"I Miss Your Blog"....so much to catch up on!

I feel pretty honored to actually have people like to read my blog and wonder where the heck I've been. Believe me, I haven't not blogged just to be recognized. September was a very hard month in this house, and honestly I just wasn't even sure how to put into words how I felt about things. So on to better things and time to get back to what I like to do...blog!

To sum things up in a nut-shell if you will, my month started off with terrible tragedy. I went over to my parents house to shower because our water system had went up. I walk in the door, and my Father sits me down and said he and Mom had terrible news to tell me. I thought I was going to pass out. My 17 year old cousin who had cerebral palsy passed away in his sleep. To say I was shocked would be the understatement of the year. I can't even explain it. I felt completely numb for days. Our family is in mourning and I still can't even wrap my head around it all to be honest.

I ran another 5K on September 11th. It was respectfully called the "Run to Remember" and it was the most emotional touching races I've ever run. Overall I'm happy with my time and proud of myself. I was on Colistin during the time of the 5K so my chest was tight (side effect) but I still did it, hills and all. What an amazing way to honor our fallen heroes and their families.

We went on a cruise to New England and Canada 2 weeks ago. I can't even begin to explain how WONDERFUL it was to get away!!! There was a slight chill in the air, the leaves were starting to change, and just an overall Fall feeling. This is my favorite time of year, we thoroughly enjoyed it. That reminds me, I really need to post some pics!

My souvenier that I brought back was one I wish I hadn't...a raging sinus/chest cold. I thought I had it by just doing sinus rinses, but turns out I had an ear infectin so the sinus rinses just added to it. Note to those who do sinus rinses, DO NOT use them if you have clogged/blocked ears, or suspect an ear infection. Ouch.

I've been on Levaquin for almost 2 weeks now. I can't complain though, it finally seems to be helping me. This is a stubborn old cold and I want it outta here please. I haven't been on oral abx since January so I'm pretty happy about that.

Aside from the CF stuff, without delving into too much on here, I got diagnosed with stage 4 endometriosis in September as well. It came as a shock to me, but I'm doing my best in taking it all in and making sense of it all...believe me it's hard.

My job has been a major stresser to me. Without sounding like a negative nancy, It's just an adjustment and I need to stay focused and not give up. I need to realize I have to power to make things better and do it. It's been causing me a lot of anxiety which I'm not used to at all, bummer.

Scott is in college working on his 2nd degree after work during the week. It's hard not seeing him all week, but my goodness I am so proud of him, his hard work, dedication, and drive are amazing to me.

I've been working out 4 days a week at the gym and things are going well there. All during the cruise we hit the gym, and the track, so I didn't miss a beat. Infact on the ship I was referred to as an "athlete" I was glowing after I heard that :)

This past weekend we went away for the weekend camping with Scott's family. It was wonderful to be in the woods, outdoors, and be around family that I love all weekend long. I am very fortunate for that.

I decided to take some down time for myself with last months whirlwind things happening. I've always had a MAJOR fascination with JFK and Jackie Kennedy, and well, the whole Kennedy clan since I was about 9 years old or so. I'm reading a great book about them right now, and am hooked to say the least.

I'm sure I forgot things, but that's the gist of it all....

Things aren't awful, I'm not a negative person to harp on things. However, September was rough, and in the words of Green Day..."wake me up when September ends"...

Why thank you CF...(gross)

Thank you Mr. CF for making me cough so hard the other night that I threw up in my hand. Wow. Sorry, but it's true. I was in the middle of doing my "Huff" coughs and right there in my hand it happened. Ew. I'm pretty sure that was a first for me. I mean sure, I've coughed so hard I saw stars, got nauseated, got light headed, you name it...But vomiting in my hand, yup that goes in the books.

I'm reallllllllly hoping that doesn't happen again. It was definitely one of those "You know you have CF when..." moments.

Pink Eye!?

Yes, I have Pink Eye, and I'm pretty sure I haven't had this diagnosis since oh...about 3rd grade? I woke up for work on Monday and my eyes were bloodshot, it was pretty scary looking. I get into work and realize I need some eye drops stat or I'm going to scare my patients away. I thought nothing about this, chalking it all up to my allergies.....wrong.

