haven't the foggiest ? ? ?

It's my nephew that is in critical care with whatever is wrong. He is 4 months post transplant and had just gone back to work. Was wearing a mask but found it difficult to speak on the phone with it, so took it off. His local doctor diagnosed him with bronchitis, and he was in bed, very sick and coughing a lot. He had a regular check up at Vanderbilt yesterday and didn't want to go, but they made him go, a good thing they did as he is in critical care now. They have told his wife it is one of the two conditions I mentioned and right now, they are waiting on labs so they can begin treatment. He is very, very sick! They told his wife, he would have died without proper treatment! And guess who diagnosed him with bronchitis? His kidney specialist in chatanooga! Oh lord! Prayers are definitely needed! Thanks for listening guys!

Lots of love,
Norma ...

Wishing Your Nephew the best,Norma.Thank goodness they caught it and caring for his illnesses.

All is well! Apparently this is not uncommon after a transplant and can come from the donor or the person himself could have it lingering in his system. He was diagnosed with the CMV virus and they have begun treatment. This will take a long time to treat, sort of like mono but can be lethal if not treated! But of course this is not the case. Phew!!!! I learned another lesson today, we all have, so be mindful of these things that can possible happen after a transplant. Knowledge is power!! my old motto in my old age!
Lots of love,
Norma ...

CMV is quite common in general population and the main problem with it is if contracted by a pregnant woman can cause serious birth defects.
in my case I was CMV negative, as probably was your nephew, and my donor was positive. I became quite ill a few weeks later and it was diagnosed as a drug allergy but I was convinced it was CMV related (maybe both).
good (or bad depending on your perspective) news I'm still here.

What I am not understanding after reading about the CMV virus! is why would they do a transplant when one of them had to have had the virus??? He is very, very sick today and the docs are not so optomistic. It is affecting his heart, his spleen, just about every organ in his body!! People with no immune systems cannot fight it! The test is a relatively easy one, could they have missed it? They found it in him in less than 24 hrs.!! I don't understand? Totally confused now, any help out there that does understand? Sigh!!!

10 years post transplant with a CMV positive kidney I can truly tell you I have no regrets. I too was very sick but I got better. would your nephew have preferred to stay on dialysis longer or not get a transplant at all?
once the infection passes it will probably never rear its ugly head again and most people have no idea they are CMV positive.
and speaking of positive, a positive attitude will benefit you and your nephew as he fights to get better. don't let him know you are worried.

Helen, thanks for your input. My nephew has no idea how sick he is and also is at Vanderbilt hospital in Memphis, I am in upstate NY. He would never know how concerned I am. His wife is with him 24/7, he is in critical care. The docs have told his wife, this will take a very long time to recover from, months, perhaps longer. Were you that sick Helen? His parents have both passed, my sister was his mother, he has no other relatives and I sure hope I don't have to go to Vanderbilt any time soon, buts it's looking more like I will have to every day that passes. Maybe today, he will improve. I am aware that CMV is very common, it's the herpies virus and everyone gets a cold sore several times in their life, but this is much more serious, his condition has been upgraded to "guarded". All of his organs are trying to shut down and he is only 48 yrs old. I am praying that today's update will be improved.
Thanks again for your insite. Love, Norma ...

Norma, glad your nephew's condition is upgraded.
I was in the hospital for several days but remember a drug allergy was also involved. they took me off all meds and gradually added them back to find the culprit, which turned out to be something to prevent UTIs, not something important.
I am allergic to sulfa and this was some sort of imitation that mimiced sulfa but hit me more than sulfa ever did.
my neph complimented me on self-diagnosing CMV but never confirmed that I had an outbreak.
your nephew will get better, we will all pray for him.

I am praying for your nephew. I just want to add that my brother had developed CMV after his transplant. He was told it was very common also. I will admit that he wasn't as sick as your nephew but he did pull through and all is well....that was one and a half years ago. Best wishes for your nephew that they will get his treatment and things will start to improve.

Thanks everyone, am waiting for in update this morning. Last night he actually ate some food! Great step forward! Will keep you posted.

Oh good grief, I am so sorry I didn't see this sooner, I have been away from the computer for a while.

Yes, I understand your frustration. This is something that they do not tell you about, and I was struggling with this all last summer. It turned out that I DIDN'T have CMV but I was very sick... and waiting for tests up here so far from my transplant center was crazy. Since then I have dealt with others who are left in limbo for a while as well trying to find out what they have.

Yes, actually most people have been exposed to CMV, and both my donor and I had the antibodies... so when your immune system is compromised by these drugs, you have to watch out for them. Another virus they watch for is the BK virus.

I do hope that this smoothes out SOON and that all will gain strength and courage. Big blessings to you and yours!

Thanks Heather, he seems to be improving after almost 3 weeks of this and wants to go home, but they say although he is responding to treatment, they can't send him home on oral meds just yet, his numbers are still to high, so maybe next Monday or so. But he is finally getting better.

OH so glad to hear.... this must have been so frightening... I have heard lots of stories of folks going through this... blessings to you all for many many years of health.

The news today is that he might be able to go home this weekend, but not without consequences. Home health care every day, physical therapy every other day and once maybe twice visits to Vanderbilt every week! Good grief, this stuff is really serious!! I pray that he recovers and am thankful that he is being taken care of at such a great hospital. I guess I never knew that Vanderbilt was so prestigious, but obviously is. Thanks for all your help folks, I certainly appreciated it. I know I have learned a life lesson and hopefully others have as well.
Lots of love,
Norma ...