Despite how isolating and painful having pancreatitis is, I pursued a career as a scientist, traveling across Europe to work. In my work, I saw many different approaches to treating pancreatitis. I wanted to do something for people like me. Since I had become an expert in stem cells, I worked on turning them into insulin-producing beta cells – a potential diabetes treatment. I was also isolating pancreatic islets for patients who needed their pancreas removed through a Total Pancreatectomy with Islet Auto-Transplantation (TPIAT).

It was extremely emotional for me to prepare cells for pancreatitis patients getting islet cell transplants, because of my own experience with this disease. I was so grateful to have amazing friends to help me go through this. I had to juggle between staying healthy, learning, and working… which wasn’t easy. I am glad I had the opportunity to see it from the scientific side as well as the patient side. Unfortunately, because the demands of my work put my own health at risk, I eventually had to get a less stressful and physically challenging job.

I can see how, with age, my body is struggling more. This scares me a lot. Hopefully, I will be able to avoid surgery – not because I live in a country that doesn’t do these kinds of advanced medical treatments, but because my pain level will be manageable, and we will have found a way to fix a damaged pancreas. I believe that together, we can do more. We can help each other have a better quality of life.