I woke up Tuesday morning with the classic symptoms, bloodshoot, all junky, and swollen shut. Not what I was expecting at all I have to admit. I made my way to the local "Patient First" facility, which is so much better than my Primary Care office, more efficient, faster, and nicer.

The Doctor came in and did her examination of my eyes and of course said it was indeed Pink Eye. She had a feeling I may have a scratched eye, so we examined a little further, luckily we did this. Turns out I have 2 rather larger scratches on my eye (not the cornea thankfully) hence causing the infection, which then spread to the other eye. We determined that I scratched them while hiking last weekend. It was the windiest day I've ever hiked in and I remember a few things getting in my eyes here and there. Well turns out it was pretty significant and caused all this.

Luckily enough, the Gentamicin drops are doing their job and my eyes feel so much better today. Yesterday it actually hurt to look at something. So thankful it's getting better :)

My Week in Updates

Such a busy week this week, that my blogging hasn't been up to speed. I want to keep track of my exercising, but can't decide to do a daily post on here, or post it on the CF boards? Decisions Decisions. So here is a random re-cap of everything going on here this week...

* I worked out all 4 days again this week, and feel great. I did over 12 miles this week, lifted a lot of weights, and really feel it in my muscles for sure. Loving the cardio.

*Had my clinic visit at Hopkins. Overall it really was a great visit and they said to just keep doing what I'm doing. Can't really ask for better news than that. I just get frustrated and hard on myself because I'm on Prednisone for a flare up, so my PFT's weren't my best. I'm pretty whezzy on exhalation which is annoying. I shouldn't harp on it, but it's easier said than done.

*I'm going to start AZLI as soon as the FDA gives their final approval. My Doctor was beaming about this which was very exciting. TOBI is making me lose my voice 100% and I told them I can't work like that anymore. We also discussed a lot of new meds coming out, new vitamins and minerals I'm going to start taking etc. Good stuff :)

*I finally rescheduled the big Colonoscopy for March 1st. It scared me a little bit because this week we had a patient who was only 31 that had a colon mass and it doesn't look good. Scary.

*The coworkers and I (and Scott) went to Happy Hour on Wednesday after a very stessful day. It was the perfect way to break up the week. We had so much fun, and I can't remember the last time we did a Happy Hour.

*I'm on the Prednisone until at least Monday now. I weaned off yesterday, but then got super wheezy again, so clearly not ready to be off of it. Boo hiss. I just hope being on an extended dose is what does the trick for me.

*I'm guessing it's the Prednisone, because I was super sensitive sally over the last few days which drives me crazy :/ The baby things hit me on Thursday and I just found myself wheeping. I've not gotten upset for a long time which is good. I just had a weak moment, need to stay positive, and work towards our goal.

*We went out into the city last night for a friends birthday party. Had a really nice time, and always great to spend time laughing with friends. You know you've had a good night when your face hurts from laughing :)

*So as I sit here and look out the window...IT'S SNOWING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm going to enjoy my coffee and see what the day brings....

So Stupid It's Funny

Stupid? Yes that would be me today. Literally everything thing I did today was a doozie.

Blackberry-Scott fixed my new phone and it was great, only until I realized it had no internet. Duh! So I sat on the phone waiting, and waiting for the Verizon guy to trouble shoot it. He was very nice though, and got it working thankfully. This phone thing pushed back my errands and early start to about noon.

Go to the bank @ the mall, only to see that the bank is not there anymore. No signs, no "hey we've moved" no nothing. That was fun.

Finally got to another bank, fill out my deposit slip only to realize the money that needs to be deposited is still in the truck. So out of line I went, only to return to a line that was 5x as long as when I left.

Went to the post office to get stamps, only to arrive as they were locking the main lobby doors. Luckily they had a machine I could use. Then to top it off, I forgot the mail that I had to stamp and send off. Doh!

Went to the grocery store, and that was actually uneventful, unbelieveable! ;)

Came home to make peppermint bark for a party tonight. I put the food processor together to crush up the candy canes, and didn't have the blade in the food processor.

