Living With a Compromised Immune System

Having a compromised immune system means that your immune system is weakened, making it harder for the body to fight diseases and infections. Some diseases make people immunocompromised, but some patients are actually prescribed immunosuppressants by their doctors. Some of those patients can include organ transplant recipients.

Before I was considered for a heart transplant the doctors told me that I will be on immunosuppressants for the rest of my natural life. This is because the regular immune system will recognize the heart as an intruder and tries to destroy the newly transplanted heart. Therefore immunosuppressants are needed to keep this from happening.

Navigating life with a compromised immune system: Starting immunosupressants

I have been on immunosuppressants since February 2, 2020, the day of my heart transplant. Currently, my doctors have me on 2 immunosuppressant medications. They have to be taken everyday at the same time, 12 hours apart. Other than baby aspirin and atorvastatin, the only other medications my team has me on are supplements. In total, my medication list includes 3 medications and 3 vitamins.

There are also things I cannot consume such as pomegranates and grapefruit because they interact with the immunosuppressants. Also, I cannot have things like undercooked meat, seafood, raw sushi (it's really unfortunate because I love sushi), and raw eggs. That is just the short form of the list but the reason why I can’t have it is that my bodies can’t break down the bacteria from these foods.

Unfortunately, my journey with this began around the time that COVID-19 first surfaced here in the United States. The team told me to go out and enjoy myself the day after I was discharged. They instructed me that if I am around a lot of people and when I come to my hospital appointments a mask should be worn. The reason why the doctors were telling me this was because the first 2 years are the hardest for transplant patients since we are susceptible to contracting different diseases. Now, this was before COVID was even a thing, so that is just something that all transplant patients get used to.

Living through the COVID-19 pandemic with heart failure

A trip to Whole Foods was my idea of a good time to me at the time. So my mom and I went to Whole Foods and I couldn’t walk far but that did not mean I wasn’t trying. We walked from the car and we got a cart so I was able to lean on the cart while we shopped. Later that day, we were watching the news and COVID was leading to lockdowns all over the country. The next day we received that call that I was not allowed to go in stores anymore and to stay away from people.

COVID-19 changed a lot of lives; of the elderly, people who have underlying conditions, and even the lives of healthy people. Across the world COVID has really tested us all. My life since COVID came into existence has been different in many ways. As stated before, I wasn’t allowed to even go into stores, to any public spaces with people.

Vaccinations

When the vaccine became available, it was not approved for transplant patients yet. The scientists did not know if the vaccine would be effective in immune-compromised patients and we were also left out of the vaccine trials. The elderly were some of the first people to receive the vaccine in December 2020 along with our front-line workers in hospitals. In February of 2021, my doctors informed me that transplant patients could receive that vaccine, which was music to my ears. After getting my first and second doses, the team finally said that I could go into stores again. I wanted to literally do a backflip because I had been in isolation for all of 2020. Things, unfortunately, as you all know, did not turn out the way I would have imagined them.

The thought process behind getting the vaccine was the world opening up again and me being able to travel again. Speaking of which, vaccines are mandatory for all heart transplant recipients, all vaccines except the live ones. The doctors discuss this with patients in the heart transplant screening process.

Keeping myself safe and healthy

Fast forward to present day, I, like everyone else, have had to learn to live with COVID, I just take the necessary precautions to keep myself safe. I keep up with my vaccinations. A mask is still worn whenever I go to the store, the gym, when on planes, and at the hair salon. I have traveled to Turks and Caicos, Orlando, Tampa, Arizona, and Miami. There is a whole world to explore and see and I plan on seeing it all.

“Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, shift your energy to what you can create.” ― Roy T. Bennett