Could Type 1 Diabetes Have a Functional Cure? Katie Beth Hand Explains

0:00Welcome to the Lisa Fisher said podcast. I'm Lisa Fisher, a long time broadcaster and journalist and health coach and Arkansas, who's been in front of a microphone or a camera since the 1980s. I think of myself as the queen of Arkansas media. I started this podcast in 2020 to help you live a better life. In fact, I hope this podcast is the best time investment for your week. For this episode, I have a type one diabetic, well, correction, former type one diabetic, who's reversed her condition with a drug trial and she's making history. She's in Arkansas, Katie Beth hand and you'll get to meet her right after this. I've got a hack for you for something that is on your mind every day. What are we going to eat and where are we going to get the food from? David's premium beef is available to just about any listener I have. It used to be just for our Kansas. Now, I think the 48 contiguous states for sure can take advantage of this. You can buy the beef from them and they have a great reputation.

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3:12of the other properties there in Scott. So we eat at Scott station often and they have live music pretty much every Friday night, but you know, always check Facebook to make sure they have something that night. But you'll love these people. See why I do Moralsgate dot com. She won most talkative in high school and she has been running her mouth ever since. Welcome to the Lisa Fisher said podcast with your host Lisa Fisher. Okay, you're kind of famous Katie Beth. You're for one thing you're the the cousin of the governor of Arkansas. That's one thing. But you're famous because you're in this Eladon trial and you are in the history books. You've reversed your type one diabetes. I mean, let me just do the slow clap. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you very much. Yeah. How old were you when you got diagnosed with diabetes? I was actually 26 years old. I was diagnosed as an adult. Type one diabetes used to be called juvenile diabetes. Yes. Type one diabetes is

4:15actually becoming a lot more common being. That's crazy. Magnus, of course. Being diagnosed in adults. Most people think it's just in kids. But I was actually diagnosed at 21 was originally for a couple of days misdiagnosed as type two because I was older and we have a family history of type two. And then in the emergency room in decay. Yeah. Okay. So that means your glucose was at 6, 7, 800 or something and sign. Yes. So for people listening, yeah, we want your glucose. Those of us in the health space wanted between 80 and 120. I know I'm reaching for the sky on that because people go, I can't do that. But to keep your health between the white lines, the between the rails, we'd like to do that. So when someone comes in with the thirst and the losing weight and paying all the time, weren't those enough symptoms right there for them to think you were type one? Well, and tons of exhaustion, but you know, either way, you know, those could be symptoms for type two as well. Oh, we can. Okay. Figure in general. And we have a family history of type two. We have

5:21no family history of autoimmune diseases. And I was 26. So they put the pieces together and they were like, we think you're probably type two. They put me on this oral type two medication, which encourages your body to make more insulin. But I have the autoimmune type. So that didn't work. Your pain for your skin does not make insulin. Correct. Yeah. I have all of my original my isolate cells, my beta cells that create that insulin. That's what my autoimmune disease cold off, which is what put me into the type one diabetes category. Okay. And I've said this before, the type one needs a new PR, somebody to help them with PR because it is not type two. And to even group you with a type two is almost offensive to me because there's nothing in your lifestyle that contributed to this. There was nothing you did, whereas no one wants to admit it. Type two's brought it on themselves. Okay. And there's, yeah, and there's a genetic component with type two as well. Like if you have two parents that both have type two, then there's like a 90% chance you'll

6:21get it. So it's both. But the hard part is I try to tell people type one and type two. It's like having leukemia versus breast cancer. Like there's both forms of cancer. They're what it's same. But it's two very different things, very different causes. And so yeah, it's confusing. And most people think when you hear the word diabetes, they think type two because that's what 90% of the cases are. And so you have to kind of go back and correct a lot of that information about it. And then actually the type ones now, so did you have a virus, do you think that spawn this? They really don't know exactly. There are theories on what caused it. I don't remember like an illness or sometimes people say it's like a traumatic event that can trigger it. There's a genetic component they believe. And there's an environmental component, but they have yet to figure out what those two things are. Unfortunately for me, I ended up having both and and have type one. But yeah, there's there's multiple factors that kind of play into triggering that initial autoimmune

