Definitely an Obstruction

So here's how this all went:

Again I was up at 3 am Monday morning with stomach pains. I tried to hydrate myself and things started to feel better. Went to work, pain got worse and left work. CVS got some laxative type stuff and layed in bed. My stomach was soft and lots of rumbly noises so I was hopeful.

Then last night all the sudden my stomach got 100% worse. It was so tight that I could barely touch it. I had the feeling I was going to vomit (red flag) but I didn't. I told Scott to call 911 :( The ambulance came and then of course I start to cry my eyes out. Thinking to myself, is this really happening right now?

I get in the ambulance and they inform me that they're not able to start IV's in that specific unit. Ugh. I just wanted hydration. I had an obstruction last August (amongst several others) and I knew that hydration and lots of it, did the trick last time.

We get to the ER and my stomach looks like a basketball at this point and they did their assessment again on me. I was able to stop crying but just in so much pain. The nurse comes in to start my IV and poor thing had such a hard time because I was beyond dehydrated so she had to stick me 3 times. I felt so bad that my veins weren't cooperative. So they infused Normal Saline on me and gave me Zofran for my nausea and Dilaudid for the pain. As soon as the nurse started to push the Dilaudid I vomited :( Luckily the basin was ready to receive. From there on out for hours I just kept vomiting despite Zofran. They bring me in a 32 oz. oral contrast to drink. That made no sense to me. You know basically from my history and presenting symptoms that I'm obstructed, I'm vomiting non-stop, how am I supposed to drink this stuff and keep it down? I tried and no sooner one sip of contrast I was vomiting uncontrollably again.

They went to take me down to CT and my nurse said forget it, they'll just do IV contrast on me. Yay, no more drinking and vomiting. Well they have me move from the stretcher to the bed and no sooner the Radiology tech was telling me what to do I was begging for a basin. That's right vomited a hundred more times. Poor guy wasn't ready for that one.

I get back to the room where Scott was waiting for me and I'm still vomiting. I asked them to please give me something different for the vomiting since clearly the Zofran didn't work on me. So they gave me Phenergan and that did the trick for me! Granted I was completely passed out but hey at least I wasn't vomiting non-stop anymore. Scott left to go have his Gallbladder ultrasound done (he's in the middle of a GI workup currently) and came back without me knowing he'd ever left. I was so sleepy!

The nurse decided to put a pulse ox on me half way through my stay. My sats were 100% but after the Phenergan I was so passed out that my sats dropped low. This has never happened to me before. She put me on 2 Liters of O2 which was fine. But I caught myself holding my breath for some reason. Weird, maybe I was just that sedated? I'm not sure but I remember I was holding my breath? Weird. I definitely wasn't doing the "normal" breathing. I was also given ice chips at this point too. I've never been happier to see ice in a styrofoam cut in my life. Ahhh.

Well they came back and said that my CT was ok. I was just happy that this one reversed on it's own too. Last time I was in the middle of a surgical consult when nature called thank goodness. This time we never even got that far. When I was 19 it was so bad they put an NG tube in gave me Golytely, gross. So overall I'm extremely grateful that it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

The hospital called me tonight though which alarmed me. A doctor got on the phone with me and said that my CT scan was being "re-read" and that they wanted me to come back to the ER for another one. Huh!? Then I wondered to myself why was I even discharged if something was wrong? So I questioned it and then finally said that I was a G.I. nurse and could they please just tell me what it said.

• First was intussusception of the Ascending colon
• Dilated common bile duct
• Enlarged small and large bowel
• And lastly them not visualizing my pancreas fully

Thank goodness I asked about this or I would have worried sick. These are the exact same things as I had during my last CT scan. Which, mind you, was done during an obstruction as well. I just wish the radiologist would have read my history before calling and scaring the crap out of me. Then he questioned my pancreas, I said "I have CF." And as for the common bile duct stuff, I've had my gallbladder removed, and my duct is dilated on purpose as per my surgery so that the stones could pass easily (bile duct sphincterotomy) I mean if they know someone is in the middle of an obstruction, do they really expect the small and large bowel to look "normal?" Just wondering.

Well I'm glad to be home now in my own bed. I was offered to take the day off tomorrow, but I don't know what I'll do. I feel fine now, just tired....exhausted really. The nurses were great to me, and as always Scott was wonderful and so worried about me. I'm so grateful to have such great people in my life.

Obstruction? Hope Not!

Today has been no fun at all. I've been up since 3 am with stomach pain. I noticed a little bit of discomfort last night, but thought not too much of it. Then at 3 am It woke me out of my sleep. It's hard to describe kind of...It feel like the potential of a bowel obstruction but not that bad. I've had enough bowel obstructions to know what that's like. It sort of feels like leading up to an obstruction.

Anyway so I watched the clock from 3 am until it's time for me to get up for work at 0440. I went to work and did the usual stuff. Around 11 am I realized the pain was so severe that I had to leave work. So I went to the local pharmacy and picked up the usual stuff for when this lovely incident happens.

Ouch. I'm miserable. My stomach looks like I'm about 6 months pregnant. I do hear lots of rumbling around and lots of noise in there. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I don't feel the "usual" severe need to go the hospital awful pains, that is accompanied by vomiting, thankfully *Fingers Crossed*

I'm resting, trying my hardest to hydrate like water is going out of style. I sure hope this passes soon and doesn't get worse.

