• Tell about 4 male doctors and biting the nurse ha-ha!
• Tell story about blunt end needle, neighbor had to pick up kids
• Tell about how Mom came in from home to help in kindergarten
• Tell about the skeleton in the closet where I took my shot(s)

*Had somewhat of a control on my diabetes…loving life as a little kid does

• Many dreams…
• Great imagination…
• Little daredevil, spunk, risky, thought I could do anything
• Loved farm life—hay mows, heavy buckets, roughness/toughness, haying
• Bike rides, snow forts, sliding on ice on way to bus, getting cows
• Riding calves in lower barn, fighting with brothers, feeding calves/cows
• Wanted to be a teacher, talked to the cows and calves up in manger (front)
• dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, geese, guinea hens, livestock
• Flew kites, curious, loved to explore…
• Frequent walks to the woods or on the hill…spend time singing made-up songs, eating apples from trees, until something spooked me and I ran like hell all the way back to the house.

*Traumatic Brain Injury—July 1994, 11years old from head hitting road

• Gymnast
• Wanted to see what it was like to jump off back of truck
• Transferring from Catholic school to public schools, scared to get teased
• Dog ran away, Busia (Grandma) died, friends were pushy, couldn’t handle it at 11
• Planned to do it because never knew anyone that did
• Truck was slowing, but I wanted off…looked at sky and asked God to save me…jumped on to right side…blah blah blah…
• Road was cushion, but then nothing
• Dad gave puffs of air
• Spirit helicopter 9-minute flight, lost me 9 times
• Remember going in/out of consciousness
• St. Joseph’s in Marshfield, drilled hole for shunt to relieve pressure
• Benefit
• Paralysis, mute
• First talked again on September 17th…mom’s birthday
• Therapy 3 times daily—PT, OT, and Speech
• Got out on October 27th provided someone was with me at all times

*Home and High School

• Nurse for home health came to spend day with me, parents had to work
• Teachers came out to see where I was, back into school, i was a literal genius before; entered right back into 6th grade
• Went back to meet kids before Christmas, entered back January 1995
• Aide, wheelchair, IEP
• Friends pushed, those that weren’t afraid of me
• Walked again Easter 1995—9 months in wheelchair
• Spelling Bee-runner up, went to State competition
• 7th grade—aide, 8th—no aide
• Football coach, asked if I could warm-up/be part of team, to learn how to run, he said no
• High school—i laughed a lot, serious--homework; kids stole kudos from locker
• Laughed because NO ONE knew my potential
• Driver’s license 9/9/99 ’87 Buick Century
• 10/28/99—first accident, ditch due to blephero-spasm
• October 1999—wrote some poems for extra credit!  Further than I thought
• Graduated May 17th of 2001
• I applied for college on my own and took the initiative to get here

*College and Diabetes

• Had to prove I was good—3.4 GPA 1st semester; own decision
• Got drunk 1st time ever—12/14/01
• Partying more of a hassle with diabetes, had too problems anyway!
• 6/19/03—early morning, totaled Ford Tempo due to diabetes
• 5/8/04—early evening, flipped car due to diabetes, long day
• MANY reactions during school, 4th year, pursued Islet Cell transplant
• Experimental treatment for Type 1 diabetes, anything would help
• Curiosity ended soon when success rate fell
• Endocrinologist suggested a pancreas transplant…I was speechless!
• June 2005, got it together enough to sign-up
• September 05—initial testing
• October 5, 2005—put onto list
• January 29, 2006—1st call; hole in the pancreas
• February 12, 2006—2nd call; pancreas was swollen
• February 15—3rd call; told me to wait until morning
• February 16—totally changed my life!

*Pancreas Transplant—February 2006, 22 years old

Pancreas came from 13 year old cadaver

• 5 or 6 hour surgery
• PAIN!! Grandma!!  Deceased since 8/16/05, but her spirit came to check on me, she was crying..
• Leak from pancreas, pregnant—2nd surgery
• PAIN!! Grandma!!  Very worried about me!
• Abscess—3rd surgery
• Pain/fatigue! Grandma!!  I answered her confusion
• Lay around for a couple months, Friends had Benefit!!  May 5, 2006
• EBV %s—causes Mono
• Developed into PTLD, type of cancer—Stage 3
• Rituxan—4 treatments, last September 12, 2006
• Found out November 22, 2006—Remission!
• July 31, 2007--High enzyme levels
• August 23, 2007--Found out Stage 4 Rejection!  Treated with Solu-medrol
• Hospitalized for high glucose levels; needed insulin

*College since…

• Dreams about Grandma!!
• Hockey and bars; couldn’t relax and research—cancer weighed me down/good thing most of my classes didn’t require a lot of research.
• Earned a “D” in one class [research] but was given a “C”
• Graduated in December 2007, GPA 3.1
• Summer—co-op/internship--Mertens Services in Stanley, WI
• Major General Business Administration, concentration Service Management
• 2 Grad Parties--1) Menomonie--> whole Hockey team plus about 20-25 others!  2) Maple Hill--> 150-200 friends/relatives!! ;)

*After Graduation

• Stayed in Menomonie until May 2008
• Work on autobiography-kind of...needed relaxation more than anything!
• Sell CDs
• Motivational speaking
• Played Tetris
• watched TV
• Was on Facebook A LOT!  ha..