7:25response. And they still haven't really figured out exactly what that is or how to prevent it. So what year was this Katy Beth that you were diagnosed? 2013. In fact, I was diagnosed on March 3rd. No, March 13th, 2013, 313, 13. I should have known better than to go to the doctor than Lisa. So had you lost the weight and did you have the breath that smelled funny or do you don't know? I did. My symptoms came on over. It wasn't over the the course. Sometimes type one sets in over the course of a couple of days. Mine set in slow enough that it wasn't like I woke up one day and was sick. I exercised a ton, which that also helped bring my glucose back into range. So that extended time as well. Yeah, I exercised a ton. So it all my factors made sense in my head. Of course, I'm thirsty because I'm exercising. Of course, the peel off because of thirsty. And your time. And I made it all made sense. It wasn't until I got sick to the point that I felt like

8:26I had the flu that I actually went and saw a doctor because you were an adult. You were on your own. Yeah, I was 26. I lived with myself. I was single. I was not married yet. No kids. And so I was traveling the world. I was working as a travel agent. I had just gotten back from a 10 day trip to Israel. So part of me thought it was jet lag. I had a great. You could have gotten a virus then someplace. Don't you think? Yeah, I mean, certainly, certainly, maybe. And I had lost, I think it was before. I had lost weight even before then. I was traveling a ton. But it's set in slow enough that I just kind of adjusted my life around. You go to the bathroom right before you leave anywhere and right when you get to the new place and you carry two cups of water with you. And I just slowly kind of adjusted my life around all of the symptoms until the point that I got so sick I couldn't. Okay, if we said 80 to 120 is our optimal range, what was yours when you got diagnosed when you walked in? Oh, when I got diagnosed, my when I checked into the hospital,

9:31my A1C was 13.9. Yeah, so not good. Not good. They they really want you to be I think 5.6 is the A1C. Anything under that is considered non diabetic. So more than double that is what I had, which tells you, you know, your A1C is over the course of three months. And so that tells you not only was not blood sugar super high, but it had been consistently super high for weeks leading up to diagnosis. And what people need to understand untreated type 1 diabetes is what gives you amputation, neuropathy, cardiovascular disease, maybe dementia. I mean, so it's important. If anyone listening hears this, it's very fatal. You know, type 1 diabetes diabetes in any form without good treatment, letting that A1C, letting those those blood sugars run high can lead to a lot of bad complications. Type 1 diabetes is fully insulin dependent. Your body does not make any. And so if you do if you have some of those symptoms out there, it's such a simple easy quick test. And

10:32they can test and see is it type 1? Is it type 2? All of that has advanced a ton even from back in 2013 when I was diagnosed. They're not as much mystery or guessing around it. But if if it is type 1, it's fatal. You know, I was in diabetic ketoacidosis, which is like the worst thing that can happen. It can be fatal. And so it's really important if you're having any of those symptoms to just go get it checked out. Yeah, easy test. All right, pancreas, the pancreas is entered the chat. And let's explain the pancreas's role in your compromised health with type 1 diabetes. And me who doesn't have type 1 diabetes. My pancreas, so in a good day, my pancreas feels that a sense is that food is entered. I'm eating right. And it pushes out insulin to usher glucose to the sales. Yeah, yeah. So it's both. So your pancreas does, it has a bunch of cool features on it. But

11:34relating to diabetes, you have that's where your eyelid cells live. And so those eyelid cells do a bunch of cool things. They most importantly make your insulin. So that's what keeps you from having type 1 diabetes. They also make your glucose as well. And so your body, oh, I see. type 1 diabetes really keeps you in check all the time. So like, if you went out and went jogging, your body would dump some glucose into your bloodstreams to still keep you in that 80 to 120 range. All right, just like if you went and ate a whole pizza, your body's going to dump an insulin. And so there's also like multiple other hormones that your pancreas creates as well. And so pancreas is super, super important. Pancreas is also such a super delicate organ. And so autoimmune disease, when you have type 1 diabetes, that's what gets killed off. It's those eyelid cells. So I was not only no longer making my insulin type 1 diabetes have to take external insulin through a bronch or injections every day. So I wasn't making insulin, but then I also didn't have functioning