:/

Busy weekend

Wow the weekend completely flew by! I can't believe that I work in about 9 hours, whoa.

Friday night we went to have dinner with friends and go see Transformers 2. For those of you who don't know Scott, he's the biggest Transformers fan on the planet. Transformers fill our house, and he has EVERY Transformer of Generation 1 ever made. So obviously it's part of my marital contract to partake in such Transformers events ;) The movie was "ok" I was kind of disappointed. I have to say the first one was better. But overall we had fun.

Saturday was a great day. I got up in the morning, went and got a large coffee, and spent the morning finishing the first book of the TWILIGHT series. OMG I am so hooked on these books already! Sooooo good! And like every female has told me to "enjoy falling in love with Edward"...oh I really am!!! It was a relaxing morning, followed by a trip to Target. I find myself there at least once a week. It's my favorite place to just pick up odds and ends type stuff. Later Saturday night we went to a crab feast which was awesome :) Steamed crabs and beer makes for a great night amongst friends.

Today was just as nice. I got up early and met up with Beth at Starbucks and then Kohls. I was on a mission to find my grandmother a birthday gift for her party today. What to procrastinate eh? Well I ended up getting her a great jewelry set of pearl earrings and a necklace and she really loved it. For her birthday I made her a purse-cake and it turned out reall cute! I was surprised how easy it actually was. I have to give Scott his credit, he actually baked the cake for me while I was out gift hunting and coffee drinking earlier. Thanks! :) So I assembled and did all the fancy stuff to it when I got home. Then it was off to Granny's birthday party this evening. All in all it was very nice with the exception of the usual, minimal family drama. It was great to see my cousins, baby Ally, and the extended family as always.

So now I sit here doing the neb/meds routine thinking about the week ahead. Hmm also realizing that I nothing done at home this weekend that needed to get done. Guess laundry will be Monday's after work project, oh yay. I had no time to workout this weekend too which wore on me a little bit. I didn't feel a difference of anything bad, but It just bugged me. So 2 days is no big deal, but means after work tomorrow, before tackling the mounds of laundry that exercise is first.

Hope everyone had a great weekend. I'm also beginning the next book in the series called "New Moon." I've never in my life been so excited to come home and read!!!! I loved the first book, and am hoping it just gets better and better. I can see my social life dwindling while I'm reading these books....ha ha.

No Way

I can't believe that Michael Jackson died!? OMG! So sad...

What a busy day, and I mean busy. I literally haven't stopped all day. It's now 10:14 pm and I have to be up at 0440 and do it all over again. Oh well, at least tomorrow is Friday! Work was fine today busy as usual. We had a nice surprise treat today....lots of Bruster's Ice Cream for one of our Dr.'s 50th birthday. Nurses + Ice Cream = Very happy RN's ;)

Tonight we had dinner for my inlaws as a Thank You. They watched our dogs Hooper and Elektra while we were away in Bermuda. So as a Thank You we had them over for a great steak, baked potatoes, corn on the cob...all on the grill, yummy! And I made a dessert called "Angel Lush" which was so great!

Nothing too exciting tonight in my world. Just super tired from this LONG day which will start again in about 6.5 hours. Still reading Twilight like crazy and can barely put it down! What a sad week in Hollywood. First Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, now Michael Jackson. :/

Hooked

Well it's Official...I'm completely HOOKED on the book "Twilight." I have had zero desire to pick up a novel or really any book for that matter (excluding The Secret) since college. Might I add that I graduated college 7 years ago? Nursing school completely did me in as far as leisurely reading goes.

However....everyone I know is raving about these books! It's crazy! I saw the movie around Christmas time and I loved it and left it at that. That was until my lovely coworker kept telling me everyday for the last 2 weeks that I had to read these books. I politely smiled and nodded as usual. Well then Monday she hands me the book and says "Here I guarantee you that you will LOVE it and won't be able to put it down!" So I oblidged and holy crap I can't put the darn thing down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HELP ME!!!!!! LOL!!! It's so freaking good!

Today goes down in history as the day where I was a total bum and came home just to read this book! I've done nothing after work and I'm so content. Wow, I can only imagine what the rest of the series will hold. Yikes..when am I going to have time to sleep? LOL!

Clinic Visit

I am very happy! It was a great visit and I feel like a weight has been lifted off of me. I was due to go back to Hopkins in April. I missed the appointment since I found out I was pregnant. As a CF patient who's pregnant I am "high risk" so the appointments which are hard to get conflicted with my Hopkins clinic day. I rescheduled Hopkins for May, only to have the miscarriage and be in the same boat again. Well finally today, 2 months later I finally got in and had my appointment.

I took a half a day of work that way I could come home and get a work out in beforehand. I usually don't do that, and go right from work, however I thought I'd give it a whirl. So I left work around 11 am and got home and did a good workout. I did the Eliptical for 25 minutes and got in over a mile. Then did a 2.5 mile bike ride. I was a sweaty mess, but it was a great workout. I did my meter before we left and got an awesome reading off of it so I was definitely hopeful.

