A/C, Cipro & No Bo.

It's been a couple of weeks since having Fredrich in our classroom, and he seriously has been a life-saver! The last two weeks have been unbearably hot and having the A/C unit in my room has helped a ton with removal of humidity! It typically kept the temperature somewhere between 73-77*F which was really nice, but the amount of humidity in the hallways and other classrooms compared to mine was SO noticeable, and it really made a difference in the ease to breathe! It has cooled off this week, so we're giving Fredrich a break since he's worked so hard lately. :) My class has been SO good about having the air. They don't really know why I have it, but we've discussed not bragging about it and especially not complaining how hot it is when we go into the hallway or other rooms in the school, because we're very fortunate to have A/C. I did get Fredrich a few days before our Open House, so the families who came were able to see/feel the difference. Many parents just mentioned how cool it was, but not many really asked why. I did have this disclaimer on the board:

One parent read it and said, "Wow, you have CF?! I had no idea! I couldn't tell by looking at you. Some of the people I see (she's a surgical technician) are in bad shape." She was so sweet about it, and we talked about my health for a few minutes. It was a nice way to connect with her on a different level than just teacher/parent.
I don't like to wear a sign on my forehead saying, "I have CF", but at the same time, I don't mind share when it comes up. I figured the parents would be wondering why only our class had air and ask, but they really didn't! I think they were so overwhelmed by the heat they just wanted to get out of there! :)

A couple weeks ago, I also started two things: Cipro and "No Bo". I wasn't feeling terrible, but I wasn't feeling my greatest either. With the week of heat before getting A/C in my room, combined with my lower lung function results from my last doctor visit, I could feel it all catching up to me. I was getting exhausted quickly, so I realized I just needed a boost. I got in contact with my doctor and nurse and asked for a round of Cipro to help me out of this funk. Between that and the air in my classroom, I could slowly feel my energy coming back and I was starting to feel back to normal.

Unfortunately, I was on Cipro when we went camping, and completely forgot about the sun sensitivity, so I ended up with sun poisoning on top of my head (where my part is) and on my legs. Thankfully it didn't hurt too bad on my legs, it just looked bad. I was able to keep myself in the shade for the most part during recess duty and avoid it getting worse or spreading.

And finally - What is No Bo, you ask?! It's a running group called "No Boundaries" through a local bike and fitness shop. It's a 10-week program that helps runners of all levels. I'm in No Boundaries One, so our end goal "graduation" is the Turkey Trot in November. I decided to join this group with a mom-friend I met through Baby Talk, and I even got my next door neighbor to join with us, too! I really wanted to get myself back into an exercise routine, but I was struggling to motivate myself and hold myself accountable. With No Bo, I have the routine and accountability that I need. We have group work outs on Tuesdays and Saturdays, with homework in between. I just finished week three of the program and I can already notice a difference!

Not only can I get through the warm-up without my legs feeling like they're on fire, but I decided to run a 5K with Tim and some friends today! Chris, his girlfriend, Sammy, Tim, Chris's family, and I walked/ran a 5K benefiting CASA of Will County. Chris's sister is doing a marketing internship with their organization, so we helped her out by joining the race. Since signing up for No Bo, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get my "homework" in for the day by doing some walk/run intervals. Thankfully, I had Sammy there to motivate the heck out of me and I was able to run almost the entire first mile (~12 minutes) without stopping! That's a huge improvement from where I was three weeks ago! I'd guess we probably ran about 2/3rds of the race, with some walking in between. But I know I would have walked a whole lot more if Sammy wasn't there with me! Of course Tim flew right by us - even pushing Anna in the stroller - and beat us by about six minutes! But hey....we beat Chris! :)

Anna even (somewhat) participated in the Kiddie Run afterward. She was a little intimidated by all the other kids running, and the adults yelling cheering her on, but she tried!

This was before the Kiddie Run started!
She was at the bottom of her age group (2-6 year olds)

I'm really looking forward to the Turkey Trot in November! If I could almost run the whole 5K today, I'm positive I'll be able to run the entire thing by the middle of November! I've been run/walking two-three days a week and I love the way it's helping me clear my lungs. I'm really looking forward to my next doctor's appointment (which isn't until November) because I'll have been in this program for two months, completed a round of Cipro and I'm starting Cayston tomorrow. I hope the combination of treatments and exercise will really help me get my lung function back up where it should be!