12:38beta cells that beta cells or alpha cells, which create your glucon. So that's why in type 1 diabetes, you see those crazy highs. And you also deal with those crazy low blood sugars because without functioning, I let cells, your body doesn't manage either of those things. And did you get a pump immediately and a CGM or what was what were things like in 2013? A lot's changed. Back, a lot's changed for the better. Back in 2013, it was just a few weeks after diagnosis. I didn't get a pump. I was on multiple daily injections. So I took two forms of insulin. Yeah. One form, a rapid acting that I would take every time I eat. And then at bedtime, I also took a long acting insulin as well. Because your body, if you have working, eyelid cells, your body puts out the slow dose of insulin all the time. So you have to try to replicate that. So I was doing multiple daily injections. But a few weeks out, I got my first CGM, continuous glucose monitor, which would monitor how to little thing that I carried and a special case that I wore. It's so much cooler now,

13:42you can do it all from your phone. But I had that that I put on. And so it would read my blood sugar every few minutes and and send that information to the transmitter. The alternative before CGMs was poking your finger constantly. And so the danger with that is with type 1, you can have very quick hot your blood sugar. You can go up really, really quickly and it can also go low really, really quickly. Is that right? Yeah. And so high blood sugar, that's what causes those, you know, kidney issues and blindness and invitations and all of that bad stuff. Over time, that's what high blood sugar causes. Low blood sugars are deadly immediately. And so if your blood sugar gets low enough, it will put you into a coma. Deadly? Yes. Yeah. And it can kill you. The term that diabetes community is dead in bed syndrome. A lot of times if you have a low blood sugar at night, you're asleep, you don't realize you're low and you just don't wake up. And so type 1 really is a such a dangerous fatal disease. And you're managing it with insulin, which is can can really calls very

14:47quickly a simple miscalculation, can cause you to go low and it can actually kill you very quickly. Within a matter of minutes, yeah. And you see why parents are worried sick every night with children who have this. Now we have made a lot progress in the fact that people can be alerted. And I know moms that have their kids readings on their phone, you know, that because it takes a village. Now let's talk about 2026. You get the news that there is a pharmaceutical company. I assume Eladon is I would assume a pharmaceutical company. And as uttered these words, we think we have a cure. What did you think when you first heard that? Yeah. So I had actually gone down the rabbit hole of looking at clinical trials because I was struggling so hard with low blood sugar and highs and and fear. Even though you did everything right. Even though and that's the frustrating thing about that. When you can do everything right and it still goes wrong. And the

15:48calculation that I used yesterday that kept my blood sugar in perfect range doesn't work the same. Today. Right. Four months. Four months affects everything. The amount of exercise that you get, the amount of water you drink. It's such a volatile disease. And so and it and it takes so much mental energy to manage it even with great technology. So I had gone down this rabbit hole and I had found a couple of clinical trials online through University of Chicago. And so I ended up applying in like early 2025, early early, like probably January if not before. And went through like a series of phone calls and had to fill out all this information just kind of testing the waters to see if I qualified and was a good fit. Then I ended up going to University of Chicago for the first time last May. So about a year ago, I went and spent five days there doing like the most rigorous testing you've ever been through in your entire life. How many people do you think they brought in for that? You know, I don't know. I know that of all of the people that had applied. I was nine of the

16:53original 12 that they ended up actually picking. But they picked people based on obviously who applied and then obviously like there's very specific medical criteria. So my A1C had to be in a certain range. I had to have certain things. There were certain issues that I couldn't have to participate. So then I came in. They did all the scans and stuff and all of that had to come back before I technically even qualified for the trial, which I did last summer. And in January 2026, is when I actually had my eyelet cell transplant. Okay. So you brought the eyelet cells RIP on Katie Yeah. And then you're like, Hey, pancreas, guess what? I got your new girlfriend. Yes. So the craziest part about eyelet cell transplantation, well, there's a lot of crazy things. But the craziest part about this is and you won't believe me when I say this, they actually don't put when you get an eyelet cell transplant, they don't put them back into your pancreas. Your pancreate at crazy science. So your pancreas is so delicate. Instead of putting eyelets cells back into your

