Johanna Kankaanpää underwent a kidney and pancreas transplant in the same operation. At the same time, the quality of life improved significantly, and he got rid of diabetes.
Johanna Kankaanpää, 50,’s life changed significantly at the age of seven when she was diagnosed with diabetes.
– I started to feel more thirsty than before, and at the same time, my trips to the bathroom increased. So my parents took me to the health center first. From there, the journey continued to the hospital to the children’s ward.
Adapting to living with diabetes went quite well, according to Kankaanpää.
– In the hospital, I learned how to inject insulin using an orange. I learned it quite quickly, and everyday life started to go well.
Kankaanpää’s life went on normally until 2012. Then a strange rash appeared on my legs and back.
– It was very itchy, and I scratched the skin several times. I also went to the doctor, where I was instructed to wash and grease. The skin symptoms were thought to be caused by some sort of allergic reaction.
After some time, Kankaanpää fell ill with the flu. He worked as a salesman and went to see a doctor quite quickly, because you couldn’t do customer service when you were sick.
– I was diagnosed with bronchitis. I got the medicine, and I stayed on sick leave. I was supposed to go to work after that, but I wasn’t feeling well. The most difficult was the ground on the left side. Then the cough also got worse.
Kankaanpää went to the doctor again, who sent him for a lung scan.
– From the pictures, it became clear that there is shadowing around the heart and lungs, which is why I was sent forward for further examinations.
– New pictures were taken of me and other tests were done. It soon became clear that I have a lot of fluid in my lungs, my kidney values are bad and my blood pressure is high.
Treatment begins
Kankaanpää remained in ward treatment, and he was started on the necessary medication. The situation was found to be due to diabetes.
– As a diabetic, I knew that the kidneys and eyes are prone to changes, and now such a thing had happened. Although I experienced a slight shock, I trusted the nursing staff.
It was decided to start him on peritoneal dialysis (PD treatment), i.e. peritoneal dialysis.
– Then I worried more. However, I wasn’t worried about my health per se, but about my financial livelihood – about if I’m no longer able to work.
At the same time, it turned out that Kankaanpää’s rash had been caused by phosphorus.
– The kidneys were not able to remove it sufficiently. My potassium level was also high.
Dietary changes were also made to Kankaanpää. A strict diet was necessary.
– A diabetic usually eats dark bread, greens and vegetables. However, I switched to light bread, and at the same time, for example, vegetables, dairy products and red meat were left out. I could only eat potatoes after they had been soaked in water overnight.
– When the peritoneal dialysis finally started, I was able to eat protein-rich food, even though the meat was still gone. I was allowed to eat quite freely as a whole, but I was not allowed to take much at a time, and in addition, my sugar levels were closely monitored.
Johanna in the hospital after organ transplants. The interviewee’s own album
Towards transfer
A kidney transplant was also discussed at the hospital. The doctor considered it a necessary solution.
– However, it remained in the back of my mind at that moment, because starting dialysis was at the top of my thoughts.
Starting the dialysis did not go as planned, because the pd tube was attached incorrectly to the peritoneum and had to be reattached.
– In the end, it took five weeks to start dialysis.
– After dialysis started, after some time I got home a dialysis machine, which I was connected to at night. It made it possible to go to work and move more freely during the day.
After returning home, Kankaanpää continued to communicate with the nursing staff. He also received new organ transplant news from the doctor.
– The doctor asked if I would also be interested in a pancreas transplant, because it could eliminate diabetes. Pancreas transplantation was still quite a new thing in Finland at that time. They had only been made for two years.
– Of course I was interested in it. I was very surprised and therefore excited that I would get the chance to be cured of diabetes. After my decision, I was subjected to several related investigations.
The departure for the organ transplant at Meilahti Hospital finally came about eleven months after the symptoms started. When the news came that possible organs had been found, Kankaanpää quickly took a taxi towards Helsinki.
– I was tense. I was prepared for the fact that the transfers may not take place. I had been told about the possibility that I might wake up from anesthesia without new organs. This would happen if at the very last moment it is discovered that the organs are not suitable.
To a new life
The new organs were suitable. When Kankaanpää woke up from anesthesia, he only wanted to know one thing.
– I briefly asked if they worked, and I got an affirmative answer. At that time, my mind was filled with a dreamlike relief.
Kankaanpää’s own organs were left in place because they did not cause problems.
– My new kidney was cut on the left side of the body in the pelvic cavity. The pancreas, on the other hand, was placed on the right side near the navel. My own kidneys have already shrunk to really small raisins these days.
Recovery from the operation went well, and the body did not reject the new organs. Kankaanpää was in the hospital for three weeks.
– Even after discharge, the recovery proceeded as planned.
A good three months after the transfers, Kankaanpää returned to working life. At the end of spring, an important moment was ahead.
– Before that, I was treated with a small amount of insulin. In the end, it was completely omitted because the new pancreas was working perfectly.
– My life with diabetes had finally ended, which was of course a matter of great joy. The disappearance of the disease brought a whole new freedom to life, for example when it comes to food. Still, getting used to the new everyday life took its own time.
The native of Tampere says he is really grateful for the new life he got.
– Although of course I don’t know who the organs are from, I am very grateful to him. I especially thank him every time on the anniversary of the organ transplant. That’s when my new life began.
Johanna has achieved success in the charity competition for organ transplant recipients. Picture from the European Championships held in Cagliari, Italy. The interviewee’s own album
In 2016, Kankaanpää participated in an exercise camp for those who received an organ transplant. At the same time, a career in athletics began.
Kankaanpää has won twenty medals from the World and European championships for transplant recipients.
– I have participated in many sports, but my most important sports are sprints and long jump. I’m also happy that I’ve been able to travel a hundred seas at the same time as when I was in high school.
– The next goal is the European Championships in Portugal next summer. From there we go to seek success.
Kankaanpää is happy that para-athletics has brought many other good things in addition to success.
– I have made many new friends both from Finland and from other countries. It’s really wonderful.
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Finland’s first pancreas transplant was performed in the spring of 2010 at the HYKS organ transplant and liver surgery clinic. The thirty-five-year-old patient had suffered from severe type 1 diabetes since the age of nine.
He had drifted into terminal kidney failure and was on dialysis for almost half a year. In the organ transplant examinations, the patient was found to be suitable for both kidney and pancreas transplantation and he was willing to undergo the transplant.
After a few days of intensive care, the patient was transferred to the bed ward, where the recovery continued without problems. Both grafts started working immediately, and the C-peptide concentration, which describes the own insulin production, was within normal limits from the very first day. Serum creatinine decreased below 100 µmol/l on the second postoperative day.
In the week after surgery, the patient was infused with insulin to protect the pancreas graft, and in the initial phase, an intravenous nutrient solution was given to ensure glucose balance. After the patient started eating, fast-acting insulin was given to protect the graft when the blood glucose concentration increased above 8 mmol/l. The good function of the graft was illustrated by the fact that insulin had to be given only 1-2 times a day. The patient went home three weeks after the operation, and during the follow-up visits, the functioning of both grafts has been found to be excellent.
Source: Duodecim magazine
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