Me, Myself & I (and a little about Anna)

My apologies for posts about Anna taking over the blog lately. As I have come to quickly realize, having a baby pretty much takes over your whole life (and I wouldn't have it any other way). Anna's doing very well, but I'm using this post to update about me.

I've been doing very well and enjoying motherhood so much! Of course it completely sucks working all day and not seeing Anna, but I know that she's in excellent hands. Before going back to work, I was worried about how my body and health would hold up with teaching, taking care of a baby and nursing. And I'll admit, although I feel its going pretty well, it's hard giving my 100% all day, every day at work because I want to be home with Anna. But I take pride in my job, and I want to do it well, and I hope that I'm getting back (even if its a bit slow) to being there for my students as much as they need....because they are extra needy this year.

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On the health side of things, I really couldn't be much happier. I just had my clinic visit on Thursday and it went very well. I'm up to 118.6lbs and my FEV1 was 88%!!! I haven't seen lung function numbers like that in two years and I haven't been at this weight (aside from pregnancy) in almost three years. Of course I'd love to be in the 90%s for my lung function (can't remember the last time I saw numbers like those), so that's my goal. But I am very proud of where I am now and still so amazed at what this "sick" body can do. :-)

I've started working out again, this time with several teachers after school doing PIYO work outs. We've been doing it for a few weeks now and they're great for strength exercises. To work on my cardio, I also began the Couch to 5K program yesterday, so I'm planning on balancing the two somehow.. I signed up to run a 5K in April, and I'll be running it for CF. I'll be on Team CF Superheroes and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm also planning on running Brett's Run again in June, which was the first race I did in 2012.

Overall, things are going wonderfully over here. Hopefully I'll keep finding some time to update on myself, but in the mean time, here's a super cute picture of Anna sporting her Rock CF gear at my clinic appointment on Thursday.

Thankful November, Week 3

Each day of November, I'm going to take some time to recognize at least one thing I'm thankful for, no matter how big or small, then I'll post them at the end of the week. Go here for the first week, and here for the second week.

9) I'm thankful for understanding friends. Today, we spent the day with our friend, Tony because he lives about five minutes from where we're doing our CLIMB tomorrow. This evening, another one of our friends, Chris, came up to hang out with us, too. The guys decided they wanted to go out to an arcade bar, and I decided I was going to call it a night - and I didn't get any crap from them this time! They understood that I wasn't feeling well and wanted to catch up on my sleep, especially before a big day and I just really appreciate that! I also love that Tony was asking me all about how I've been doing and everything I've been taking, like my Kalydeco. He works as an athletic trainer at a high school and is very health-conscious (he's completed TWO Iron Man events!). We compared digestive enzymes (mine are way more powerful!) and he asked lots of questions about how K has been helping me. I love educating others more about my CF, and I appreciate that he cares enough to ask. And thank you, Chris, for letting me sleep! :)

10) "I'm alive and well." Today, Tim and I completed the CF CLIMB! And although I'm in the middle of a nasty cold/sickness/infection - whatever it is - I was reminded that I'm still doing well. I'm still well enough to complete a physical challenge such as climbing 58 flights of stairs. I'm very thankful to be as healthy as I am today. Today was also a huge reminder for how much exercise is good for my health. I'm really hoping I can get back into an exercising routine to make myself even healthier. :)
I heard this song on the radio a week or so ago and I can't get enough of it! Here's my favorite part:

"But not me, I'm alive

And today you know that's good enough for me

Breathin' in and out's a blessin' can't you see

Today's the first day of the rest of my life

And I'm alive, and well.

I'm alive, and well." 

