Parvovirus is for dogs......isn't it???

My last post talked about how clinic was so great and that everything was perfect last week, and it was, for 3 straight days.  We didn't worry about anything or even think about the transplant for 3 days. Then, on Thursday morning I got a call from the transplant team.  Honestly, I didn't even want to answer, but I did.  They said that the results from Abby's heart tissue sample, that they had sent to Cincinatti after her biopsy, had come back positive for Fifth's Disease or Parvovirus-we finally knew the cause of the mysterious "crackle."  We were sent to get a blood test at Dixie Regional to see if it was in her blood as well as the heart tissue.  Then the waiting began, I knew we wouldn't be getting the results until today.  Of course, I knew nothing about the virus, so I started the researching.   No, you can't get it from dogs, it's the human Parvo, not the dog Parvo.....so I guess my dogs are off the hook.  In "normal" people, people that aren't immunosuppressed, it's not a big deal.  But in people with no immune system, it can cause some problems, one of them being chronic anemia, which requires blood transfusions or IVIG infusions.  I got worried about this, because even though Abby always tests negative for anemia, she has a lot of the symptoms, I was a little worried that she could be developing this.  It was a long weekend full of lots of worry, but, we got the results today, and it came back negative.....hooray, no Parvo in the blood!!!  So, we probably won't even have to treat the infection in the heart tissue, hopefully it will just go away on it's on rather than get worse.  The only problem Abby is having now is everytime she stands up, especially in the mornings, she gets real dizzy and almost passes out!  We adjusted some of her meds last Thursday, but it's only gotten worse.  It's not her blood pressure, that has been really good, so we're not sure of the cause.  It could possibly have something to do with the virus, so the transplant team is sending out a holter monitor for Abby to wear one day this week to track her heartrate.  Hopefully, this will turn out not to be anything either.  You know Abby, she always likes to have something going on.......NOT!!!  Right now, we are still on schedule for clinic on July 2nd.

The not-so-good news came from Make-a-wish today.  We are not going to be able to go on our Caribbean cruise or any cruise, they are all full already.  The first available week is August 12th, but that's my first week back to school, and I don't think it would be good for me to miss the first week of another school year.  So, then we asked if we could go to the new Disney Resort on Oahu, we really wanted to go to a beach.  But, they couldn't accept us on such short notice either.  Then we decided to ask where we could go sometime in the next month, and the answer was................Florida!  Abby is thrilled.  We will spend the week going to Disneyworld, Seaworld, Epcot Center, Harry Potter Land, Seaworld, etc.  Not the relaxing vacation I was looking for, but whose wish is it anyway??  We will definitely stay busy, and I will try not to worry too much about all of the germs.  Actually, as I'm typing this, I just realized that we haven't really gotten the okay from the transplant team for this wish yet.  We technically won't even be 1 year out from transplant.  Hmmmm..............I guess I better give them a call in the morning before we finalize any plans.    So, as of this very moment, we are planning on going to Florida the 2nd week of July for Abby's wish, and she is extremely happy about it.  I should know more of the details tomorrow.  If any of you have gone on Disney adventures for your wish, please let us know how it is!!

This past week we've spent lots of time at the pool, with lots of sunscreen of course, and tomorrow will be mine and Abby's first trip boating out at the lake in almost 2 years!  She's worried she won't be strong enough to kneeboard and wakeboard, but I told her she's stronger than she thinks!  I will post videos and pictures of her jumping the wake and doing 360's just like she did last time we were there.  As for me, on the other hand, I will be surprised if I can still wakeboard.  I'm not nearly as fit as I was 2 summers ago and I'm much, much older now in so many ways.  But, maybe I'm stronger than I think I am too!!

Thanks for sticking with us through the all the rough patches, I really think we've turned the corner and things are only going to get better and easier now.  We deserve it.