*What is it like to live with all my problems {disabilities}?

• What is it like for anyone who doesn’t have problems?  First I don’t consider my problems to be disabilities.  I don’t have a problem with it, basically because I needed to change myself.  I did it to myself and now I “suffer” with the consequences.  I live life very happily and to the fullest, because I know that I might not have been here.  I get asked a lot…How do you do it?  I have a lot of faith and I believe without some kind of relationship with the Big Guy, I don’t have anything.  My motto in life is: Be Happy…you only live once.

*Family

• The best part of my life…without them, I wouldn’t be standing here today, they’ve taught and re-taught ME things so I can lead a normal life.  I have had ups and downs all my life, but thanks to ‘my family’ I have accomplished much more than many thought possible!  Family members are and will always be there, that is why I treasure each and every one of my relatives.  They’ve supported my decisions all through college and were amazed at how well I performed in my classes.  They drove me around these last few years that I haven’t been driving.  Due to my 3rd car-totaling experience, I had scared myself too, besides my folks.  I didn’t want to see others get hurt if they lost me, so I gave up driving…with my mom and dad’s recommendation.  After the transplant though and on my very FIRST day without insulin, I drove all over the place…to and from Thorp, to my brother’s to clean and do dishes, spent night there, vacuumed, and cleaned some more, cooked supper, drove to Withee, and then home in the dark. 
  Now the only problem I have is my blephero-spasm.  They [MY FAMILY] continue to help me though!!

*How do people treat me?

• Well…if I talk enough and move a lot, they think I’m crazy.
• Some think I’m slow but they don’t know me…stereotypical
• Normal…what is normal?  I’m comfortable with everyone’s attitudes towards me, so I think I get normal treatment. 
• Most respect me
• I respect them if they return the respect.
• If anyone treats me oddly, I try to keep my distance
• Like everyone else but they seem to sometimes be interested in my stories
• I guess I intrigue different people
• They like me because I am pretty smart; I give pretty good advice [funny]
• Laugh at things I do because of my shaking; I laugh too
• I think my “disability” is kind of a joke; so people tend to agree that I’m funny.
• Elementary/middle/high school—I got pretty much walked on because I was scared of what others would think.  I knew others in college would have similar situations, so I just kept going even though many thought I had nowhere to go.  I had very good friends ask/tell me what I was doing after high school.  “Cassandra, where are you going?  Nowhere!”  I told them that I was heading to college—4 years.  They rolled their eyes after I said it, “And then what?”  Does anyone have a clue what they’re doing after college before they even go?  So I came and have showed THEM that I was NOT kidding!
• HAD A Huge graduation party—400 guests!  I cleaned the ditches and the yard beginning that spring.  I mowed the lawn extra well, cleaned the garage, we cleaned the house, worked extra hard in the barn to get ready for my party.
• Wanted to be 18 when I had it.
• Huge storm on my birthday, so we had to clean up the yard again.
• Party was June 16, 2001
• When friends found out I was going to college, disbelief or Good For You in a voice with the expression, “Yeah right.”  Others though had plenty of faith in me and still do.
• I changed how many people thought of me with my 3.4

Sadness Overflows & My Time

• Haven't signed contract yet for Sadness Overflows
• Read poem-My Time, tell story behind it
• Play song
• October 99--I wrote a poem for extra credit about my accident in 94--it was called My Time

I was super-excited to have written a poem that meant so much to me and the people closest to me!

December 04--I sent it to the US Library of Congress to get it copyrighted

I was excited but nervous

May 05--Amerecord Recording Company wanted to turn my poem into lyrics

Amerecord, out of Hollywood, contacted me to record and produce my poem as a song! I wasn’t so excited about paying the initial amount to have it done.

August 05--Amerecord sends coupon for $40

I decided they really wanted my "song" so I agreed even though the amount I had to pay was still high. If you want something, you must pay something to get it. I was def excited but very nervous because this was a HUGE risk! if it didn’t work, I'd know not to do it again!

March 06--1st CD arrived at my house!

It was GREAT but they screwed up and added the word "not" which totally changed the meaning, so I was very excited but kind of upset.

November 06--2nd CD arrives! With background music as an apology.

Loved it, but they never corrected it. Kind of upset.

January 07--3rd CD arrives!! I will be receiving Royalties.

Very excited to be able to start taking orders from everyone! Because it was their mistake, they re-recorded the song for me twice. And I will be getting royalties from each CD! I'm kind of excited but the excitement has dwindled due to the extra waiting. But if you can buy one, that would be great because I want my song heard throughout the country and world!

Remember...the sooner you order, the sooner I can get it to you!!