So in conclusion.....Dear brain, can you come back please!!??
Thanks!
Love, Jess ;)

Denied

Yes sir I've been denied the new upgraded, smaller, more compact VEST. Grr I'm annoyed that I have to keep using the gigantic beast of a vest. I'm grateful to have one, yes, however I see tons of my FB friends who have the newer model and how great it is. I would love to be able to take it with us for when we travel, but I can't at all. This thing is like 100 pounds! So my CF nurse called me and said I could request an appeal. Basically I just have to say something like I'm a "travel nurse" and it's necessary. I don't get it though, they VEST company sent me new tubing and a new vest, just not the compressor. So here I've been this whole time thinking the compressor will be here any day now, and DENIED! So who knows what I'll do. I feel like an appeal is going to be a big pain in the butt. However my vest is over 10 years old, and how come others aren't denied even if theirs aren't broken!? Apparently that's the only way to get a new one, maybe I'll break the thing (kidding).

Last night we had our annual work cookout at one of our doctors house. It was a nice time overall. I was a bit frustrated with a situation, but trying not to be. Why is it that you can't just be a nice person without people taking it the wrong way. Yes I know I'm too nice, a push-over, can't be mean to people, can't stand the thought of hurting feelings, and try to "save" everyone. I just don't understand....

The deck is coming along nicely, Scott is working so hard on it and it looks great! I've been super sleep deprived all week and it's definitely catching up to me now. I've not let myself read "Breaking Dawn" with the help of Scott hiding my book, that way I get sleep :) The foot is feeling so much better in the shoe, and I can bend my toes now! YAY!

Mittwoch

I'm being a dork, mittwoch is the German word for Wednesday. Today was one of the slowest relaxing work days I've had in a while. Patients were pretty cool too...well except for my last one. I'm always compassionate but let's face it, manic, paranoid people tend to drain me sometimes. Stopped by mommas after work to visit and chit chat. Sometimes you just need to talk to your mom, you know? The guys are here tonight to play cards. Ahh the smell of cigars, beer, and listening to the baseball game. :D I just realized It's going on 8 and I haven't even eaten yet. Time for some dinner!

20 random things

I've seen a couple people on their blogs do this. I think it's neat, and I'm bored so guess what? Here's my list :)

~I could listen to The Cure (any of my CD's/ iPOD) and never ever get sick of them. They've been my favorite since about age 13. U2 is a very close second

~I've slept like a brick the past couple of nights, i think because my days have been so INSANE and exhausting at work.

~Haven't been to the chiropractor is over 2 weeks, and my back hates me for it, we're going tomorrow...no excuses considering they are literally next door from work.

~I had an awesome time with Julie and seeing her girls on tuesday night, sometimes i can see us with daughters too, then some days i just see boys...Hmm.

~I miss my cousins and hope we hang out soon

~I did my nieces spanish homework for her on Monday...shh don't tell (it was her birthday, consider it a gift ;)

~We're supposed to go to NYC on saturday but i'm thinking its a no-go considering all the hurricanes brewing in the ocean. boo.

~I can't wait for Halloween and have already starting checking out costumes online.

~I signed up today to do a colon cancer walk in honor of a former patient of our practice that lost her battle 3 years ago.

~I can't wait for the holidays and have already starting thinking about some Christmas gifts i'd like to buy...especially for my nieces. And I dreamt about Christmas cards last night (weird)

~Loving how the feeling of fall is in the air, and it's actually chilly when i'm driving to work at 0530...Plus Fall festivals are the best!!

~I heard from a couple friends via email this week that i haven't talked to in a little bit and it made me feel great :D

~I'm praying for my co-worker who's in the hospital battling lung cancer.

~I'm all about house projects right now. we've done so many great things to the house this year and i just want to keep up the good work.

~Mark Ruffalo is my favorite actor

~I want to see the movie Stepbrothers so bad! I just love stupid humor.

~Hooray for the season Premiere of Ghost Hunters tonight yippee!!

~My mom is the best. I can tell her anything and she's always there to listen, offer advise, give support, and be my best friend.

~You can never take too many pictures...one of my projects is to actually frame some of those pictures and hang them on the walls.

~I've been working out on our new Eliptical and love the feeling you get knowing you are exercising.