Get to Hopkins and get the much dreaded PFT's over with. I was very happy with my results. I increased my PFT's by almost 7%!!!!!!! Wahoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) I was on top of the world! I'm happy to actually feel the difference from all the exercise I've been doing. It was a great feeling to see in print and feel in my chest and breathing all the wonderful effects that running and biking have been doing for me recently. The Doctors were so happy with my exercise routines. They asked me lots of questions about how much exercise, how long, distances, pulse rate etc. Basically I summed it up as I'd been back on track with exercising since December. When I found out I was pregnant in April, I was so nauseated and exhausted that I kind of fell of the wagon, but not intentionally. I just physically couldn't do it..or If I did, I'd barf doing it. Then after the miscarriage and I let my body heal for the month I was told, I got right back on track and have been there ever since.

Here are some of the details from today:

• I'm getting a new vest. Yay goodbye antique 120+ pound vest machine, hello compact-ness
• They like the PFT monitor I have and encourage it's use.
• I'm going to go back to Hypertonic Saline next week once a day, then increase to twice
• I finally asked what my mutation is! DF508 (thought so)
• Got the Acapella device and the PT explained it's use and benefits...I like
• I was offered some new studies but since we're planning for kids, I wouldn't be aloud to participate since most drugs aren't "OK'd" for pregnancy.
• I was told to continue the exercise! They were thrilled!
• My care plan given at the end of a visit reads "Keep up the GOOD WORK!!!"
• I'm increasing my Advair to the 500mg/50 dose since they feel a lot of my issues aren't CF but indeed Asthma
• I have to go for my yearly bloodwork at my local lab when possible
• I've gained more weight too, bonus!!! I'm up to 123 pounds, woot!
• I'm off of the Prednisone in 2 days..I'm done weaning anyway.

Overall I have to say today was a great day all around. I can't explain how great it feels that the visit went well today. In the back of my mind I kept thinking of some of my CF friends who are hospitalized right now and It just made me want to push harder....for all of us. I believe today was a good day in the royal a$$ kicking of CF all around!

Much on the Mind

Yesterday was kind of a tough day. Missed my Grandfather terribly yesterday (as everyday) so it was a blah kind of day for me. Of course I don't like to feel down and dumpy but it was just one of those days. We weren't able to see my Dad yesterday since Scott's back was hurting so much we didn't leave the house. We didn't see his Dad either since they are away. Oh well at least Scott got a Father's Day card from the dogs :P

There was actually a lot weighing on my mind yesterday. I don't know why exactly it all hit me yesterday but it did. I'm still worried about my friends daughter whom is still hospitalized for her seizures. They've tried different medications now and it's just made matters worse. If these next meds don't work, she'll have to undergo surgery. Breaks my heart since she's not even 2 yet, and my friend (her mother) is currently 7 months pregnant with their 3rd child. I just feel helpless for them. For some reason yet again the miscarriage hit me. No rhyme or reason it just does and I feel this emptiness inside. I'm also worried about another fellow CFer who's hospitalized right now not doing so well. I feel like it's been a rough month in our little CF world. Two of my friends are also in the hospital CF related and on IV's as of yesterday. I sure am sending out lots of prayers their way. I really am trying to stay postive, use the Secret, and continue to look at my vision board and know that things are going to work out. Just one of those days I suppose....

So despite the day being that of which it was I decided to turn that energy around and go for a kick butt bike ride! And that's just what I did. I ended up doing a total workout yesterday of 8 miles, woo hoo!!! Plus I lifted weights thanks to the awesome routines Ronnie has sent me. Thank You!!!! My meter numbers rocked afterwards which just made my day. Recently with all this inflammatory stuff going on I just didn't feel a difference, and now I finally am! :)

Today I continued with a tough workout as well. I go to Hopkins tomorrow for my CF checkup which always makes me a little tense to put it mildly. So I'm hoping that things go well! Today's workout consisted of a 25 minute Eliptical workout with a 5 minute cool down which was over a mile. It was a killer workout and It felt great! I then went for a bike ride of almost 2 miles after dinner. Overall I feel very good about these last 2 days and the mucho mileage ;)

On a random note my buffalo wing craving kick still continues, hence we ordered them for dinner again tonight. YUMMY! They are so discustingly good, bring on the calories! And thanks to my co-worker she's got me completely hooked on reading first Twilight book. I haven't read a book for leisure since college! Nursing school did me in as far as leisurely reading goes, so it's been at least 7 years. Well the cycle is broken because I can't put this darn book down! I loved the movie, and promised I'd give the book a try. So far so great!

Scott's back still hurts him pretty badly, but he's staying active. Too active actually....although I admire him wanting to keep moving I just don't want him to hurt himself any more than he has. I won't mention that he was outside cutting trees down earlier either, or that he hung all new blinds up in the house, or that he vacuumed.....no not me, no way ;) Oh did I mention he took the day off to "relax" :P

Well tomorrow is clinic day after work...I'll catch up tomorrow. I actually have lots of questions for this visit. I'll keep you posted.

Here's to turning off the brain for the night....

Dear Pop,

I can hardly believe that today marks 2 years since you passed away. First thing this morning you're what I thought of, followed by lots of tears. I still struggle everyday with missing you so much. I hope you know that not one single day has gone by where I haven't thought of you, or where I haven't missed you with all of my heart. Every night in my prayers I ask you to keep watching over all of us and keep us healthy and safe. You do Pop and I thank you for that.

I know that you are here with me, and sometimes I think I can even feel your presence around me. You've been in my dreams a couple of times over these last 2 years. You've "told" me things in these dreams that I will never forget because they were so very real to me. You've told me things about my health (CF) and about having children. It saddens me sometimes when I wake up from these dreams because for that small amount of time I thought you were here with me again. However I wouldn't trade it for anything because to me it's your way of "talking" to me.

