabolize things properly and my cells don’t take enough sodium & potassium in). While not everyone has problems due to type one– the condition has taken a huge toll on me– to the point where I had to drop my microbiology major. Science is my passion and I had to give it up because of how my body deteriorated. I may lose my scholarship because I’ll need to stay out of lectures for about a year following transplant, and my state scholarship requires 30 credit hours per year with a 3.0 overall GPA. My current GPA is 3.8 and I have 60 credit hours under my belt. I am listed for pancreas only transplant through Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL.

I’ll be in the hospital anywhere from a week to a month– maybe more depending on how surgery goes. My family will need to be with me as I require a caregiver post-op and we will lose income due to this. I also have to stay local to Jacksonville for a few months post-op and will require temporary housing until I’m cleared to go home to South Carolina. We’re estimating that temp housing alone will cost anywhere from $3,000-5,000 for the few months that I need to be in Jacksonville.