17:56pancreas, they actually put my eyelet cells into my liver. That is where for all of the Elidon patients, wait, what? I know it sounds fake. It's like the needle mist and they go, oops, we didn't live when it worked. The crazy part is anytime I talk about this online and I'm like and they put them into my liver. People like keyboard warriors jump on and they're like, I see human pancreas. And I'm like, no, the crazy part is there's actually a portal vein. So they did like a teeny tiny infusion out of the way the whole time. They did like a teeny tiny they snaked a little tube into my liver and then dropped all of these donor eyelets cells into my liver. Are they cadaver cells? They are. So they're a cat of their palate. So it's from a deceased organ donor. So a family made the decision to donate more. The gift of life. I mean, gift of life. And absolutely. So they dropped them into your liver and then the craziest part is your liver is unlike the pancreas. It's so good. It's got great blood flow and it regenerates and all

18:59the stuff. So my liver actually, there's this is not the medical term, but it like adopted those eyelet cells. Yeah. So they live in my liver. They establish blood supply supply there. And it took several weeks for that to really happen. And then I mean, they started functioning immediately. And so my eyelet cells live in function from my liver just like yours live in function from your pancreas. And that's what took me from having diabetes to not having diabetes. Any more is now I have these donor eyelet cells. And that they've been able to do for a while. The piece that has made the Elantra also exciting is that traditionally it's not a good trade-off to do an eyelet transplant because you have to be on really harsh immunosuppressant drugs. And over the course of time, those drugs actually, ironically, along with the whole host of other issues, they become toxic to your eyelets. So you know when you get an eyelet cell transplant, it's probably not going to last you your whole life. There's a timeline on that. And so the exciting

20:02part about the Elantra is it's really addressing that piece of the puzzle is, is there a better medication that we can give her that keeps everything from getting toxic that still protects those eyelet cells that doesn't make her sick? I told you before the podcast started, we've got four kids. So I knew I'm coming into this. I can't do that. Oh my gosh. Every cold that comes through is going to take me out, right? And so that was a huge piece of this was figuring out what does that? How can you do an immunomodulator that doesn't make her overall sick and cause a lot of these yucky side effects, both in lab work and in life? And so that's why the Elantra also exciting this trial medication, Tiger Proof art. That's been that missing piece and that's what they're testing and all the LED on patients. So all 12 of us have had eyelet transplants. All 12 of us came off insulin super quickly. I think our average A1C is like 5.2 or 5.3. And we're all we're thriving. We are

21:04finally living a life without type 1 diabetes. So it's created this functional cure without the trade off of having to be on harsh immunosuppressants or having to have a full pancreas kidney transplant which is the alternative. Well, that's why I've wondered could we have not have invited a new pancreas and to. Yes. So you're right. And for sure. And so that's kind of one of the things. So overtime type 1 can cause kidney issues, unfortunately. And so a lot of people, if they get to that point where they need a kidney transplant, they will do a kidney and pancreas transplant because these are going to go on immunosuppressants anyway and have to have major surgery anyway. Let's go ahead and do both from the same donor. And then at least you don't have type 1 anymore. Right. So like that part of functional cure has existed. But a kidney pancreas transplant, like that's a huge deal. Thankful for it. So many lives have been saved because of it. But that's not a trade off that your average person living with type 1 is going to be willing to make.

22:07And so figuring out this role of eyelet transplantation and figuring out how to reduce the tradeoffs. So it's something the general public would do. That's one of the things that Elidon trials working on. Is there cost to you at all for this trial? There is. So the trial, there's there's fully funded trials. And then there's partially funded trials. This is actually a partially funded trial. So the trial does absolutely make it where we are family can do it because they cover the trial medication, all of my testing and stuff that I have done at University of Chicago, the trial covers. And then I also get a partial partial reimbursement up to a certain amount for like my flight. And if I have to stay overnight from my hotel and my Uber and things like that. So I'm not out of pocket $1,000 every 21 days when I fly to Chicago for lab work. You go that often every three weeks. And yes, so I am that's the deal about being a clinical trial. They are coming. They owe you.