A lot has happened over these last 2 years. Eventhough you're aren't physically here I know you've been here and are with our family. Despite the miscarriage still hurting me daily, I hope that baby that was lost is with you now and that down the road things will work out.

Pop we miss you terribly and hope you know how much you are loved. I do a lot of things that you did...take a million and one pictures to try to capture every memory. Also eat steamed crabs (our favorite) like a champ. Where ever you are Pop I hope you are ok now and healthy again. I hate that Pancreatic Cancer took you from us 2 years ago already. On the flip side you taught us all so much, and that was to live each day to the fullest because you truly just don't know....

Happy Father's Day Pop! I miss you....

Change of Pace

Poor Scott hasn't had the best health luck this week. It started earlier in the week when he complained of some pains. He had went through a similar situation in November 2007. After several negative tests it just sort of went away. Well then again this week he started to have the same kind of pains. It wasn't chest pain this time luckily, but it was still enough for him to say something. He called me at work on Thursday to say that his Primary Care MD wanted to see him right away. They did an EKG which was negative and sent him for a Chest X-ray which we're still waiting for results. Based on his symptoms I've narrowed it down to either a severe muscle pull or it's his gallbladder. His doctor agreed. So we're waiting for CXR results, then if nothing else he'll be sent for a GI workup including gallbladder. We shall see.....Then this morning we were getting ready to have some coffee and he pulled his back out completely and very suddenly. It was awful! :( I felt so bad for him. Literally went to pick up a shirt and bam, could barely stand up. Ugh! I have to say I'm definitely not used to him being the one who's got the medical stuff going on, LOL! Is he trying to steal my thunder!? (kidding kidding!) :) He's rested all day long and is a tiny bit better, but still so uncomfortable. Hope this passes for him quickly.

My Saturday was actually pretty busy and has flown by. Today Beth came over and brought breakfast since we had a work party to go to she came over and got the day started with carry out. Ahh she brought me McDonalds yummy greasy breakfast and a coffee. Is that a best friend or what!? :) We just sort of hung around and enjoyed the down pouring rain and just relaxed. Scott was so great, despite his back killing him he went ahead and made the dip that I had to take for the party for me. He said that moving around actually helped his back feel better. We headed to the work party for our co-worker Linda and it turned out great. I was worried since it was a pool party and it was raining SO HARD! The skies cleared up and it was beautiful! HOWEVER the humidity was miserable. Beth and I have wanted to get crabs and shrimp for a while now and haven't yet this summer. So on the way home from Linda's we decided to order 2 dozen crabs, and a pound of shrimp. It was delicious!!!! After eating non stop all day this bottomless pit of a stomach is finally full!!!!! Wahoo!!

There was a CF meet up this weekend that I wasn't able to attend. I would have loved to have got the chance to meet some of the people I've been chatting with etc on the sites and on Facebook. However it was over 8 hours away just one way. With it being Father's Day weekend there's not way I'd make it back in time for our family stuff. I know they're all having a blast though. Oh well, hopefully next time :)

I took a workout break today. Honestly I don't even know when I could have done it. It was a welcomed break though, since I'm still kind of sore from the exercise all week. I'm still hoping to get out and get some research going on the exercise bike.

Well tomorrow is Father's Day so I'm sure we'll have another busy day. Tomorrow is also 2 years since I lost my Pop to Pancreatic Cancer. I sure miss him and can't believe it's been 2 years already.....

Happy Weekend Everyone!

On Second Thought

Hooray for Friday!!! It was one of those weeks I must say. Good in the fact that I was in charge and the work week went very smoothly. Rough in the fact that I'm still fighting whatever is going on in my lungs...Asthma flare up? Inflammation? CF stuff? Infection despite not having infection type symptoms? Nobody knows! So today at work I decided to use my very own lovely medical brain and do something different. Granted I know that there is a risk when not consulting your doctor first etc. HOWEVER I chose to follow my gut and I'm glad I did. I take Albuterol PRN and haven't really had to use it too much over the years. I've been using it before workouts now though ever since getting back to a full workout schedule. Well at work we have Albuterol neb treatments so I decided to do one today. I took my vitals beforehand and they were perfect. MY pulse Ox was 100% yippee :) Let me rewind a bit. I called Hopkins again today to touch base on my symptoms. I told my nurse that at work today I was around 2 SEVERLY sick sick people. I mean they were really sick and they were DOCTORS! Grrr, I wish they would have just not worked but that's not how that works unfortunately. So needless to say I washed my hands a million and a half times (like I do everyday) and held my breath anytime one of them walked by me. I told my CF nurse that I was worried since I'm on Prednisone I'm already immunosupressed and afraid If by some chance I developed what they had over the weekend. She didn't want to do anything differently. I didn't want to start an antibiotic, but I wouldn't have minded having something on hand just in case. At any rate she said to just keep doing what I'm doing which is Prednisone, Pulmozyme, TOBI (on month), sinus rinses as needed, Zyrtec D, Singulair, etc. Oh and to wait to call her on Monday If I've developed an infection over the weekend. That didn't sit too well with me. I'm telling her on the phone that I don't feel so great, my chest is still very tight despite this regimine but no changes. I'm very patient, sometimes too patient I'll admit. But today I decided to make a step myself and did an Albuterol treatment at work and WOW it worked WONDERS on me!!!!!!!!! I came home and did my home PFT meter and the reading was the absolute highest I've ever gotten since I owned the thing!!!! I felt amazing and so relieved!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not saying that you shouldn't listen to what you're told by any means. It just felt great to be able to assess my symptoms and act accordingly and see amazing results. I haven't been able to breathe this deep all week! The bonus for me is to be able to laugh and not cough! I'll definitely be reporting this to the docs at my appointment on Tuesday for sure. I can't believe the difference. Is this something I should do routinely? I've always had a history of Asthma on top of CF, but I feel like it often goes secondary to CF. So we'll see what they say.