TRANSPLANT UPDATE

   As some of the Stout community’s residents know, Cassy Bourget, 22, has dealt with the effects of diabetes ever since before she was 5 years old. And after sustaining a traumatic brain injury at age 11, Bourget has had her share of grief, dealing with a disability also. However, the unimaginable took place on February 16, 2006. Bourget received a phone call from a surgeon at Rochester Methodist Hospital (part of Mayo Clinic), saying they had another pancreas for her. This was the third call received by Bourget [the first two calls were false alarms]. The pancreas began working immediately after insertion. But on February 20, the surgeons needed to re-open Bourget to soak up some blood clotting. Bourget looked as though she were pregnant before the second surgery. There was a leak where the pancreas hadn’t sealed and was slowly leaking.
   Although Bourget wasn’t feeling up to par, she was released from the hospital on March 3. Spending her days in excruciating pain and sleeping, Bourget figured if there was “no pain” there’d be “no gain.” On March 12 Bourget was attending Mass at a local catholic church in Rochester, where amid participating, she passed out without warning. A cardiologist and a nurse were right there to take care of the little mishap. After spending the whole day in the emergency room, nothing could be found wrong with Bourget. So Cassy was sent back to her temporary home, the Gift of Life Transplant House.
When Stout was on Spring Break, Cassy was readmitted into the hospital on March 14 with a slight fever. A CT scan was ordered and immediately after receiving the results, the young lady was taken back into the operating room to be opened for a third time to have an abscess [buildup of puss] removed. It was lying in Bourget’s lower belly. Drains were inserted to remove the excess liquid from the pockets by the abscess. On March 25, the upper drain was taken out, which made Cassy feel a lot better. She was in a little discomfort at first, because the initial few minutes after having the drain removed provided a burning sensation. On March 26 Bourget was released, feeling rather well. Her stomach incision is healing quickly, and she hopes to be home for Easter.
   The morning of the day she was released, the surgeon said if everything works out perfectly, it may be possible to go home later in the week.

   The second drain finally fell out on May 15, 2006.  And I was dismissed from the confinements of the Rochester area on May 18, 2006.  That was very ironic because after my accident in 1994, I was in the hospital for 3 months and 2 days...just like I was in the Rochester area for 3 months and 2 days!!

CANCER

   So right…I got this EBV [Epstein Barr Virus] from my new pancreas [the donor]. 95% of us have the virus, but again I was rare or abnormal…ha-ha! I was among the 5% of us that do not have it. It is so common of a virus that they never checked the donor pancreas for it. My mom told the doctors even though it’s too late for us, they should begin checking all donors and recipients to see if they are EBV+ or EBV-. And I of course agreed. The doctors also agreed, so hopefully in the future this won’t reoccur. EBV causes Mononucleosis or Mono [the kissing disease]. However, since my immune system is so suppressed, it couldn’t fight the Mono off. I never got Mono though. It had developed 5 enlarged lymph nodes instead. They found one under each arm, one by each groin, and one by my bladder. They found them from the CT scan that they had taken a day earlier. Then they did a biopsy of the most superficial [the largest] one under my left arm.
   The doctor called me on Monday morning August 21, 2006, as we were on our way down to Rochester to see my kidney/pancreas team doctors. He told me that from the biopsy they had taken that they found PTLD [Post Transplant Lympho-proliferative Disorder]. It is where the bad cells [lymph] reproduce too quickly [proliferating]. Lymphoma is another word for Cancer, as I’m sure you know…but maybe not. Ha-ha! You know I can’t be too serious for very long, but that’s actually a really good thing because my sense of humor has gotten me through a  lot!  My doctor told me that we [meaning my parents, but basically him and I] have three options: 1) Reduce immunosuppressive drugs [take away Cellcept—covers immune system, reduce Prograff—protects the transplanted organ, and increase the Prednisone—steroids to help fight off infections], 2) a treatment called Rituxan—an intravenous [IV] medicine that goes directly after the bad cells, or 3) Chemotherapy—injections or intravenously given that go after all of the rapidly producing cells [reason why some people lose their hair]. But the doctor didn’t recommend Chemo for me because of my age, strength, ability, and where I’m at with my life. Chemo makes a person drowsy also, and with the transplant and proceeding operations I needed, he said that chemo wouldn't be a very good choice. With Rituxan there are no side effects, except during the treatments. There are four treatments once a week. He recommended this and the first option.
   It sounded pretty good to me too with an 80% chance of it working. However with the Prograff reduced so much, there is a 50% chance that I’ll keep my pancreas without it rejecting. But even if I do lose the pancreas, they told me that I can get another and the lymphoma will not be as susceptible to come back. I’m very optimistic that if I’m able to get past this, I should be getting to the end of my problems. I feel Cancer is about the worst it can get, so when I beat it…hopefully my life will turn around. Even if I so-called lose the battle, I still won because I’ve inspired a great deal of people!

• November 22, 2006  COMPLETE REMISSION
• Eight months of freedom!!
• August 23, 2007  REJECTION EPISODE
• December 31, 2007  TYPE 1 Diabetes Mellitus AGAIN--Pancreas quit

Are there any questions?