The CAMROSE BOOSTER, November 8, 2022 – Page 24
Kidney transplant brings hope By Murray Green
Type 2 diabetes
Do you have pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes? According to the Canadian Chronic Disease Surveillance System, 8.8 per cent of Canadians were living with diabetes as of 2016-17. Approximately 200,000 new cases are diagnosed annually. In Alberta alone, the public health care system spends $494 million yearly on diabetes-related expenses. Patients pay up to $2,400/year out Jane Yardley, of pocket for diabetes-related Kinesiology, medications and supplies. University of Alberta The word diabetes refers to Augustana Campus a spectrum of conditions where the body either does not produce enough insulin (the hormone that helps transport glucose into cells), or cells in the body do not respond as they should to insulin. The common symptom in these conditions (Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes, gestational diabetes), is high blood glucose (sugar) levels. The most common form of diabetes is Type 2 diabetes. The precursor of this chronic disease is pre-diabetes, a condition which is often asymptomatic and diagnosable with a fasting blood sample. A high fasting blood glucose level would be considered “impaired fasting glucose.” In this case a physician may order follow-up testing, including an oral glucose tolerance test. This test involves drinking a sugary solution and having blood samples drawn frequently (every 30 minutes) to see how quickly the body is able to clear the glucose from the blood. Slow clearance is an indication of impaired glucose tolerance. The combination of these tests and a blood component called hemoglobin A1c, allows doctors to determine if someone has prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes. A pre-diabetes diagnosis is usually accompanied by advice to improve several health behaviours. A healthy diet and regular physical activity help reduce impaired fasting glucose and impaired glucose tolerance. Recommendations involve avoiding or at least reducing, high-fat, high-sugar, processed foods, eating more vegetables and foods high in fibre along with lean protein sources. For many people with pre-diabetes, meeting the physical activity guidelines (sitting less, light movement throughout the day, 150 minutes/ week of moderate to vigorous activity) and improving diet quality normalizes blood glucose levels and prevents the progression to Type 2 diabetes. These lifestyle changes may also bring with them the added benefits of weight loss, improved heart health, better sleep and a stronger immune system. In the absence of lifestyle changes, and sometimes in spite of a person’s best efforts, pre-diabetes may progress into Type 2 diabetes. At this stage, in addition to encouraging improvements in diet and physical activity, medications can be added as a treatment option. These medications include drugs that either make the body’s cells more sensitive to insulin or stimulate the pancreas to release more insulin. Again, the goal is to ensure that blood glucose levels remain in a lower, healthier range than would be possible without intervention. Should the condition progress further, injections of synthetic insulin may be necessary to balance blood glucose levels. Avoiding high blood glucose levels is essential for preventing the long-term complications of diabetes, which can include heart disease, blindness, kidney failure and nerve damage. High blood glucose levels may also contribute to a faster loss of muscle strength and bone density with aging, explaining why older adults with diabetes are more likely to be frail than those without diabetes. Early diagnosis and immediate improvements in diet and exercise are often sufficient to slow the progression of Type 2 diabetes and prevent its long-term complications. Unfortunately, many people with prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes are completely unaware that they have them. November is Diabetes Awareness month and November 14 is World Diabetes Day. There will be many events coordinated by organizations like the Alberta Diabetes Foundation, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and Diabetes Canada. None of the advances in the treatment of this condition would be possible without the research funded by associations like these. To help the people that you know who have diabetes, consider supporting these events and these organizations this month and beyond. It is also a good time to get yourself checked.