23:07They watch me super closely, which is fine. I love the staff that's there from Literalock. It's a direct flight. So I'm like to Chicago and I'm like United. Who does it? I do. There's you I didn't American both have one. I bet they know you now. They do. Yeah, I know like the clue when I walk out. They're like super consistently. But I do it all in a day, typically. So I will fly. Yeah, I fly out of the Literalock Airport. I'll fly out like 720 in the morning. And then I go it's like an hour and 20 minute flight. I go to hospital. I do my Tego infusion. It's an IV of the trial medication. I do that. And they do all my blood work for lab. And then I go back to the airport and take a flat home. And I'm back in Literalock for dinner with my family. Yeah. Now are you wearing a mask when you go places because you're compromised at all? Yeah, I'm not. So that's one of the cool parts of this is I don't have to worry about like every sneeze or cough, you know, being the thing that that takes me out. Which is good

24:08because we have four kids and they're in four different schools and they bring them everything oh my god. Right. So yes, so I don't I don't ever really wear a mask or you know anything like that. And I've been exposed to lots of things via the kids and have only gotten a couple of things and have recovered nicely from those. So, um, so yeah, I don't, um, I haven't had to have this massive post transplant lifestyle change where I kind of live in a couple. I still just get to live my regular life. But the thing about type one diabetes that people don't understand that you do is compromised like I have Hashimoto's it didn't compromise my health. It's just annoying, you know, my hair falls out, uh, uh, my skin's dry and I'm constipated. But my health isn't compromised. You birthed four humans it sounds like. Did you did you birth them? There are mix of birth and adopted. Okay, because it's very and I'm not getting into your life, but I'm just saying it's very difficult on a woman's body with type one diabetes. I mean,

25:09we've all seen steel magnolias. Yeah. Yeah. So still magnolias is one of those movies that makes me cringe because the the science and the support for pregnant woman is completely different now. I was born in 1986 and I think that movie was made in like 1989. Yeah. So back then kind of the thought process was if you have type one as a woman, you do not need to have children. You do do you can't you shouldn't you can't. Um, these days that was known at all my experience. I have a fantastic OB team here in Liderock and so but your high risk, right? I'm still considered high because of the type one. Yeah. But the conversation around, hey, you know, I'm married now, I'm getting ready to have children. That conversation was so different than the Shelby conversation. Yeah. My doctor was very much like great. Let's try to get a one C under this range. These are the supplements you need to take going into it. Here are extra things we're going to watch for. These are the extra tests that we're going to do. And so the knowledge and the science really

26:12allows women to have the children that they want. And for the most part, I mean, things always happen. But for the most part, really have kind of the pregnancy and birth experience that they want to. And so I'm very grateful that the team that I have, they're super knowledgeable. I'm usually the one that would come in and be like, I saw this video on the internet and I went down the road. And I'm very panic to now. And my doctor would be the one that's like, that's not going to happen because we're monitoring for all that. So type one does come with extra risk, especially for women, you know, during pregnancy. But it's something that that just like everything else, you know, type one, a diagnosis is really difficult and it changes your life. But it doesn't have to limit your life. You can still do all of the things that you wanted to before. It's a big deal. So when I, if let's say I'm nibbling on a little sugar and I go and have my lab work done, now my fasting insulin's low because I'm a long time, I do long fasting and some other things.

27:15But my A1C will creep up based on what my diet was like for the last three months. You were saying that your OB was saying, no, we really need to keep your A1C at this level. Well, it's not like you're nibbling on sugar because you're not. So what causes your A1C to jack up? It's the same as everybody else. You know, eating extra sugar or carbohydrates. The carbs turn into sugar. Yeah. So, you know, there are a lot of type ones that choose to do a lower carb lifestyle. Yeah. For me, it was kind of when I had type one, I kind of did a lower carb lifestyle, I also exercised a ton. So I kept on my glucose and range with the additional exercise as well, walking after meals, things like that. Yes. And but I definitely was not that person that ever said, oh, I can't have that because I have diabetes. Like, if it was something that I wanted to eat, I would calculate for it. I would dose my insulin for it. And then I would hope for the best.

