Breathing Deeply: My Life With Cystic Fibrosis

Today was definitely a "May Gray" day. (hehehe, that rhymed.) I slept in this morning for a change, probably due to the medication we restarted to help me sleep. Outside it wasn't quite drizzling, but it wasn't dry either. The air was a cool 65 degrees and droplets condensed on the car windows as I drove to the grocery store.

SIDE BAR

I love going to the grocery store. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring along my reusable shopping bags. The environmental scientist part of me continued to kick myself for it all afternoon. Then I remembered that I do recycle those plastic bags, so I forgave myself.

END SIDE BAR

Brad and our police friend Jeremy went shooting today. Brad came home reeking of gunpowder, but he had a grin on his face that let me know he had a good time. Saturdays are when the law enforcement officers can bring a friend to the range. Brad hopes he and Jeremy can do that again sometime. I don't know how crazy I am about the whole thing, but if he's having fun and is being social with church friends, who am I to put the kibash on it?

I really don't know how I managed to while away the hours today. It's been one of those days where I'm watching the clock just waiting for it to be late enough for me to crawl back into bed. Last night Brad and I both conked out around 9 o'clock. We were watching an incredibly boring movie--The Heist. Even with Pierce Brosnan in the lead role I just couldn't get into it. It was very predictable. We didn't even finish the flick. We just assumed how the rest of it would go. Now back it goes into the little Netflix envelope so someone else can waste their time with it.

With the colder, gloomier weather my arthritis has been acting up. My knees and ankles have been especially painful, but not overwhelmingly so. CF affects so many different parts of the body. Not to mention that every case is unique and all mutations behave a little differently from one another. My mutation is double delta F508 (aka double delta.) It's the most common mutation and also one of the more severe ones. Even with all the complications it comes with, I often feel like I'm one of the lucky ones. I think that's because God has given me the strength and resources I need to cope with this monster disease. He's given me a wonderful extended family and a truly remarkable husband to come alongside me and see me through the hard parts. I'm blessed, that's for sure.

I'm very much out of the habit of writing. The last major writing project I did was to write nearly a month's worth of devotionals for "Anchor" before being hospitalized. I haven't worked on my book, my other blogs or written any articles since then. I used to challenge myself to write an essay (or article) each day. Perhaps that's the sort of thing I need to get me back to where I'm used to writing. I guess that's what prompted today's blog--a sense of needing to write something...anything...just to get the ideas and the "ink" flowing again.

Today was a good day. The first thing I did after waking up was to get the bed made. I've found that the sooner I make the bed, the sooner I feel really motivated to start the day. Breakfast was cereal today, just as it's been for the last week or so. Every now and then I just get into a mood where all I want is the same food item for days at a time. Right now my craving is Cap'n Crunch. I know, I know...

Last night Brad had helped me sort the laundry, so that was the biggest project I undertook today. There was so much of it that it took almost all day. It feels good to have everything all clean and put away. The more time I spend being a "housewife" the more I find that I actually do have the capacity to keep things fairly neat. I like to be able to greet Brad at the door at the end of the day with a smile on my face and dinner almost ready for the table. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong decade. I wish we lived in a society where women who keep the home fires burning were given more respect and credit. I suppose that's why Dr. Laura wrote the book "In Praise of Stay At Home Moms." I really respect the SAHMs that I know. Kelly is the first one who comes to mind. She has the challenge of twins and her family shares living space with her grandparents who also depend on her. I respect her and am tremendously impressed by how she handles it.

Okay, back to my day. Laundry is finished and now I'm just hanging out enjoying the fruits of my labor and preparing for a restful weekend. Health-wise I'm doing well. My blood sugars are staying well controlled and I'm not short of breath at all. I think tomorrow morning while Brad's out shooting with our police pal, Jeremy, I'll hit the gym for some good cardio. That's my plan right now anyway. I did 2 miles on the treadmill the other day. Eventually I'd like to be able to do 5k--not to run competitively or anything, just something I want to be able to accomplish just on the treadmill would be fine. I've got a lot of work to do to get there though. Maybe I'm over-ambitious. So what?

Well, there you have it. The ramblings of the first of many new blog posts to come. Thanks everyone for checking up on me during my time away.

People have been calling and emailing me worried that my lack of blogging was an indication that I wasn't doing well. The reality is quite the opposite. I'm happy to report that I've been feeling pretty good lately and have been doing things other than blogging. I've been sewing sundresses for Kelly's twins for starters. Over the long weekend Brad and I spent time with family relaxing in Palm Springs.

I'm feeling quite normal these days. I don't know if my lung function is permanently stuck at 1.6L on my FEV1, (for me that's low) but even if it is I'm able to do plenty of stuff. I can climb the stairs without getting winded, I can carry the groceries in without becoming exhausted, and I can make it through the day without a nap. I do still try to nap though, I think it helps replenish my energy. I've been getting dinner on the table for a number of nights now which I know Brad loves. Every day I'm thankful that I'm not in the hospital.

My next doctor appointment is soon and we're praying that the doc will be happy with how things are going even if my PFTs aren't stellar. I don't want to have to go back to the hospital for a LONG time.

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Palm Springs. I was definitely able to tell that the air quality wasn't as good as in San Diego, but it didn't slow me down too much. We lounged around the pool, going in for a dip when it got too hot in the sun. We took a walk to a do-it-yourself frozen yogurt place (apparently they are the latest trend) and we saw the movie Night at the Museum. We ate at a kosher deli that had the biggest pastrami sandwiches we'd ever seen. They were awesome but boy oh boy did we pay for it later. We were all passing the Tums back and forth.

Today Brad and I plan to make our grand re-entry to the gym. It's been quite awhile since either of us has gone, so I'm looking forward to it.

So there you have it. All the great stuff that's been going on that's been keeping me from blogging. :)