Sunday, April 12, 2009
He is Risen!
Matthew 28 (NIV)The Resurrection
1After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.2There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
5The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."
8So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Don't Think of them as Maternity Pants
Okay, so I've gained about 25 pounds on prednisone, and of course 80% of it in on my belly and the rest is on my face. Most of my clothes are uncomfortable and as I've mentioned before, people keep asking me when I'm due.
A couple weeks ago I bought 2 pairs of maternity pants. Yes, you heard me. Maternity pants. God bless whomever invented these things. They're soft, comfortable and best of all FLATTERING! They don't have that annoying gap in the back that happens with regular jeans. They also don't have any buttons or zippers, so that bathroom urgency (you know, the kind you get when you're on antibiotics) isn't a problem either.
So here I am today looking at the business end of boredom, but glad to at least be comfortable. A girl can only wear pajamas so many hours of the day, you know?
A couple weeks ago I bought 2 pairs of maternity pants. Yes, you heard me. Maternity pants. God bless whomever invented these things. They're soft, comfortable and best of all FLATTERING! They don't have that annoying gap in the back that happens with regular jeans. They also don't have any buttons or zippers, so that bathroom urgency (you know, the kind you get when you're on antibiotics) isn't a problem either.
So here I am today looking at the business end of boredom, but glad to at least be comfortable. A girl can only wear pajamas so many hours of the day, you know?
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
FREE AT LAST!
Yesterday my PFTs were as good as I had hoped they'd be. I was hoping for a 1.6 on my FEV1 and I got a 1.6L! YAY! My improvement on my FVC (the total amount of air I can take in and breathe out) was WAY up too and the doctors were pleased. Yesterday they told me that if I made enough improvement they'd dishcharge me. I'm happy to report that I am blogging from the comfort of my own home. It's so nice to be sitting on a bed that doesn't hurt my back.
My mom was my transportation home and she brought along some "welcome home" pajamas to encourage me to continue to take it easy now that I'm home. The first thing I did after eating lunch was check on the rabbits. They were really skittish around me, but once they figured out that I was going to offer them food they seemed to be a bit more interested in me.
Brad has forbidden me to do much of anything (I love it that he treats me like a princess!) and basically just wants me to rest as much as I can. So right now I'm hanging on in the bedroom getting caught up on email and enjoying the wonderful smell of dinner cooking. My mom made us her famous "Peek-a-Boo" chicken. It's one of our faves. Brad stopped at the grocery store last night, so the fridge is nice and full too. I can say enough how good it is to be home.
It's always just a bit overwhelming to be home. Everything seems so big. Our bedroom for instance is larger than the hospital room and it's attached to our master bathroom. It's pretty cool not to have to drag an IV pole around with me to the bathroom, not to mention I don't have to keep track of how much I'm peeing. That reminds me, I probably should be drinking a lot of water now that I'm not hooked up liquid IVs TKO (that means "to keep open" my IV line for those of you who don't speak hospital.)
Well, that's it for now. Thank you all SO MUCH for the prayers, cards, phone calls and visits. It was wonderful to be supported on so many different levels. I only hope that I can be that much of a blessing to others in need.
My mom was my transportation home and she brought along some "welcome home" pajamas to encourage me to continue to take it easy now that I'm home. The first thing I did after eating lunch was check on the rabbits. They were really skittish around me, but once they figured out that I was going to offer them food they seemed to be a bit more interested in me.
Brad has forbidden me to do much of anything (I love it that he treats me like a princess!) and basically just wants me to rest as much as I can. So right now I'm hanging on in the bedroom getting caught up on email and enjoying the wonderful smell of dinner cooking. My mom made us her famous "Peek-a-Boo" chicken. It's one of our faves. Brad stopped at the grocery store last night, so the fridge is nice and full too. I can say enough how good it is to be home.
It's always just a bit overwhelming to be home. Everything seems so big. Our bedroom for instance is larger than the hospital room and it's attached to our master bathroom. It's pretty cool not to have to drag an IV pole around with me to the bathroom, not to mention I don't have to keep track of how much I'm peeing. That reminds me, I probably should be drinking a lot of water now that I'm not hooked up liquid IVs TKO (that means "to keep open" my IV line for those of you who don't speak hospital.)
Well, that's it for now. Thank you all SO MUCH for the prayers, cards, phone calls and visits. It was wonderful to be supported on so many different levels. I only hope that I can be that much of a blessing to others in need.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Not a Bad Day
Today went fairly well. I had more energy than I've had in awhile. Good energy too, not the nervous, restless prednisone weirdness. More than the energy, I had a HUGE appetite. I think I ate too much today, but my blood sugars all stayed pretty normal. All that is except the one test I took after eating a bag full of yogurt covered pretzels. (mmmmmm!)
Brad surprised me with a lunchtime visit. I was taking a nap when I was awakened by a nice smooch and someone saying "hey cutie pie!" It was so nice to see him. He said he just decided he wanted to take his lunch break here at the hospital with me. Anyone who willingly eats in the hospital cafeteria on their lunch break is a hero in my book. Of course, I already knew that about Brad.