~I'm Alive by Kenny Chesney & Dave Matthews~

11) Today I'm thankful for motivation, especially from my CF friends! After posting about our CLIMB, I got a lot of awesome feedback, and it made me want to do more. I miss the feeling of setting a fitness goal and the best part - the feeling I get after I accomplish it. So today I set a new goal and that's to run another 5K. But not just any 5K - this one is the Rock CF River (half marathon or) 5K in Michigan, put on by a great motivator, and fellow CFer, named Emily Schaller. Today I learned that several CFers that I've 'met' online from around the country are all coming out to either run the Half or 5K, and I'd love to join them. So my motivation for this winter is to get my butt back in shape for this race at the end of March! :-)

12) I'm thankful for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and anyone and everyone who has ever donated to them! Without your monetary support, I would not have many of the medications that I take today. Nearly 90 cents of every dollar donated to the CFF goes directly to CF research and education. That research (which is extremely expensive) is for all the new medications that go to years of clinical trials before becoming available to patients. Read this article to learn much more about the CFF and how far they've come - it's a great read! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!! You're helping to keep the CF community alive! :-)

13) I'm thankful for a HUSKIE victory tonight!!! GO NIU!!

14) I'm thankful for the roof over my head! I love our new house and we're very lucky to be able to own our own home. It's an awesome feeling to finally not be renting anymore, and to be able to do whatever we want to our house.

15) Tonight, I'm thankful for YOU, that's right, you, reading this blog right now! Without you (the readers), there'd be absolutely no point in blogging. I love knowing that people care to read what I have to say, whether it's about my CF, teaching, or just life in general. I hope that with this blog, someone somewhere is connecting with what I have to say and not feeling like they're the only one out there. I hope that someone somewhere is learning about CF through this blog. I hope that someone has benefited/gotten some advice from any of my posts. Just like the CF Living videos, I do this blog not only to raise awareness about what CF is and how I deal with it, but also to hopefully be that resource that someone needs. I was there once and I was looking for something like this - to tell me I'm not going through this crazy thing called cystic fibrosis alone - and I hope that I can be that for someone else. :)

16) Today, I'm thankful for weekends. Tim and I are enjoying a nice relaxing day filled with errands this morning, a late lunch, and a lovely nap on the couch! It's really nice not having anything planned this weekend, finally, and to be able to spend some relaxing, stress-free time with my husband. :-)

It Got Me

I've been bit by the exercise bug once again! Yesterday's climb has motivated me to keep exercising! So this morning I went out for my first run (aka: slow jog) since Brett's Run in June. I went about a mile and a half, switching between slowly jogging and walking while hacking up a lung. It felt wonderful!

Here's my next goal: 

The Rock CF Rivers Half Marathon, 5K Run/Walk in Grosse Ile, Michigan (I'll be doing the 5K, not the half).

This race is put together by the lovely Emily Schaller who created the Rock CF Foundation (where I got the awesome shirt I wore during the CLIMB yesterday) and also has CF. She's been one of many CF motivators for me and I'd LOVE to run a CF fundraising specific 5K, and meet her! I'm looking for anyone who's willing to make the road trip with me. It's not until March 30th, so we've all got time to prepare and train. I'm serious. I want to go! And, if you have CF, you can sign up for free. :) There are going to be people coming from all over the country to run this and I'd love to be a part of that - now who's with me?!

CF CLIMB!!

Pre-climb!

Today Tim & I completed our first CF CLIMB in Chicago! We climbed 58 flights, or 1,392 stairs! Since I've been feeling pretty crappy over the past couple days (the worst I've felt in a while), I wasn't sure how I was going to do, but my goal was to finish in under thirty minutes (well, really just to finish).
When we lined up to start, there were three groups: Elite (projected finish time under 12 minutes), Competitive (under 20 minutes) and Recreational. I was definitely trying to get in the recreational area, but we all kind of lumped together. They had us start at the bottom, one at a time, spread out by about 5 seconds each. While Tim and I were in line, we were trying to figure out a strategy of how to pace ourselves - Do we run up the stairs? One at a time? Or every other? We had no idea what to expect! I started off slow, just walking up the steps, then started to do every other. Once I hit the sixth-seventh floors, I was completely exhausted!! My legs were burning, I was breathing very heavily - I had no idea how I was going to make it up another 50 flights! But I just kept telling myself that there was no stopping now! Every few flights, I would stop on the landing and catch my breath. At floor 22, there was a water & Gatorade station, so I stopped and got a drink. The next few flights felt fantastic after getting re-hydrated, but that didn't last too long. There was a lot of motivational self-talk! I kept reminding myself that I was there because I CAN do it, and that I was doing it for those who couldn't. It was just as much a physical challenge as a mental one for me.
Every floor was marked with a CF sign either with a fun fact, or cheering on a specific team. One of the posters in the 40s said something like, "This sounded like a good idea!" - I really liked that one! Once I got to the second rest stop, floor 43, I knew I was so close! I still kept stopping every two-three flights, and when I got to floor 55, I took a pretty quick break because I could hear people cheering above me and saying, "Congratulations! You did it!" I pushed through my painful thighs and heavy breathing to get to the top! I cannot wait to see the picture they took of me going across the finish -- I'm sure it was a mixture of joy, exhaustion and pride! As soon as I got up there, I saw Tim (completely red in the face and looking exhausted too!). I grabbed a bottle of water and we walked around the floor for a few minutes, finding a warehouse looking room to cool off in with other climbers. I was so proud of Tim when he told me that he finished in 15 minutes (the guy told him as he crossed the finish), so I was curious what my time would be. Tim also told me that this was one of the "hardest things he's ever done" and I definitely had to agree with him! We caught the hot elevator ride back down to the first floor to celebrate our accomplishment! As we came off the elevator, we each received a CF CLIMB 2013 medal. :)

