East Wenatchee lung recipient suffers kidney failure

One day after Heather Best took her first breath with a new set of lungs, her kidneys failed and her condition suddenly became serious, her mother said on Friday afternoon. “Last night we were laughing. Today, it’s tears and sadness,” Bobbie Best said. “How fast things can change.” Heather, a 25-year-old East Wenatchee resident, underwent a successful double lung transplant on Wednesday at the University of Washington Medical Center. On Thursday, doctors took her off the ventilator, and she took a deep breath with her new, donated lungs. But sometime in the night, her blood pressure plummeted and her kidneys shut down. On Friday, doctors started her on dialysis, and expect it will be at least two weeks before they know if the dialysis is working, and whether her kidneys can continue to function. She also has a fever. Best said there’s also a chance that Heather has an infection in her blood, so doctors put her on antibiotics as a precaution. “They told me it is very serious. Right now, we can just take it day by day,” she said. “We’re being very positive. We’ve overcome so many obstacles in our life, and this is another one.” Heather Best suffers from cystic fibrosis, a chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system. About two years ago, she got swine flu and it became progressively more difficult to breathe. Best said her family — including Heather’s daughter, Mackinzie — were so elated when Heather came off the ventilator on Thursday. “She took a big breath and she looked at me with these big eyes. I said, ‘You can breathe, can’t you?’ and she just started bawling. She said, ‘Mom, I can actually breathe!’” The change in her condition was difficult news after the relief of a successful operation, Best said. “It’s not even related to her lungs, that’s the hard part,” she said. “Her oxygen is good and her lungs are still working.” Best said her daughter is still conscious and aware of what happened, and is keeping faith. She said she knows her daughter has some of the best doctors in the world helping her, and lots of friends and family arrived Friday to see Heather. “We’re at the right place,” she said. “Just keep her in your prayers. That’s all we can really do until they get this under control.”

**Published in "THE WENATCHEE WORLD"