Later this after noon my MIL and SIL came by to visit. We played some card games. I lost the first game by quite a lot, but the second one (Quiddler--a word game) I won by only a few points. Brad's mom and I enjoy being competitive with word games. I'm not so great at totalling up my score but that's okay. The big breakthrough in the gaming department for me today is thata I FINALLY can shuffle the cards! Don't laugh...at least not too hard.
Well, it's about 10pm and I'm still waiting for my nighttime meds to kick into gear for me. Tomorrow is PFT day and I'm praying and hoping that I'll have made enough improvement to go home. I'm hoping for at least 1.6L on my FEV1 which, if I feel anything like I did today, it not an unreasonable goal.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Going Stir Crazy
I think I'm at the point where the prednisone is really making me stir crazy! I'm "wired and tired" as my cf pal Katrina would say. I feel like resting, but I can't really sit still when I do. It's annoying.
Mom and Dad came for a nice visit today. We went for a fairly decent walk and sat downstairs in the lobby for awhile. I had a chance to stretch out on one of the couches down there. Too bad that still wasn't enough to help me unwind and relax. I guess the restlessness might be a good sign--a sign that I might be getting back up to par. We'll know for sure when I have my PFTs again on Tuesday.
Brad came this afternoon and stayed for a few hours. It was hard to say goodbye to him because I really really wanted to be able to go home with him.
Tomorrow I'll be back on Dr. Clay's service (doctors rotate every 2 weeks around here, it can be hard to keep up). Dr. Clay is the nice one who actually gave a s*it that I was starting to climb the walls and needed to be let out of here for my own sanity. I really hope that he'll be compassionate again and let me go home with IVs. I just gotta hang in there a few more days I hope. I hope, I hope, I hope.
Thanks for all the well-wishes and prayers. I definitely need them and appreciate them. I want to GO HOME!
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Update from the Inside
It hasn't yet been a week, but since I've been here so much lately it feels like so much more time has passed. I'm so sick of being here. I'm lonely, tired, and bummed out a lot of the time. The days are slow and the nights are long. I just want to be at home with Brad doing normal things like making dinner and feeding the rabbits.
I am making some progress though. My PFTs yesterday show some improvement in my FEV1. It's up to 1.48 from 1.4L on Tuesday. The really good news is that my vital capacity (the total amount of air my lungs take in) has improved dramatically. This means that I'm finally clearing out a lot of the gunk that was clogging up my lungs. This has been a long time comming.
I've gotten more serious about my CPT, and am asking the respiratory therapists to do not just my uppers, but my sides as well. It's painful to be beating on my ribcage that much, but the doc has prescibed morphine to help with that. Amazingly, the morhpine doesn't make me tired and sleepy like I wish it would. I'd give just about anything right now to be able to sleep better.
I am making some progress though. My PFTs yesterday show some improvement in my FEV1. It's up to 1.48 from 1.4L on Tuesday. The really good news is that my vital capacity (the total amount of air my lungs take in) has improved dramatically. This means that I'm finally clearing out a lot of the gunk that was clogging up my lungs. This has been a long time comming.
I've gotten more serious about my CPT, and am asking the respiratory therapists to do not just my uppers, but my sides as well. It's painful to be beating on my ribcage that much, but the doc has prescibed morphine to help with that. Amazingly, the morhpine doesn't make me tired and sleepy like I wish it would. I'd give just about anything right now to be able to sleep better.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Hospitalization update
When I visited yesterday, Lauren looked the best she had in at least a week. (In no small part due to her previous visitor, I'll wager.)
She's on IV Tobramycin and Meropenem, as well as inhaled Colistin. We've been trying to avoid Tobra for the longest time because of the effect it has on her hearing, but it's worth trying given how crappy she feels. They'll just need to be really careful with the dosage. I was really concerned that the last two treatments have included both Colistin and Chloramphenicol, which are both pretty extreme, so I'm glad that only one of those is in this "cocktail." Having the Colistin inhaled is new for us, too, so I don't know how that might work out.
Thanks for all your prayers and support, everyone. It's nice to know that people care, even though there really isn't much that anybody can do right now. Even I feel a bit helpless this time... there really isn't anything to say about this disease that we haven't already said, and our coping mechanisms are so battle-tested that there's little left to refine. When I visit there's really nothing to do but sit with her, but since she appreciates my presence it's what I do.
She's on IV Tobramycin and Meropenem, as well as inhaled Colistin. We've been trying to avoid Tobra for the longest time because of the effect it has on her hearing, but it's worth trying given how crappy she feels. They'll just need to be really careful with the dosage. I was really concerned that the last two treatments have included both Colistin and Chloramphenicol, which are both pretty extreme, so I'm glad that only one of those is in this "cocktail." Having the Colistin inhaled is new for us, too, so I don't know how that might work out.
Thanks for all your prayers and support, everyone. It's nice to know that people care, even though there really isn't much that anybody can do right now. Even I feel a bit helpless this time... there really isn't anything to say about this disease that we haven't already said, and our coping mechanisms are so battle-tested that there's little left to refine. When I visit there's really nothing to do but sit with her, but since she appreciates my presence it's what I do.