We hung around the 'after party' for a little while, and was able to chat with my cf buddy, Cheriz, who I met last month at the Peoria Great Strides! Her boyfriend, Andrew, completed the climb today, too! They posted our times on the wall of the room and I was anxious to see my time, hoping it was under thirty minutes. I finished with a time of 22:04! Way better than I thought I did!! Tim's official finish time was 15:09! - that's competitive quality! :-)
They had a quick awards ceremony for the team and individual who raised the most money. They also gave an award to the male and female with the fastest time. The male finished in just over 7 minutes (WHAT?!?!) and the female in just over 10 minutes!!! Holy cow, I don't know how they did it! And overall, the event raised over $100,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation!!!!! THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HELPED US REACH THAT AMOUNT!!! 

I'm really excited and proud that I was able to accomplish something like this (and I love my husband for being such a trooper and doing it with me, and totally kicking ass!), especially with how awful I've felt over the last two days. I felt AMAZING after I finished! I was breathing deeper than I have in a few days, and I've gotten a lot of nasty junk up this afternoon. This event was a HUGE reminder of how much exercise has a positive impact on my lungs. My goal is to get back into a routine of exercising again, even if it's starting off slow with our medicine ball workouts again. I'd like to keep up some in-home workouts this winter and then get back outside and running in the spring. Surprisingly, I miss it. I miss the feeling of accomplishment. I miss kicking CF's booty by challenging my body. I need to get back into it, and I will! :-)

CF CLIMB

Call us crazy, but Tim and I just signed up (and paid) to climb 58 flights of stairs on a Sunday morning! 

Why, you might ask?? Well to support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, of course!!! I received an email from the Foundation the other day informing me about this event and it piqued my interest. It's downtown Chicago, so I thought I'd get more of my family to sign up (not one yet....they must be too scared ;) ) and I've been exploring lots of Great Strides events this year, what's one more fundraiser for the year? Plus, they were having a promotion where it was only $10 to sign up instead of the typical $45 - can't pass up a deal like that! It's going to be a physical challenge, but I won't let me CF stop me on this one.

And with the new CF regulations & guidelines, more than one CF patient can attend indoor events sponsored by the CF Foundation at their own risk. Here's the disclosure from the event's website:

B. CEPACIA AND INFECTION CONTROL POLICYBecause of risks to people with cystic fibrosis (CF), only one person with CF may be invited. Also,individuals who have ever had a confirmed positive sputum culture for Burkholderia cepacia (B. cepacia) complex shall not attend any Foundation events/meetings. These requirements are because CF germs can be passed between individuals who have CF. Some germs in a person with CF can cause serious respiratory illness and, in some patients, may lead to death. CF germs are not a risk for otherwise healthy individuals.

Despite this policy, individuals with CF might choose to attend events or meetings without informing the CF Foundation or without the Foundation's knowledge. If so, they do so at their own risk. The Foundation accepts no responsibility for any risk to health involved in attendance, or in any social contact between persons with CF. For more information, please visit www.cff.org.