28:19And sometimes I would go high and sometimes I would go low. But yeah, it's the mental part of type one is grubbling because you cannot do anything in your life without planning for it. And there's no rest. There's no rest. Not even when you're sleeping. There's no rest. Why? Earlier you mentioned, you know, parents and you know some, they're like all their kids, CGMs. You know, my husband had had my CGM on his phone for years because I would go low in the night and he's a firefighter in Litter-Ock. So he would be the firefighter. And so alerts are going off. And so it is a disease that is relentless. It is 24 seven. You're not exercise without planning for it. You cannot leave the house without planning for it. You certainly can't go in a vacation without planning for it. And there's no day off. Like there's not a moment. You're like, I'm not going to do this today. You literally do it. I heard someone recently described it as type one diabetes with

29:21the disease. You are dying every day and you have to come through and manually keep yourself alive. That's for us managing it. And it's really difficult for parents, the constant strain and pressure for parents trying to manage their children with it while giving their kids a normal life. Yeah, normal life. I can't even imagine. And as a parent, I really empathize and have a big heart for those moms and dads caretakers who have first taken care of them. Okay, so on this day, we're recording this in July of 2026. If someone said, hey, Katie, Beth, do you have any autoimmune conditions? Is your answer no? Yeah. So my answer would be no. So the piece of the puzzle that I always try to tell people, and it's weird. Like I'm one of these weird. There's so few of us out there because I'll have people that will say, oh, do you have type one diabetes? Like my kids will still spot people in public like a CGM or insulin pump. I'll be like, oh, look, a dex bomb. And then that person is naturally like, oh, do you have diabetes? And I'm still trying to figure out how to answer

30:24that question because the answer is no, I don't, I don't have it. I don't manage it. I don't have to take insulin. I live a life without it. But at the same time, it's, that's a lot to explain to random strangers. No, I'm there. There's no elevator. You might think you're big talk about the elevator pitch. There's no elevator pitch. There's no elevator pitch for it. So, and you know, the word sure is something that it that really sparks a lot of debate in the type one community. I consider this medically. It's considered a functional cure. So I don't have diabetes, but I do still have this trauma, trauma medication that I take. But the word cure triggers a lot of people send their kids excited and so hopeful. And they're like, anything's better than this. Let's do it. And then there are other people that are like, don't say the word cure till there's no medication or don't say the word cure until I can go down the street and get the stun with self. I don't want to hear it till it's. I see. I see. All right. How long is this trial going to last

31:24for you? This trial will last at least three years for me for every three weeks to Chicago for three years. Yeah. And that part of it will probably change. They're working on a subcutaneous injection, which is just something I would do at home. And then I think I would still go in monthly and get lab work done to send out they sent it all over the country and these labs run different tests on it. So I think that part of it will change or I'll get my Tego IV at home. I don't know that I'll fly to Chicago once a month for the next three years. Maybe I don't know the list for that yet. What that looks like. But I will be part of this trial for at least the next three years. And then because there's never been a trial this groundbreaking that has gotten us to this point before. Right. Yeah. And there's been a lot of there and there are several really cool trials we're evolving around islet cell transplantation because there's two pieces of the puzzle. So this piece of the puzzle, the Eladon trial, it's addressing that immune function. There are other pieces of the puzzle that are really addressing more the scalability. How do we

32:28can we grow islets in a lab? Can we use islets from a pig and put them into a human and have them function? How so there's two sides to the coin. And there's multiple trials across the board. Eladon's just one of them that's trying to address both of those pieces. The dream is that eventually we would get to a place where we can take or manufacture some sort of islets where there's plenty for everyone and you don't have to take any sort of medication with it where it's a one time to be here and then you live your life. I think that's what the future looks like. We're not there yet. But Eladon trial is one of the big leaps forward towards that. Are you could you be an organ donor? No. I don't know the answer to that. I'm not sure. I actually, my husband had that conversation the other day. I don't know if because wouldn't have anything necessarily to do with the islets, but I'm on this trial medication. So I don't and I don't know if I would be accepted as an organ donor or not. I don't know.

