BK Virus

Have you ever heard of BK virus? I hadn't - until last week. It's another one of those things that a normal immune system keeps in check but a suppressed immune systen can't always manage. BK virus seems to be the main culprit in Scott's horrible week last week. This is a virus that is present in the majority of people. If it is allowed to grow unchecked it has some severe symptoms. Mainly extreme fatigue and kidney damage. It is well-known with kidney transplants but is not common with heart transplants.

Last Friday Scott began a new drug regimen to conquer this new difficulty. His main immunosuppresant was stopped and a new one with antiviral properties was started. He was put back on prednisone(that nasty steroid) again after only having stopped for 2 weeks. He will have a kidney biopsy tomorrw and a heart biopsy next week. He hasn't been able to work these last 2 weeks. BUT...He's feeling back to normal! The fatigue is gone, the bloodwork showed his kidney function is back to his normal and he'll go back to work again next week.

I'm so grateful for a fabulous medical team that doesn't give up on us. This virus isn't something they usually test for but they figured it out. Without treatment Scott could have lost all kidney function. I feel like we dodged a bullet there!

It's great to see Scott feeling back to normal again. I remember before his transplant his nurse told us that a transplant wasn't a 'cure'. It was trading one set of problems for another. Transplant is only considered when the first set of problems(heart failure) was sure to take a life soon - only then is the second set of problems(suppressed immune system, drug side effects, surgery) worth it. I now know what she meant. Thankfully it has been worth it.