As for the rest of the day...I did a good workout after the Albuterol neb. I did a 30 minute cardio workout on the mountain bike. I did a total of about 4.5 miles around the neighborhood which includes many hills! Went and got Father's Day gifts, Birthday gifts, groceries, etc. When I got home I had a phone call from one of our friends whom Scott is helping do some remodeling work on their house. They said to come over and join them all for food and drinks. So my night of relaxing turned into a night of friends and fun. Happy I must say eventhough I was needing the rest. It was a very relaxing night of chatting with friends and just enjoying company.

Here's to the start of a good weekend with happier breathing!! ;) *Fingers Crossed!*

Long Day

I knew all week long that today was going to be insanely busy at work. And since I'm in charge I have to stay until the last patient is fully stable and discharged. So it was a doozy to be honest. Getting to work at 0545 is rough, but I don't mind since I'm normally out early. Today was non stop patients, 1 sick RN who had to leave early, another RN who had an appointment to go to, means no lunch and a non-stop 12 hour day for me. Ahhh! I was so hungry and beat! After work I had to run to Target to pick up a co-workers birthday present for tomorrow. I then decided as I was driving with the toothpicks propping my eyes open (LOL!) that I was all about carry out for dinner. So I did just that. Got a huge order of Buffalo wings and mozzarella sticks. Mmmm!

I'm officially having a lazy no work out evening. My body isn't a big fan of me right now anyway. I thought I was feeling better, but currently my chest is so tight and I'm wheezing like crazy. How is this possible with the Prednisone!? Grrr it worries me too. I don't like this.

*Positive Thoughts*

Slowly but surely

Getting better that is. I was very happy to have gotten sleep last night!! Woo hoo, take that stupid Prednisone, ha ha. I woke up around 2 am and thought, oh no here we go again, but surprisingly enough I fell right back to sleep, whew! I don't know what's going on because recently when I'm driving home from work, I am so EXHAUSTED that I feel as If I can barely keep my eyes open. As I mentioned before I'm not one to be a big "napper" but recenlty it's happening a lot. Today after work all I wanted to do was just sleep! So that's exactly what I did too :) Luckily Scott called me around 4pm to wake me up or who knows how long I could have slept for.

After the nap I was still very exhausted but did the Eliptical again. I thought I worked hard yesterday!? Wow I really kicked butt tonight! My pulse rate usually hangs around the mid 140's or so, tonight she was rocking it at 160 yowza ;) Yesterday's mileage on the Eliptical was 1.22 miles in 30 minutes, and tonights was .91 in 20 minutes. Sure did feel good afterwards too. I'm glad that I didn't let the exhaustion get me.

I'm also very happy to say that my voice is back a lot more today. It's officially been one week since I lost it...feels way longer to me though.

I'm keeping my close friends daughter in my prayers tonight. She's been having seizures of unknown cause and is currently in the hospital being evaluated. She's almost 2, so my heart just breaks. Hoping everything is ok!

Voiceless and Sleepless

I think the Prednisone is helping now. I felt better today so I was very relieved about that. Still voiceless mind you, but feeling better. Good work day, very busy as usual but nice overall. I'm the Charge RN for the week and things having been going well. I had a patient today that kind of got to me. She was a 65 year old woman, but I thought she looked WAY older than that. I got her vitals and got her situated and her O2 sat on Room Air was only 71%!!!! To quote the patient "Don't have a heart attack when you see my oxygen numbers they are always like that." WOW!! So needless to say I put her on O2 at the bedside, but cautiously since she has severe COPD. At 3 Liters we got her Sats up to 91-92%. Of course I had to question her history, and she continues to smoke everyday and has no desire to quit. So sad. Then I go to cannulate her IV and she bled all over my pants and me :( Ugh...did I say it was a good day at work? What was I thinking ;)

I kicked it into high gear today when I got home and did a great workout. Got on the Eliptical for a total of 35 minutes and sweated my butt off! LOL! I found a new way to keep me pumped and not get bored. For 60 seconds I go an medium speed, then the next 60 seconds I go as fast as I can. Whoa does it work!!! So I did that and then cooled down for 5 minutes. I stuck to my guns and relaxed yesterday so today was back to the daily workout grind. I then did some quick weight lifting too. So overall I feel pretty good today and happy that my breathing feels better. I did my meter after working out and got high numbers too, woo hoo!! I had the potential of getting a new exercise bike today but it didn't work out. One of the doctors I work for said they were having an auction at her gym and she was going to bid on a "Lifecycle" for me. We had a good shot, but got out bid. No biggie, I keep doing my research for bikes and I'm sure will find a good one.