33:33Do you think other people should be then because it's got new where you are? Yeah. Oh yeah. And I was on the organ. I was listed as an organ donor up until the trial. I'm taking still an amount of it when the organs are not. But yeah. The that piece is something I think about a ton that I really, really carry with me because somewhere out there is a family like. It really didn't hit me Lisa until I got the phone call in January that was like, Hey, we got the call. You've got a match. It's so they had to find a match then and every time. Wow. Wow. It'd be a blood type match and there's a couple of other things that they look for as well. So like I went on the transplant list the week of Thanksgiving in 2025. And then I didn't get the call with a match until January of 2026. So not that long. But long enough that you start to kind of be like what if I never get the call, what if this never happens? So I did realize when I

34:37got the call, I was actually my daughter was having a sleep over. I had a bunch of little girls at my house. We were out eating dinner and I got the call from Dr. Rikowski who runs the trial. And he was like, Hey, are you are you well? You're not sick? Okay. Well, we've got a match. You know, book your tickets. And that was the moment that like I was celebrating my husband's the fire station. Of course he was. I call him like boo-hooing. And then I realized like the best day of my life, the phone call I've been waiting on is like somebody else's worst day. That's right. And so there is definitely I did write a letter to my donor family. And I've turned that in and then they will get to decide once the waiting period has passed if they want to receive that or not. But I'm so thankful for everyone who donates organs. This was part of the clinical trial. So it's made my life better. Most organ donation, it's genuinely saves a life. And so I'm so thankful for people that choose that. Final question. Do you feel better? Because you felt bad when you first got diagnosed and you

35:39used medication to modulate your condition. But again, you were one bad glucose reading away from fainting or shaking or headache. Do you feel good now? Yeah. So I tell people you get really sick and you feel really bad before you get diagnosed with type 1. Literally felt like death. And then once I started insulin, I was like, oh my gosh, I feel so much better on back. And then I did that for 13 years with insulin thinking this is back. This is as good as I guess. Once I had my I let transplant and then came off insulin, it is rest to a level. I did not realize existed. It is sleeping through the night. So multiple times when I would have to get up and I would have to eat in the night or drink juice in the night. And so that doesn't happen. Like I sleep through the night. I exercise as long as I want to. I go hiking and swimming with my

36:44husband and kids as long as I want to. I'm not thinking about supplies. I'm not thinking about blood sugar. I'm not one low away from 24. So yes. And it's something that people have because I've been online talking about it. They're like, her hair is thicker and her skin is glow. And all of that grew. And part of that is because my A1C is now in range all the time. And I honestly think a part of that is because I'm not carrying that constant burden of managing this disease. So it is a rest and it is a piece that you can actually you feel it. But I think you can see that as well. Well, you're beautiful inside now. Thank you for doing this. And so exciting. I'm sure you're a social media sensation because you're one of 12 people who can say that they have whatever we're going to call. They no longer have type 1 diabetes, which is something every parent would love to hear with their own child. Yeah, for sure. And I'm very hopeful for the kid that just gets diagnosed

37:48today. It's a hard diagnosis and it's still disease. They're going to have to learn to manage. But I look at these kids with so much hope because I think by the time they hit adult age, their lives will be so much different than than mine. The technology is better. The treatments better functional cures are here. And I think the cure cure is coming because you don't know when Eladon will expand this. But I guess are you in a clinical trials goes through phases 1, 2, 3. Yeah, phases 1, 2, 3. So I'm in phase 1. Yeah, so I'm in phase 1. What can't we let's do it phase 1? It's great. It's got us all. Yeah. So phase I'm in phase 1, phase 2 is for actually for type 1 patients that also have kidney dysfunction. So that's super cool because kidney patients couldn't get an eyelet cell transplant before this because the medications too hard on their kidneys. So that's what phase 2 is. And there will be a phase 3. That would be a much larger phase and then FDA approval as well. So it's a it's a longer process. It's not

38:49open for kids. They have to prove safety and efficacy in adult. They're still, you know, we're still years out. It's not going to be available tomorrow. But it's it's coming and it's we're very, very excited and very hopeful. It's a hugely forward for our community for sure. Well, people need to follow your social media. I'll put that in the show notes. Katie with a fellow art canton, not many times I have fellow art canton on my podcast. Thanks for doing this. Great job today. Thank you so much, Lisa. Thanks for listening to the Lisa Fisher said podcasts. If you would, leave a review and follow the show. This podcast is produced by clinton creative.com.