Janine Roberson was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of seven.
The chronic disease caused stage 5 kidney failure that led to her kidneys being so badly damaged that they “barely functioned,” according to Ceders-Sinai Medical Center, who has helped Janine with treatment, including a successful kidney-pancreas transplant ten months ago.
Now, however, after years of dialysis treatment and the aforementioned surgery, Janine, now 37, has a quality of life that is “better than ever,” Cedars-Sinai said in a media release.
“She no longer has diabetes,” hospital officials said.
That isn’t Janine’s only reason to be smiling.
On June 13, she graduated with an associate degree from El Camino College in Torrance, making a significant step in her pursuit of getting a double major in child development and psychology to become a child life specialist, helping children with chronic illnesses and serving as a mentor for their parents.
“It’s something Roberson and her family had needed,” hospital officials said. “She remembers much isolation and fear as she grew up managing diabetes, although those challenging times made her a stronger adult.”
The decision to go back to school helped the former graphic designer through one of the more challenging times of her life; she had been on medical disability and undergoing peritoneal dialysis – a procedure that uses the abdominal lining to filter blood – alone at her home when she decided to switch careers.
Doing that while being on the waitlist for a new pancreas is no easy feat, but her experience was compounded by a false hope: A deceased donor’s organs that were available for transplantation right before her birthday in July became unviable.
Another month passed before Janine found another donor, this time a match.
“I was afraid to get my hopes up,” Roberson said, via the Cedars-Sinai release. “When [the doctor] came into my hospital room, I asked ‘Is this really happening?’ and he said ‘It is happening’ and I started to cry.”
After her successful procedure on Aug. 22, 2024, — one of only five pancreas transplants performed at the medical center last year — Janine recovered in 12 days and began reaching new milestones that included hiking a local canyon and seeing a member of her favorite band, BTS, perform.
“She held up a big sign that said ‘I got a new kidney to be here!’ [at the concert],” hospital officials said.
After going through much of this without loved ones by her side (Janine’s family and friends do not live in the area) and graduating, Janine celebrated with those who helped her stay alive: surgeons Dr. Todd Brennan and Dr. Steven Wisel, as well as the rest of her Cedars-Sinai transplant team.
“Janine has remarkable resiliency, as demonstrated by the many obstacles she has overcome,” said Brennan, Cedars-Sinai professor of Surgery. “Resiliency made her a strong candidate for successful double organ transplantation, helped ensure a quick recovery, and is now helping her achieve her goals.”
“Janine is a perfect example of the true benefits of pancreas transplantation,” added Wisel, the surgical director of Pancreas Transplantation. “It is not just freedom from insulin injections—but a new lease on life. She has quickly learned to thrive as a kidney-pancreas recipient, and we look forward to supporting her through her successes.”
As a sign of gratitude, Janine says she plans on writing a letter to the family of the organ donor thanking them; however, she wants to give them time to heal from their loss and give herself time to share more experiences.
“I want them to know how grateful I am and that I’m a person worthy of their loved one’s gift,” she said, adding that she dedicated her graduation to her late father “Pa,” who passed away a month before the ceremony. “[‘Pa’] always wanted to see me healed, and I know he’s excited for me to do new things, live new things and see new things.”
And while graduating college is great, the successful transplantation has allowed Janine to enjoy one of the sweetest things life has to offer: dessert.
In fact, when she finished the surgery, a dietitian asked what she wanted for dessert with her first solid food meal. The two options were ice cream or chocolate cake.
After briefly raising her eyebrow, she chose the chocolate cake.
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