Please take a few minutes to read about our daughter, Jazmine Mendoza. She is nine years old and for the last two years she has been battling chronic necrotizing pancreatitis. The pancreas is responsible for breaking down food during digestion and producing insulin. Without insulin production, Jazmine will become a brittle diabetic. This is different than the normal Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. The long-term outlook for patients with brittle diabetes is uncertain and grim. It is known that brittle diabetics have a higher risk of death and poor quality of life caused by unpredictable rises and dips in blood glucose levels. At this point, her pancreas is only functioning at 10%. Doctors have recommended an islet cell transplant to save Jazmine’s life.

Jazmine is a strong and beautiful child who has endured far more than any nine year old should. For the past two years she has been in and out of the hospital almost every single month with excruciating stomach pain. These long hospitalizations leave her feeling depressed over the isolation and loneliness of being in pain and away from her loved ones. Along with the separation from her family and community, she suffers from the anxiety and fear of when the next attack is coming. She has not been to school in two years and has no friends her age. Every time she is excited or happy about upcoming holidays or family activities, she almost always has a flare up and must be hospitalized because of her built-up excitement.