When Bermudian Deborah Butterfield was diagnosed with diabetes five years ago, she believed she would be afflicted with it for the rest of her life. In 1993, following a successful new form of surgery, she walked away free of the disease, which is a leading cause of blindness and kidney failure. Ms Butterfield, now 36, decided to undergo the surgery after the disease began to severely restrict her lifestyle six years ago. By the age of 30, she had already undergone numerous laser surgeries to save her vision, had a close call with heart disease, and also suffered kidney failure and couldn't walk without the use of a cane, and later a leg brace. Now, thanks to a successful pancreas and kidney transplant, the Bermuda High School graduate now lives a healthy insulin-free lifestyle in New York City. Ms Butterfield was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes, the leading cause of kidney disease, blindness, heart disease and amputations. In 1992, she learned about recent developments in pancreas transplantation. At first, she was hesitant to try such drastic measures but she scheduled an appointment anyway. After 11 months of waiting, Ms Butterfield finally found a donor. In April, 1993, she underwent a kidney an pancreas operation only to suffer through viral infections caused by her body rejecting the organs. During that time, she painfully watched 33 people go through transplant operations and walk away free from diabetes. Seven months after her first two transplants, Ms Butterfield tried again. This time she went to Dr. David Sutherland at the University of Minnesota Hospital. The hospital had performed more pancreas transplants than any other institution.

It took another nine months for her to find organs that were compatible. This time, the surgery worked with only a few minor bouts of rejections that she soon overcame; the only drawback being that she must now take a drug for the rest of her life to regulate her immunity to infection that could destroy her new kidney and pancreas. PHOTO DIABETES FREE -- Diabetes expert and transplant surgeon David Sutherland from the University of Minnesota's Diabetes Institute for Immunology and Transplantation brought good news of medical advances for diabetes sufferers. Also pictured is Deborah Butterfield, who suffered from the disease for 23 years before she underwent a kidney and pancreas transplant at the Institute.

HEALTH HTH