I'm glad that they're not enforcing the strict regulations of only one CFer attending an indoor event. I feel like a lot of people in the CF community were really turned off by this, and I think it's fair that we're able to make our own decisions on things like this. I understand they're doing it to keep us safe, and also to cover themselves, but I think that CF adults should be responsible and mature enough to make their own decisions. With that said, I am aware that at least one other CF patient will be there, so I will wear my pin proudly to identify myself and be sure to keep my distance.

Finally, my goal for this event is to raise at least $200. If you'd like to donate to my CF Climb, please let me know. My page hasn't been set up yet on the CFF website, but as soon as it is, I'll post it on here. Right now, I'm just collecting any cash or check (made out to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation) donations to submit on the morning of the Climb.....which is only three weeks away! I better get these legs into shape!!!!!

Positive Thoughts Tuesday: Updates

 Switching it up a bit and doing my Positive Thoughts Thursday Tuesday, today. Thankfully, things are finally, slowly, starting to look up for us!

*A few weeks ago I posted about all of our house drama which is also starting to come together. We actually submitted an offer on a major fixer-upper a couple days after that last post, on a Wednesday, I believe. We offered low because it needed a ton of work and before the listing agent even presented it to her client, she told our realtor that she thought it was too low of an offer and was acting really rude. Then the sellers told us they needed to talk to their attorney about the offer and they'd get back to us by the following Tuesday - this just turned me off. I didn't want to deal with annoying listing agents, more attorneys and delays all over again. We ended up looking at a foreclosure in the mean time that we really liked, so we withdrew our offer on the fixer-upper to submit an offer on the foreclosure Monday or Tuesday. Before we could even get our offer in on the foreclosure, it had sold. :( This meant that we were back at square one with no house, again.
So we decided to just keep looking, and we ended up looking at four houses in one night on Wednesday of last week. The last house we looked at Tim and I both really liked! It wasn't an estate, it wasn't a foreclosure, and it's not even really that much of a fixer-upper! :) We ended up looking at it one more time Thursday night and submitting our offer on Friday! We negotiated a couple times with the seller over the weekend and accepted their counter-offer on Saturday!!! Yesterday I went in to initial the papers, so we're officially under contract with a house and we're both very excited about it! Right now I'm in the process of setting up our home inspection and getting our loan approval process underway, again. :-) Let's hope this one works out this time!!

*Last weekend Tim and I drove down to TN to celebrate our nephew, Cole's third birthday and also to see his new brother, Liam who was born in the beginning of May. It was so fun to be able to hang out with Tim's sisters and their husbands and their kids for the weekend. We had a great time, but I cannot wait until they are living in Illinois so we can do this more often!

Aunt Colleen & Liam

Uncle Tim & Cole

Aunt Colleen pulling Cole & Isaac in the wagon

Baby Liam :)

Aunt Colleen & Cole reading "The Pout-Pout Fish"

Cousin love! :)

*After we got back from Tennessee, we pulled our offer on the fixer-upper, saw those other houses and put in our offer on our current home. Then we left for the weekend again. Tim and I ran our first 5K together on Saturday, along with several of my old co-workers from DeKalb. We did Brett's Run, which was my very first 5K last year. It rained the entire morning while we were waiting for the race to begin so we were soaked before we even started running. Once the race started, the rain died down, but it picked back up again as soon as we were finished.
I had not been training for this run as well as I did last year, so I wasn't too pleased with myself when I had to stop and walk a couple times along the route. But, I am very happy that I was still able to finish in 35:29.7. Tim, on the other hand, blew right past me as soon as we started and finished his first 5K with an awesome time of 26:53.3, that's an 8:40 mile pace! It was really fun being able to do this with Tim and several of our friends this time! I hope that I can keep in shape and that this is something we can do annually together.

Tim & I post-race, drenched!

Our whole team pre-race, nice and dry!

