I have been a terrible blogger

I know it's been two and a half weeks since my last post, but I've been busy!

I have been feeling pretty well.  The last few days have been a little rougher.  Classes start back up tomorrow, so I hope that I'm feeling alright.  My back has been feeling better, but I still will be going to the chiropractor tomorrow to make sure everything's okay.  I've been pretty active between rehab sessions, helping with yard work at Todd's dad's house.  I even mowed the lawn (riding, of course) twice!  And the biggest news of all: We got a kitten!  

She is a gray tabby and about 4 or 5 months old.  We haven't officially picked a name, but I will post it once we have!  I need to get started on a treatment so I can get to bed early for my first day back to school!  It's going to be a busy day (buzzing around non-stop from 11am until 9pm)!  I'll try to write more frequently, I promise.

a quick update before the weekend:

Boy, do I sympathize with anyone who has back pain! I could hardly walk upright yesterday. Vicodin weren’t even helping. I spent a lot of time laying down with a heat pack on it yesterday and didn’t make it to rehab. I don’t know why my back has been so bad since I’ve been home. Today it was a little better, so I’m hoping it’s getting stronger and that I must have just overdone it this week.

We went to Sam’s club today to stock up on essential items. We also picked up a bottle of Grey Goose… it was $10 cheaper than at the grocery store so we decided to try it! I did pretty good walking around the store. It’s always a little easier when I can lean on the cart while we go. I’ve had a pretty good week, though aside from my back.

We had sushi with Beth and Missy on Wednesday night and even got to sit outside because it was so nice! Afterward we went over to Missy’s place and I got to play with her kitten, Macey! If you know me at all you know I absolutely love kitties! I was in heaven! She lives on the third floor and I could actually go up the stairs without stopping! It’s been a year since I could do that.

Last night we ordered pizza because my back was too tired to stand and cook anything. It was really really good, though. It’d been a while since I had really good pizza. This afternoon we made chili for the weekend and tonight after my treatment gets done we’re going to grill out. I’m so excited that I’m feeling so good lately. It's a new feeling!

-teeny

another post because I just feel so good:

Oh, today was a busy one after I last wrote! Rehab went well, I didn’t walk on the treadmill at all because my back was hurting me too much, but I did everything else I was doing before I went in the hospital with EASE and on 3 liters of oxygen instead of 4 (my O2 sats even stayed around 94, and they were below 90 before)! I was very happy. After that I swung by the apartment to eat a quick bowl of cereal and then went out to Todd’s dad’s house for dinner. I even walked around the hilly yard for a while in the heat without my oxygen and did fine! It’s amazing that I didn’t even have to take a nap today! I feel GREAT! I know the tests don’t show it, but I really benefited from those two weeks in the hospital (I hate admitting that). I’m just finishing up a treatment now and then going to eat another time tonight. I’m really going to have to work hard at maintaining my weight if I plan to be more active, which I do plan to do!

I'm HOME!

I got to come home yesterday. I was so glad to leave. My lung tests plateaued, so it was time to get out of there. It was about 100 degrees out and muggy, though! My sunglasses fogged up as soon as I got outside. On the way home we stopped at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants and ate! It was only 3:30 but I had a beer anyway - and after two weeks it tasted soooo good to have that Corona.

I was a little short of breath after being on oxygen for two weeks, so I had to take it slow unpacking. We did a monster grocery trip, too, but I did much better than I had done before I went in the hospital. I was so excited to eat all the food that we’d bought, but I decided to get into a good habit and do a vest treatment and my breathing meds when we got home so that I could eat and then get to bed early. And boy, did I sleep well! My back has been really sore from the hospital mattress and I hadn’t gotten more than 3 hours of sleep at one time for two weeks, so it was a much welcomed sleep. I even got to sleep in until 9:30 today! I remember two weeks ago I hadn’t gotten up before 9:30 more than a half a dozen times all summer. Hopefully I can keep a good schedule of treatments and eating and EXERCISING so that I can feel good for a while and stay out of the hospital!

This morning after I got done with all my treatments Todd and I made a nice big breakfast of ham, scrambled eggs and toast. I hadn’t had any caffeine in the hospital and had a cup and a half of coffee this morning. Today I’m headed back to pulmonary rehab and I’m curious to see how it will go. I know I’ll need some oxygen, but I feel like I have so much energy (probably from the caffeine, but also because I feel so much better)!

That’s all I’ve got for now. Maybe I’ll have more to write tonight.

-teeny

this week in the hospital...

My pulmonary function tests yesterday showed that my capacity was up by 2% to 49% and my function was up 1% to 32%. It’s frustrating not seeing the kind of improvements that I’m feeling. I feel a lot clearer and breathing is better since Monday. I even got on the bike for 10 minutes yesterday and the day before and have been walking around the halls more. I like to do it at night when there’s no one around because I usually have to drag my iv pole along with me and dodging doctors and visitors during the day is a big hassle. So during the day I sleep when they leave me alone long enough. I’m almost nocturnal!

The steroids have finally sparked my famous appetite. I’ve been a bottomless pit for a few days now, to my own suffering, unfortunately! I haven’t really been hungry, but I just can’t stop eating. I end up feeling full all the time, which makes it hard to breathe. They’re also giving me cravings for odd foods that I normally don’t eat, like corn dogs and fig newtons. I’ve eaten 2 sleeves of those things in 3 days! You’d think with all that I’m eating I’d be gaining weight like crazy, but I was only at 118.7 pounds yesterday. I guess it’s going to take more work on my end.

Yesterday was an interesting morning, and right now, when I say, “interesting” I mean it was awful. I was not only woken up by a fire drill, but my blood sugar was low and I was trying to get someone’s attention to check it and bring me some soda and food. It seems like every time they check it it’s low or on it’s way down. I wish it weren’t such a trial-and-error process, because I’m tired of the peaks and valleys.

My CF doctor is now the one rounding in the mornings, so it’s nice to have a familiar person coming in and waking you up instead of some stranger. It’s hard to entrust your health to another doctor who hasn’t been following you… or to any nurse or tech or pharmacist, for that matter. It’s they who are more likely to make a mistake that could cost you. Since being here I’ve caught numerous mistakes (wrong pills, wrong solution in the IV, tardiness, ignoring policies etc.). I feel like I can’t let my guard down sometimes. I just hope they’re paying attention when I’m asleep, because I sure can’t!