What Didn't Kill Me Made Me Stronger: How I Found Hope While Surviving Diabetes, Vision Loss, and Organ Transplant

This inspirational memoir is the first of its kind-the story of a Type 1 Diabetic who received a kidney/pancreas transplant. After 21 years of struggling with the disease, Jim Fairbanks believed he would have to live with it for the rest of his life. The surgery changed that and his life would never be the same. Five years later, the kidney failed and a living unrelated donor miraculously appeared. Jim Fairbanks takes us on a riveting journey through exhilarating highs and devastating lows along the road from health to severe illness and back to health again. At each turn he had to adjust to extreme physical, mental, and emotional changes. The book describes the tools he used to cope and discuses issues like blindness, organ failure, transplant, spirituality, body image, hope, fear, and recovery with candor, intensity, and sometimes humor. The book also explores the subject of depression among transplant patients. It is a revealing look at a world most of us can only imagine. This is a story of adaptation to constantly changing circumstances and disability. It is the true story of how one man found hope and opportunities in situations where it seemed there was little of either. It is an unforgettable story of determination and resilience.