Dearest Ivie (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #15.5)

by J.R. Ward

That was a death sentence, all right. In vampires, the autoimmune disease, which was similar to lupus and vasculitis in humans, affected everything from the heart and lungs to the stomach, kidneys, and liver, the body’s natural defenses in effect declaring an enemy of itself. Females did not get the disease, only males, and for a long time, it could lay dormant, a sleeping threat unknown to the individual. What triggered onset was unknown as far as Ivie understood. What she did know was that once the disease became active, it could be chronic for quite some time, the inflammation and deterioration held at bay by steroids and other drugs that suppressed the immune system. But if it became acute? There was no going back. All you could do was ease the patient’s symptoms with various surgeries to remove blockages and increasing doses of pain medication. Eventually, kidney and liver function failed and the heart stopped from lack of circulation. It was a gruesome death.

Explanation of Cane's Lethargy