Tonight Scott had a good idea to have a relax movie night. I couldn't agree more!! It's been a crazy time around here recenlty. I've been upset about the loss of the CF'ers, and with my inflammation going on it's been a little rough. So we got the new "Friday the 13th" movie. He picked up our favorite pizza, mozzarella sticks, and wings on the way home and we had a nice little movie night. That movie was good too and of course scary and gross!

I'm hoping that I actually get some sleep tonight. As great as Prednisone can be, I've got a new side effect besides the hunger. Mind you I don't mind the hunger at all ;) But now I'm having a very hard time sleeping at night. Last night I just layed there and watched the clock from 10-430 am. No fun at all. No matter what I just could not sleep. I'm sure hoping tonight is better for sleep. No worries I had extra strong coffee to keep me going all day. And if it happens again tonight I'm drinking the entire coffee pot at work tomorrow! You got to take the good with the bad. So I'll take feeling better even if it's messing up my sleeping.

Well I start to taper the Prednisone tomorrow, so here's hoping I feel better tomorrow!!

Dear Voice I Miss You!

Last night before bed I got word that the 3rd CF'er that wasn't doing so well lost his life :( My heart breaks over this situation once again, and It is simply terrifying. It makes me so grateful for the wonderful CF'ers I've met now on the sites, chats, blogs, and Facebook. It's nice to have these friends and be able to offer support to eachother during these sad times.

Work went surprisingly well today, especially for a Monday. I noticed that I was extremely tired towards the end of the day and had to come home and take a much needed nap. I collapsed right on the floor with the pups by my side, ahhh naps :) I finished up the mound of steamed crabs for dinner too, yummy!

My CF nurse at hopkins called me today to check on me. I'm currently on the Prednisone still for this lovely inflammation thing going on. I do notice a difference but not like I hoped so we're changing the dosages a little bit. Instead of me being on 30 mg already, we're keeping me on 40 mg for 2 more days and will taper me down starting on Wednesday. She also told me not to exercise today and to give myself a break. Hmmm I'm not sure how I feel about that one. Yes I am very tired hence the nap I needed which is rare for me to nap. But...I know that exercise is key. This nurse honestly isn't my favorite one to deal with, but I'm not trying to be negative or complain. I just don't know if she's right. My thoughts were, well I do try to work out 5 times a week. Maybe I will take today and rest, then get back tomorrow. That way I'm still exercising, still resting, but not losing a day.....make sense? She's also ordering me an Acapella to start to use. I still have barely a voice too. It's quite the effort to talk which is pretty straining and It actually hurts. I'm wondering if it's the TOBI making me so hoarse and my throat so raw? That could be why I'm having a hard time...just a thought. Maybe the Prednisone really is working but my throat is too raw and raspy to notice better breathing?

Well that's it for now. I'll keep my positive thoughts going and not let this get me down!

Emotions running wild

Today was very productive despite me still being voiceless and still having the inflammation stuff going on. The Prednisone feels like it is working so far, but I still don't feel 100%....I'm being a little impatient I know. The only side effect thus far from Prednisone is hunger. Last night I was in bed then suddenly wanted to devour a bag of Cheetos, so I did ;) I'm still a little inflamed and can hear I'm a little wheezy, but better than I was for sure. I also made myself get back outside today and bike ride for 25 minutes. I sure felt great afterwards and got an awesome meter reading from it. I pulled some muscles in my back actually doing the meter so that wasn't any fun. Sheesh. This whole flare up has definitely gotten to me and I just want to feel better. Oh and have my voice again too please.

Got lots knocked off the to-do list today which was nice. Washed both dogs, washed both vehicles, including vacuuming and interior stuff, cleaned the house, did laundry, and caught up on all the odds and ends type things. So I'm happy to have gotten many things accomplished.

Last night was great too. We had a nice time at the cook out and got to see baby Ally too which always makes my day. I made a new recipe hooray!! I love cooking!! It turned out really well too, it was a "Dessert Pizza" yummy! Pretty easy too, just rolled out sugar cookies that were baked, topped with cool-whip ( I also added almond extract), then topped with fresh fruit. I chose strawberries, pineapples, and peaches. It was delicious! Then on the way home we stopped by my brother and sister in laws for a minute and they gave us a ton of steamed crabs to take home! Now that's the type of carry-out I'm talking about! So that was tonights dinner in true Marylander fashion :)

Here's where the emotions come into play. I just found out that one of my Facebook friends with CF passed away today. I've been thinking of her and praying for her everyday. I'm so deeply saddened, scared, and heartbroken for her family. I also found out that another member of one of the CF sites I'm on passed away as well. So incredibly sad and It just makes you pause and sort of go numb. Also knowing that another Facebook CF friend is in critical health right now in the hospital awaiting transplant, it's just hard. I can't even explain it........Then on a much lighter note following these feelings..my cousin had a baby shower today and I couldn't go to it. I just still cry and have days where the miscarriage makes me so incredibly sad. I try so hard to think positive and use "The Secret" but at the same time I know that right now I couldn't sit in a room full of babies, and expectant mothers when I'm still devistated over losing that. Part of me feels selfish and I don't want to be that way. But the other part of me feels like that is normal to still be sad and grieve and it's ok to feel that way. I don't know....

So the emotions are running rampant today and I'm just sort of blah. Rest in peace to those CF'ers who are now gone, you will be missed :( This makes me want to kick CF's ass even harder than ever!