In today’s overly saturated job market, you take what you can get. Allan Bernesky-Lyster was busy working a stable nine-tofive job–one that he was particularly grateful for– when he was forced to take on another position. And it wasn’t an upgrade. Bernesky-Lyster was swapping his job for a seat on his couch, hooked up to a dialysis machine for up to five hours a day. His kidney was failing. Six years ago, during a routine blood work check, his doctors started to notice an alarming pattern. “I was getting blood tests every three months for my Type 2 diabetes and my blood tests stared showing my kidney function dropping. We didn’t know why. All of a sudden it just dropped,” he explained. Diabetes impacts your kidney function. Each kidney is made up of small filters called nephrons, which are prone to damage when you have diabetes since high blood sugar levels are not good for them, as well as for blood cells. Typically, kidney damage begins within 10 to 15 years after diabetes starts, and once the damage is done, it’s irreversible. For Bernesky-Lyster, his prognosis was indicative of his eventual need for transplant. “For about a year I was seeing a nephrologist in Edmonton and he told me that I am eventually going to need to go on dialysis,” said Bernesky-Lyster. “They did a biopsy and they think that due to the Type 2 diabetes and just bad genes, I’m going to need a new kidney. So, it wasn’t a matter of if, it was a matter of when,” he added. Still, the decision wasn’t easy. In fact, Bernesky-Lyster tried to return back to work a little over two years
ago, but his health was on rapid decline. “Between dialysis and work, I wasn’t allowing enough time for my kidney to recuperate,” he said. Bernesky-Lyster wasn’t getting the rest he needed to let his body regenerate, which is crucial for optimal organ function. The only silver lining was the ability to have dialysis from the comfort of his own home. Lyster asked his health care to put him on home care dialysis, so they installed a dialysis machine in his house. While this is convenient, it also meant isolated times in the home, hooked up to a machine with little to no physical leeway. “Doing dialysis is like a part time job because I have to schedule my life around that machine,” he said. If he isn’t diligent in maintaining his schedule, he pays for it. “I’ve lived my life now around this machine for five years. I want to get back to my regular life…If I don’t do dialysis for more than a day, I am sick. All the junk accumulates and then I have to go on dialysis for even longer,” said Bernesky-Lyster. “If I do a fivehour dialysis today, I take tomorrow off, I have to do a six-and-a-half-hour session the day after, so that I feel better,” he shared. Typical day Bernesky-Lyster is the father of five children, including an oldest son who has Type 1 diabetes, among other conditions. “He’s been diagnosed with severe autism. He can’t talk, he can’t communicate–he’s also epileptic. Taking care of him is a full-time job so my wife can’t work either,” he continued. To sustain themselves, Bernesky-Lyster and his wife Elisha have a booth at the farmers market where they sell her baked goods.
But once he is done here, it’s a double shift at home. “On a day like today, when I get home at 4:30 p.m., I would get on dialysis till 9 p.m. If I go on later, I’m usually on, eight till midnight,” Lyster said. It’s also important to ensure he’s keeping himself free from airborne illnesses. “I’ll go home, and shower, clothes go into the wash. Since I’m on the transplant list, I am extremely careful.” Dialysis isn’t exactly a long-term solution and it comes with its fair share of health intrusions. “I have to insert needles into my arm every time I do dialysis. I didn’t want to get a chest access because it’s a foreign body, so close to your heart. My doctor built a fistula, so he connected a vein to an artery, so it’s arterial blood,” he said. Life on the transplant list is not only physically taxing, but also financially draining. “It’s hard to support a family when I’m not working. I’ve been on CPP and disability…but it’s not enough to help save up when the transplant comes,” he said. “When the transplant comes, I have to live in Edmonton. I can’t be more than half an hour away from the hospital.” The Round Hill community stepped up to hold a fundraiser to assist him with expenses. If you want to help the Bernesky-Lyster family, visit https://www. gofundme.com/f/q92vfdesperately-needing-help. However, he wasn’t able to attend. And as luck would have it, the impossible happened–Bernesky-Lyster received the greatest phone call of his life. An organ was available. He went in for surgery on October 29. Three days later he was up and walking (with the aid of a walker).
Murray Green, Camrose Booster Allan Bernesky-Lyster and his daughter Alexis sold pies at the Camrose Farmers’ Market on Thursdays at the Duggan Mall to make extra money for his transplant expenses.
