Sue York, a 55-year-old Briton, has type 1 diabetes since she was 7 years old. Since her childhood, she struggles against her fear of needles to make her daily insulin injections. But in 2012, the evolution of the British regulations concerning his disease (obligation to give an injection before each trip by car, then every two hours) transformed his fear into a real phobia: the increase in injections caused nausea, vomiting and panic attacks at the sight of a needle. Forced to continue the injections to stay alive, Sue York bien tried hypnotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy in an attempt to cure her phobia, but nothing helped.
Becoming weaker and weaker, until she was no longer able to climb a staircase without stopping several times to catch her breath, she resolved, two years ago, to join a list of waiting for a pancreas transplant. After several discussions with the panel of doctors to discuss her eligibility, her application was ultimately successful, although she did not suffer from kidney complications, the usual reason for a pancreas transplant. Experts felt that his strong phobia required a quick operation.
In an interview with the BBC, Sue York says that this transplant, the first to be performed because of “phobia of needles”, has completely changed her life. She not only regained sensations in her feet and regained some of her sight, but doctors estimate that she has also doubled her life expectancy.
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