Yay, we survived the rain! :) 

*The other big news of the summer so far is my job placement for next year. Long story short, the district messed up their numbers thinking there would be enough students for three kindergarten classes next year, allowing me to stay as a kindergarten teacher...well it turns out there are not enough students for three classes, so back to the original plan of me moving up to first grade in the fall. I will not have all of my same students from my kindergarten class because we mixed up all of the students at the end of the year, but I'll have a few of the same. I'm very happy that I'm staying in the same building because if you didn't know already, I love my coworkers & job! I will be moving rooms this summer (going from room 15 to room 9 - movin' on up!) which I wasn't planning, but that's okay. It'll give me something to do on those days when I'm bored out of my mind. So this fall will kind of feel like my first year all over again with a new room and new curriculum, but the first grade team is great (one of them is my mentor) and I'm looking forward to working with them. :-) Better start thinking of a clever name to go with their quotes this year, can't call them 'kinder quotes' anymore!

*Even with all of this craziness that's been going on, I've really had a lot of time to relax over the past few weeks, especially during the day while Tim's at work. I've been doing pretty good about getting in an extra treatment during the day - probably about 1/2 the time I do. I just finished up a few weeks of TOBI which really helped clean my lungs out and I've been feeling really good. I had a great workout today - did a 10 minute standing ab video and then a 20 minute medicine ball video that Tim and I did a lot over the winter. I've got about six more weeks until my next CF clinic appointment, so I'm really trying to get my lungs in great shape and really trying to gain some weight. My goal is to cut back on the running and to increase weight training exercises like these workout videos to gain muscle weight.

I've been watching a lot of HGTV & Dr. Phil, doing some cleaning and laundry, but I'm planning on adding more reading this summer. First on my list is The Walking Dead graphic novel! We've been watching the show since it started and I've really enjoyed it. Tim's aunt Linda read this already and said it was totally different from the TV show, so I'm excited to read it. This is the first graphic novel I've ever read, so I'm curious to see how I like it.

I'm also going to see "The Book of Mormon" with Tim's aunt Linda next week, too, which is supposed to be really funny. Then I've got a bachelorette party, bridal shower, Country Thunder, (hopefully moving into our new house), and my best friend's wedding all before the new school year starts! I love having summers off! :-)

Summer Schedule?

Woo hoo! No school! Summer break! I can do whatever I want for the next 2 1/2 months! True...but honestly I'm struggling without a routine/schedule. It's so easy for me to lay around all day watching TV without keeping track of time and how much I may or may not have eaten throughout the day. Currently, I'm really trying to gain weight and keep my lungs as healthy as possible, so to keep that up this summer, I've decided to make myself a daily schedule. It's nothing set in stone, there are no times attached to each thing, but there are certain things I need to accomplish each day - this is what I've come up with so far.

• TREATMENTS
• EAT (breakfast)
• 30 MINUTES EXERCISE
• Shower
• EAT (snack)
• Run any errands for the day
• TREATMENTS
• Housework 
• EAT (lunch)
• TV/read/etc
• EAT (snack)
• Hang out with Tim
• EAT (dinner)
• TREATMENTS
• EAT (dessert)

*I'm going to try to fit an extra treatment in the middle of the day - why not, especially if I'm sitting at home all day. 

*I'm going to try to get at least 30 minutes of exercise in everyday - whether its just walking around the neighborhood, going for a run, doing a workout video, something...anything!

*I'm really trying to eat/snack all day long. Sounds glamorous, it's not. I stocked up on protein bars on Monday to help me with snacks throughout the day.

*Now if I have plans for the day, then I'll just make sure that I get in my two required treatments a day and eat as much as possible. This schedule is for my lazy, nothing to do, days...which will probably be a lot of days this summer! :-)

*I tried this yesterday for the first time and did pretty well. I got in three treatments, 35 minutes of walking & running and ate several snacks on top of breakfast, lunch and dinner. It also gave me something to look forward to when I got out of bed. I knew that I had to do my treatments, but I was also mentally prepared to get outside and walk/run around the neighborhood. I like having a plan/schedule/routine. I don't do well with the 'unknown' as much. I think this is really going to help me make the most of this summer! :)

Clinic Visit

I had my quarterly clinic visit today, which kind of crept up on me this time because Tim and I have been so busy lately. Usually I'm really good about planning ahead with questions, but this time I just showed up! I haven't been feeling the greatest this week. I woke up Saturday with a sore throat and post nasal drip (my first sign of a cold). It's slowly made it's way through my sinuses and now it's in the naggy cough & into my chest stage. I've even noticed that my voice is pretty hoarse tonight -- that could be a combination of hours of singing in the car (to and from Chicago) and coughing!

