CMV, 3 small letters = 1 big infection

After being admitted on Wednesday afternoon the docs have done a lot of tests as they had few ideas as to what was making Oli iffy.  Thursday night the results came in (I wish my area of the NHS had such a prompt service) and he has CMV or Cytomegalovirus infection.

This is part of a herpes virus, like cold sores, which for many of us can lay dormant and not produce any symptoms or problems.  Oli, however, has very little immune system.  Coupled with this it is actually a case when the ‘potential’ virus came with the lungs (you can read the technical bit here, http://www.touchbriefings.com/pdf/2006/Czebe.pdf,  if you so wish).

In cases where a donor is CMV+ and the recipient is CMV- doctors place the recipient on a large dose of antibiotics for 100 days and that generally prevents CMV ever being a problem.  As per usual, for Oli, this 100 days of big antibiotic hasn’t been enough to suppress the virus and it has reared it’s head to let us know.  Oli presented with almost all the symptoms (tiredness, high temperature, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, night sweats, muscle aches,joint pain and stiffness, and weakness).  If CMV goes untreated or mistreated it can have pretty severe consequences.

Fortunately for Oli the team at Harefield are unbelievably amazing and are onto it and seem to be nipping it in the bud already, once again for technical people out there – yesterday Oli had a CRP of 160 and today it has dropped to below 100, it’s going in the right direction.

Unfortunately for Oli because of the potential seriousness of the virus he is having some superhuman antibiotics which will mean he will be in hospital for somewhere in between 1-2 weeks.  We are supposed to be going on our first proper holiday next Friday with lots of friends and at the moment this is in jeopardy for at least Oli and maybe me.  Wee bit gutted but at the same time we realise the importance of these drugs and know that it is in his own interests that he does whatever the docs tell him he must do.

In spite of all this Oli is actually in pretty good spirits, I think it’s fairly comforting to have a rough time span in mind.  Time spent in hospital is much better handled when there is a clear light at the end of the tunnel.

Thank you from both of us for all your wonderful messages, we both really appreciate them and has made us feel very loved so thank you hugely.

Enjoy your weekend, hope the sun shines for you x