Prednisone Time

I got a call back from Hopkins yesterday. Of course the timing was just lovely...it was just as I was putting and IV in on a patient. I told them what was going on and I suggested a course of Prednisone now please! My nurse said it sounds like a chemical inhalation thing since again they sprayed our neighborhood for pesticides. It's definitely made me so very inflamed and now voiceless. No fun at all. They agreed to do a course of tapering Prednisone for me. YAY! I'm so happy that the inflammation will go away soon and I'll be able to breath deep again with no wheezing. Luckily *knocks on wood* I don't get awful side effects of Prednisone like some experience. My main thing is hunger, and I eat like a cow now anyway. Add Prednisone to the equation and I'm eating like food is going out of style. I'm on 40mg for 3 days, 30mg for 3 days, 20mg for 2 days, down to 10mg. I feel the difference already thankfully! I'm hesitant to go back outside and run though which is a bummer. I think I'll be utilizing the Eliptical this weekend.

Last night we ended up going out with some of our close friends, and friends we hadn't seen in a long time. It ended being such a fun great time. We all met up at a local bar around here and just hung out and caught up, good times and lots of fun.

This morning I met up with my best friend for some coffee at Starbucks. Yummy. It's a beautiful day here for sure...well minus the humidity that is :/ Tonight we're going to a cookout at my cousins house and I'm really looking forward to that. I get to see my niece Ally/Goddaughter :) She's already 2 months old and changing by the second. Here's to a great start of the weekend and breathing better!

"I" is for Inflammation

Well today I woke up sounding like a dude....aka mega hoarse voice. I think it's the combination of different things. Anything from our lovely humidity, allergies running rampid, TOBI, or the fact that I was reminded today that they sprayed yesterday for pesticides in the neighborhood. That could definitely explain why my chest has been so tight the last 2 days. Gratefully I'm not usually like this, but I still don't like it. So I'm wondering if the pesticide spray got me yesterday since I was probably running right around the same time it was sprayed?

Last night I noticed too that in the middle of the night I was coughing my head off. Kind of unusual for me to cough non stop like that at night. I mean yeah it does happen, but not too often. It was definitely like sinus drainage. I don't know but I just hope it goes away soon. I called the doctors office today and left a message. I want to see what they say, but honestly if they say I have to take Prednisone for a week or so, I'd be A-OK with that. Anything to kick this inflammation that has suddenly stopped by for an unwanted visit ;)

It's no fun trying to talk to patients all day while making a tough effort to actually talk. And trust me I'm talkative so this is killing me, LOL! I'm the charge RN at work for the next week plus so I need my voice back.

I've done some good research today for an exercise bike too. Looks like I can find a semi-decent one for around $100. Yippee :) I just need something small that has a timer, and the distance etc. Shouldn't be too bad at all. Honestly at this rate with the lovely humidity we have here in Baltimore, I'll soon be working out inside I think. Maybe we can build a track in the house, LOL! Just kidding.

Well that's it for today, I was exhausted after work. Came home and took a much needed nap and felt much better. We have lots of thunderstorms going on tonight which I love. Nothing like good summer storms :)

Holy Humidity

My breathing is not making me too thrilled today. I've felt it all day and have been quite wheezy too. I'm usually not that wheezy at all honestly, and rarely ever take my Albuterol. Well today I went for the usual mile run but I was very dissapointed that I had to stop 3 times. They were quick stops, literally no more than 10 seconds but it still bugged me. I know I can be too hard on myself but I have a goal and I want to accomplish it. Darn humidity definitely got the best of me today. For some reason I didn't even think that maybe I should just work out inside instead of outdoor running. Oh well, too late now anyway. At least I still finished my work out and actually did it.

I like using our Eliptical but I work out on it pretty hard and then my back always hurts for a few days from pulling the arm handle things. Ugh what to do what to do....I think I would like to have a nice stationary exercise bike, that's an idea...

My reward for the humidity from hell work out (ha ha) was going to Chipotle with my best friend tonight and doing what I do best....Eating! ;)

All Good Things

Today was a really good day plain and simple. It was just one of those days where unexpected nice things just happen all around. Here's some of them:

~I had a deaf patient today with and interpretor. Before the patient left after her procedure they came over to sign and interpret to me that I was the "Best Nurse" it made my day.

~Then one of the my favorite doctors came to me today to ask when my next vacation was so he could plan our works annual summer party around it. I was so flattered and touched by that. Have I mentioned I really love my job and who I work for?

~I got the chance to catch up today with one of my oldest guy friends. We've been friends for about 20 years. We'd been playing phone tag and it was just nice to catch up on life.

~We had awesome and I mean awesome thunderstorms here, including monsterous hail. Yes I love storms.

~I laughed so much and so hard at work today that my muscles actually ached. Now mind you I'm always laughing but today was to a whole new level.

~My legs hurt hurt hurt hurt hurt so baldy from my recent mile runs. Makes me very happy to feel a difference on many levels. I decided however today my legs would get a much deserved break. I think I heard them do a happy sigh of relief ;)

First day back

First day back to work that is...and wow, I'm still in vacation mode for sure. I think I'd rather be hanging out at the pool, or on the ship, drinking fruity drinks, and doing a whole lot of nothing! That's ok, it was time to get back to reality and put my big girl RN pants on! ha ha ha ;)

It was actually a nice work day overall. I came home and got the mind set of need-to-keep-running. So I did just that. I took a little after work down time then got into work out mode. I ran a mile non stop, woo hoo! Then I did a mile walk as a cool down. I was very happy with that, and felt great afterwards. My legs sure were burning and I'm sure I'll feel that tomorrow.

