Sorry, I could not get an update posted earlier, but I have had no computer access. Raquel's Wednesday out-patient procedure became an in-patient treatment for rejection. She has been through more needle pokes in these last four days than I have experienced in my lifetime! They have had the usual hard time drawing blood and getting in an IV, but that has been the worst of our visit. The good news, is that the treatment has gone well and that all of her numbers are looking much better. Her EBV numbers are still high but it has not progressed to a more serious condition, so we are happy about that. Her spirits are rising and she is obviously feeling better. We can tell this because she now feels well enough to clap when we play her Elmo movies. We are hoping to be discharged on Monday if all continues to go well. She has been put back on her Prograf and her anti-viral medication has been changed. This will hopefully be enough to keep the EBV at bay. Gotta get back to the hospital and do my baby's hair.  

Epstein-Barr virus, frequently referred to as EBV, is a member of the herpes virus family and one of the most common human viruses. The virus occurs worldwide, and most people become infected with EBV sometime during their lives. In the United States, as many as 95% of adults between 35 and 40 years of age have been infected. Infants become susceptible to EBV as soon as maternal antibody protection (present at birth) disappears. Many children become infected with EBV, and these infections usually cause no symptoms or are indistinguishable from the other mild, brief illnesses of childhood. When infection with EBV occurs during adolescence or young adulthood, it causes infectious mononucleosis 35% to 50% of the time.

EBV also establishes a lifelong dormant infection in some cells of the body's immune system. In fact, many healthy people can carry and spread the virus intermittently for life. These people are usually the primary reservoir for person-to-person transmission. For this reason, transmission of the virus is almost impossible to prevent.

I could not find a whole lot of useful information on EBV, most of it was scientific jargon. Anyways, Raquel has the Epstein Barr virus and her system is not effectively fighting it. Before Christmas her numbers had decreased but have since started rising again. She has been taken off of her Prograf (immuno suppressant) and her Prednisone (which helps fight off rejection) completely as of about a week ago. Dr. Azzam says that rejection of a transplanted organ usually takes a couple of months or more. We are hoping that her immune system will be strong enough to start fighting off the virus. In the meantime, she is recovering from a cold!!!! We have tried our damndest to keep her away from most everyone and she rarely goes out for any amount of time. So...well, she is getting over the cold now and that is what matters.

She is scheduled for a few procedures on Wednesday to see what is going on in her body. Raquel will have a liver biopsy, lymph node biopsy and a endoscopy(to look at her small intestine). Her liver enzymes jumped up in less than a week's time and her protein levels are out of whack in addition to a swollen lymph node under her arm (EBV related). Dr. Azzam suspects infection. We are none the less very unhappy about this and I am becoming anxious about the whole thing. We are hoping and praying that her immune system and the anti-virals will kick in and her numbers will fall back in line soon. I hope this is just one of those little bumps in the road of post-transplant life.