COURTLAND -- A Courtland man is living without a pancreas. In fact, he and his wife have written a book about his experience.
Clyde Vaughan lost his pancreas after a surgery that went wrong in 2004. He ended up getting gangrene.
Vaughan's wife Shirley is essentially his at-home nurse. She checks his glucose level every couple hours, 24 hours a day. Vaughan says he is still here because of her.
"She makes sure I have a balanced diet and she writes everything in a book," described Vaughan.
Dr. John Lawson, a gastroenterologist at Bon Secours, says this type of patient is rare.
"This requires a lot of attention, a lot of work, and a lot of attention to detail. So this patient is probably quite remarkable," said Dr. Lawson.
Vaughan says, "I do what I want to do. I even climb ladders and cut tree limbs off."
Vaughan wrote a book called "You Can Live Without a Pancreas." He hopes to encourage others not to feel desperate if they are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
