January Clinic Visit

Anna and I arrived home from a successful clinic day just a little while ago....but next time, remind me not to take a toddler on a six-hour round trip. :)

We started our day off around 5:15am, which is typical for us during the week. Tim accidently took the car to work because that's what he's used to, so Anna and I had to take the truck to Bloomington (luckily it's on the way) to switch it for the car. Poor Anna thought we had arrived at our destination and was not very happy with me when she went from one car seat into another. So for the next hour she was fussing and fighting sleep. Finally, she fell asleep and stayed asleep for almost another hour. We were on track to make it to clinic about ten minutes early, until we hit lovely Chicago traffic. Since we were completely stopped, I texted my doctor and let her know we'd be about a half hour late. The traffic ended up clearing quicker than I expected, so that gave us plenty of time to park and get in a diaper change/bathroom break without having to rush to check in.

So happy to be out of the car and in her "chair"

My appointment was pretty uneventful, which the doctor and I both agreed was a good thing. Thankfully, even though I'm not on Cayston right now, my lung function is pretty much the same as last time, at 88%. 😃 I've been lucky enough (so far) to not catch whatever Tim has and all the junk that's going around school. I hope it's able to stay that way these last couple months of winter, but that would be pretty much a miracle.

I talked to Dr. Dowell about getting an Afflo Vest, especially for travel, so she's going to see what she can find out for me before my next appointment. I'm also in the market for a travel nebulizer, one that can be plugged into the car. If anyone uses/knows a good brand, please let me know.

After seeing the doctor, we went to get my labs done and finally, a chest x-ray. I was concerned they wouldn't allow Anna in when I was getting the x-ray which would not allow me to get it, but they were very helpful. They x-ray tech just took her in the stroller behind where she stands and did both x-rays very quickly before Anna realized she couldn't see me. It worked out perfectly.

Anna really was a good sport during all of this at the hospital. She was talking to me more than I expected her to with people around, but of course, just stared at people when they talked to her. :)
Next time I take her though, it'll have to be a time where we come up the night before because that poor girl was so sick of sitting...who could blame her?! Every time we'd stop at a light she would say, "home" because she thought we'd pulled into the driveway; or while driving on the highway, many times she said, "Mommy, out!" As much as I know the doctors like to see her, and I like her to be comfortable with Mommy going to the doctor, I think next time she'll just stay with Grandma!

2015 - A Year of Mommy-ing

This is the 1st picture I took in 2015

This is the last picture I took in 2015 -
Someone loves their Daddy :-)

2015 was an amazing year! Of course it was extremely busy being a mommy, a teacher, a wife and a CF patient, but I wasn't going to let all of that get in the way of it being wonderful. I apologize for neglecting the blog a bit, but I don't have much spare time these days. This last year was filled with lots of family time, but I want more.

This year, 2016, I don't want to set lung function, weight, or exercise goals. I really want to step back from technology a bit - less Facebook, less Instagram, less pictures - just less being attached to my phone. I want to soak up time with our little family and enjoy the moments. Of course I love having all of the pictures to look back on, but sometimes it's just too much.

I've been very lucky to be as healthy as I am, so I really want to take advantage of it and really live this year. We may not go on any spectacular adventures or do crazy, daring things, but I want to be more present in daily life. So that's my goal this year. I hope that a year from now I can reflect and be proud of myself.

As for this blog, I will definitely keep it! I will try to write once or twice a month (or more), and definitely update after CF clinic appointments. I appreciate those of you who (still) read my posts and comment. Reading other CFer's blogs has been very beneficial to me, so I hope to be doing that in return for someone else. I hope this blog gives other CF patients, friends or family members hope that CF is not always such an awful disease. With that said, I'm going to spend more of my time living this amazing life despite CF. Here's to a family, fun-filled year! :-)