Bijou <\/strong>says. \u201cI\u2019m a pretty happy-go-lucky person, and I usually look at the bright side of things. It takes a lot to make me lose my way or feel sad.\u201d <\/p>\nWhen asked if doctors have given her a timeline on when she needs a transplant, she said she\u2019s needed one for a year. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sort of hanging on by a thread. My dad had a liver transplant when I was 10, and then when I was 20, he had to get on dialysis at UCLA. The medication you take when you\u2019re transplanted is very toxic to kidneys,\u201d she shared. \u201cSo when you get a transplant \u2014 heart or liver or kidney \u2014 within a decade, you\u2019re probably going to need a kidney transplant. My dad needed to get on dialysis after his liver transplant, [and] he got an infection in his line and was dead within three days because his immune system was so weak. So for me, getting on dialysis at UCLA was terrifying.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been immunosuppressed for so long\u2026 I could make it on dialysis for a couple years, or I could get an infection in my line tomorrow and be gone in a few days. I\u2019m really hopeful, [but] it\u2019s an extremely urgent situation,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n
As for her young daughter, Fianna<\/strong>, 12, is dealing with it all, Bijou<\/strong> says \u201cshe\u2019s the strongest little human.\u201d <\/p>\n\u201cShe takes things that are really hard in life and handles them in this really classy way. I don\u2019t deserve such an amazing human in my life. It\u2019s magical,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n
If you didn\u2019t know, Bijou<\/strong> previously received a kidney transplant in 2017 from a \u201cdear friend,\u201d but she has had \u201cmany complications since,\u201d including the BK virus which led to a cellular and antibody rejection, she says.<\/p>\nShe has reportedly suffered from kidney disease since birth, after being born with underdeveloped kidneys and spending the first three months of her life on dialysis in the NICU.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n