Breathing Deeply: My Life With Cystic Fibrosis

Today was an interesting day for me here at the hospital. I underwent a procedure called "antibiotic desensitization." What it does is trick the body into thinking that it's no longer allergic to an antibiotic. In my case, the antibiotic is Septra.

Here's how the day unfolded:

10 a.m. I was told that they found a bed for me down in the Intermediate Medical Unit (IMU) down on the second floor. That's where there are more nurses and more monitors to keep a close eye on a person's vital signs.

11 a.m. Packed up my gear and waited to be taken down to the IMU.

12 p.m. Got checked into the new room and was immediately started on a small oral suspension of Septra. From that point on I was given a slightly stronger dose every half hour. I was hooked up to a machine that kept track of my heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure and oxygen saturation. A nurse was at my bedside the entire time just in case I started to have an adverse reaction to the antibiotic.

4 p.m. Received the final dose of the desensitization process. I managed to make it through with only a small degree of itchiness on my palms and my neck. They gave me benadryl for it and that worked fine.

Now that I'm officially desensitized, I will be receiving Septra intravenously in a fairly strong dose. This will be substituted for one of the other antibiotics I'm currently taking. Tonight I'll spend the night in the IMU being monitored by nurses.

It was a good day!