Bruce Kern

Bruce Kern has a beautiful biking and walking trail near his home that he, his wife, and his son enjoy using when they aren’t playing baseball. These normal family activities, however, are relatively new experiences for Bruce. Before receiving an islet cell transplant in January of 2002, Bruce recalls going on a 20 minute drive in his car and having his blood sugar level plummet from 799 down to 35. “It was weird how much it would fluctuate,” he says.

Bruce was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of five. It was a disease he inherited from his father. In addition to experiencing loss of awareness from hypoglycemia, Bruce has also suffered kidney problems and damage to his eyes. He eventually underwent laser treatment to help his eyes.

Bruce’s father had seen a television news report on WCCO-TV in Minneapolis about the islet cell transplant clinical trials which were starting at the University of Minnesota. Bruce, who lives in western Wisconsin, qualified. He was on the list for one year before undergoing the transplant surgery. Within six weeks, Bruce achieved insulin independence. “My life is really different now. After 30 years of insulin shots, it’s hard to get used to not having to do them. I no longer have to carry extra sugar with me when I travel. I used to have to do that just in case my blood sugar got too low.”

The end to Bruce’s hypoglycemic episodes also meant that his wife could relax about leaving Bruce with their five-year-old son. She used to worry that Bruce would experience hypoglycemia unawareness when he was with his son. Bruce says, “Now I can do whatever I want to do in my life.”

He added that, to him, the transplant surgery is well worth the risks. Although he now takes two anti-rejection medications, he says he hasn’t experienced any severe side effects outside of an initial rash and occasional mouth sores.

“Dr. Hering and his whole staff are by far the most excellent group of people I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. Anytime I had any troubles at all, if I paged Dr. Hering, he always called me back in less than five minutes. I’d never heard of a doctor responding that fast. He’s really dedicated to helping patients.”