I realized that I never posted  our good news from more than two weeks ago! So sorry to have forgotten to update. We told a few people, and it just slipped my mind after that…

Elizabeth, the transplant nurse practitioner called Sarah at the beginning of May to let her know that her antibody-induced rejection is NOT caused by Donor Specific Antibodies (DSAs). These are antibodies that her body could make (and did in the beginning) to specifically attack her angel heart. I’ve deduced, using my limited knowledge and a little logic, that the antibodies that have induced the mild rejection then must be just normal antibodies in her immune system. They fix this with a simple increase of one of her immuno-suppressants, and trying to find that perfect balance again. We are so happy that she no longer requires the five other IVIG treatments, and are hoping that her biopsy in June will show a change for the better. We also discovered in her antibody panel that she does not have immunity to a few things and needs to get a few of her immunizations re-done. She’s feeling very sympathetic towards all the babies and sweet kindergarteners getting shots right now. Sure stinks, but a small price to pay to keep her angel heart and body healthy!

So grateful for modern medicine, technology, and all these amazing people in charge of her care. We are so blessed to have such an incredible team of careful and caring doctors, nurses, pharmacists, techs, and others in her medical team to help her in this journey. Things would be so different (and scary) without all of them!

~Julia