Overall it's great to be home and get back to my regular routine. I'm going to try to run a mile at least 4 times a week now....maybe 5 times a week, we'll see.

*Fingers Crossed and Postive thoughts*

BERMUDA....we're back

Bermuda was a beautiful island and overall a great trip. It was so easy and convenient to leave from Baltimore. I'd definitely do it again. My dad actually works at the Port Of Baltimore so it just couldn't have been any easier for us. It was my 4th cruise, but first one leaving from our own city and I loved it!

The first day was definitely a lazy day at that. We got on the ship, lounged around and did a whole lot of nothing. (Mission Accomplished) :) We ventured around the ship to check everything out and kind of get our barrings straight. It was a much smaller ship than we'd been on, but it was still great.

We arrived in Bermuda on Tuesday afternoon. One word to sum up Bermuda would be "PASTEL." Wow! It was so pretty and so neat to see that it's "normal" to have a pink, purple, turquoise, or bright yellow house. So neat! After we got to Bermuda off the ship we went. We had our first excursion right then and there. We did the glass bottom kayaking tour. It was 100% AWESOME!!!!!!! We shared a kayak and just ventured around the channels and different beaches with our group. It was cool because when one of us paddled, the other one could explore and look around. We saw whale bones, eels, tons and tons of exotic beautiful fish, snails bigger than life, and even an octopus which was so neat. The tour was the best and so worth it! The water was so clear and turquoise that it looked like you could drink it.

The next day we spent just exploring Bermuda. We didn't plan an excursion that day since we wanted a day to just chill out and go at our own pace. We did some shopping, took in all the touristy type stuff. We discovered a gorgeous beach with huge cliffs for diving and amazing scenery. Plus they had a bar which served Corona's with LIMES! The ship wasn't "aloud" to carry limes per some Bermuda law. So it was very very nice to enjoy some classic Corona's on the beach with the fruit it was intended for.........a LIME! ;) I'm sure that day we walked several miles. There were so many hills that it felt like we were walking up mountains. Boy I felt those sore muscles the next day.

We did another tour on Thursday. This time it was a Cave Tour. We explored Bermuda's "Crystal Caves" wow was it amazing. Took tons of pictures and they don't even do it justice. It's just amazing what nature creates. Part of the tour was to go to the aquarium and the zoo. That was so much fun. We saw everything plus some. The highlight of that was seeing the biggest Tortoise I've ever seen in my life. I swear that thing was bigger than me! Overall what a great day. Our bus driver took us around all over the island while giving us a great tour on Bermuda from A-Z.

Friday we were out at sea again and started to head back home. I treated myself to a hot stone massage for the first time. I've done regular massages, but OMG the hot stones were the best!!!!!!! Overall we had a great trip and couldn't have asked for better weather. It was sunny and warm everyday and calm seas. It only got rough on the last day headed back to Baltimore, but we were certainly not complaining.

Some other highlights of the trip:

• We met some great people on this cruise
• We worked out like crazy! Ran the track (at least 1 mile) each day, or more.
• Rode the bike at the gym for at least 5-6 miles and lifted lots of weights
• The food was DELICIOUS! (my favorite part) ;)
• Bud Light Lime delivered to us on the ship while laying out in a bucket everyday...ahh paradise.
• I cracked up because one day I was wearing my "The Cure" tee shirt. The Cure meaning my favorite music group of all time. Now in the elevator this woman with her thick thick northern New York accent says... "Is that The Cure for Cancer?" Hmm..."no Ma'am it's The Cure as in a band. Still nothing....so then I said "Umm it's a music group." Oh oh she said. Hmm yeah I felt like a moron. Umm no lady my shirt isn't supporting cancer it's supporting my favorite music. (Insert feeling "this big" right about now) LOL!
• One day in the gift shop I just wanted normal junk food! The ship was amazing but only had lovely sit-down-fancy food. So you'd have thought I hit the jackpot when I spotted Coke and Cheetos!!!!!!! I quickly loaded up a huge stash for the week...but in only lasted 2 days. :)
• I was able to catch up on lots of movies during my before bed downtime. I'm awful with movies so that was good for me. We saw....7 pounds, Madagascar 2, The Curious case of Benjamin Button, Slumdog Millionaire (which the ending cut off, grrr), Bride Wars, Twilight..which I'm in love with!!! (My 14 year old niece will be so proud of Aunt Jess for that one!)
• I laughed at the price of some of the souvenirs. I wanted to get my niece/goddaughter something. However when I saw that a onesie cost $28.95 I quickly changed my mind. Ouch. Bermuda really is expensive.

Well now we are home safe and I'm very grateful for a wonderful trip. It was nice to get away from the recent stresses and losses that the month of May brought us. I did get upset a few times about the miscarriage, but overall did great. Realizing...that there are going to be bad days and that is A-ok. We picked up the dogs from Scott's parent's house earlier and I couldn't be happier to have my 4 legged babies back :) I'm unpacked, house is cleaned, and laundry is done! It's back to the grind tomorrow...Wow you mean I really have to be a Nurse again tomorrow? Hmm I think I like the whole laying out and being on vacation thing instead ;)