The past few months I've backed off of exercise, pretty much entirely, because I have been trying to focus on gaining weight. Even though I haven't been running or doing the workout videos, but lungs have been feeling very well since my last appointment...up until this week, of course! I always hate when I'm sick for clinic visits because I feel like it's not a true reflection of how I really have been feeling. I hate seeing low (for me) PFT numbers just because I have a cold. And that's exactly what happened at my appointment today.

As soon as I got into a room, I had one nurse taking my vitals and the other setting up the PFT machine -- they never move this quickly. Oh, and before I got my room, they weighed me in the hall and I was a whopping 109 lbs...still! That means no weight gain since January, but at least I haven't lost anymore! Anyway, once they did my blood pressure, O2 level, and temperature, the guy was ready with the PFT machine. He handed me the mouth piece and told me to start, but didn't give me nose clips. When I asked for them, he said they don't use them anymore - I was totally thrown off, I've never done a PFT without nose clips before! Haha! Either way, I started and as soon as I was on my first inhale, he told me to take a deep breath in. I was caught off guard because I wasn't preparing for it, but I did it anyway. My first FEV1 came out at a 74! Yikes!!! My chest is feeling pretty tight, but I was really bummed to see that low of a number. So I coughed my brains out for a few minutes and while the guy was sitting at the computer, he told me to start whenever I was ready. I said, "Well, I'm ready when you are!" He just told me to start breathing and was not really paying attention - it was quite annoying. This time, my FEV1 was 78 - better, but definitely not where I wanted it to be. As I was coughing from the second test, the nurse took the mouth piece away and I asked if I could do it a third time, he said, "No, this is good enough." Again, I was annoyed. I know that I've done this test a million times in my life so maybe he thought I didn't need to be coached, but to me, it makes so much of a difference when the person is actually paying attention and encouraging me! I'm not blaming him for my low PFTs - I know that my lungs are not feeling well right now and that my numbers probably wouldn't be any higher if I did the test three more times, but I was frustrated that he didn't seem to care.

Anyway, after that was over, I met with the dietitian I met her for the first time last visit, and she's wonderful. She remembered everything we talked about last time (even if she just looked over my chart before she walked in the room - at least she showed interest!) and asked how things were going. I voiced my concerns about still have absorption issues and we came to the conclusion to try adding a probiotic to my daily regimen to see if that helps. She also told me to continue to eat as much as I have been. She said I'm doing everything right, it's just not working yet.
Then she told me that one of my vitamin levels (Vit D) is actually high!!! I've had low vitamin levels as a child and transitioning into the adult clinic, so my doctor up'd my vitamin intake a lot over the past few years! It's finally paid off! I can cut back on the amount of Calcuim + D vitamins I'm taking. :)
We also discussed my lack of exercise. I explained that I stopped running because I felt like it was a major factor in my recent weight loss, but the dietitian explained that I should still really try to exercise as much as I can because it's still very good for my heart and lungs, but just make sure to replace the burned calories as soon as I'm done. Looks like I'll be picking up my running again - which, I'll admit, I've definitely missed!

Finally, I saw my doctor. She, too, was actually just getting over a cold, so she understood how I was feeling. Before I could even say anything about my FEV1, she asked how involved the nurse was. I told her that he wasn't really paying attention and apparently I wasn't the only one of the day to complain. Fortunately, my doctor was actually pleased with my PFTs today. She said that my graph still looks great and symmetrical to my last PFTs, and that my lungs are doing very well considering how I feel. I was glad to hear that she wasn't concerned. She's not too worried about my weight either. It's something that we're working on. She agreed that the probiotic should help and that I need to keep up my calorie consumption.

So just a few minor changes from today's appointment: Cut back on Calcuim + D, add Probiotic daily, increase exercise and continue consuming around 3,000 calories a day. I'm really hoping this combination will be successful for my weight and lung function!

These are my PFT graphs from January 2013

These are my graphs from today - I notice a big difference in the
bottom (don't know that that's for), but the angle of the
top is very similar to the Jan. ones which is great.

Positive Thoughts Thursday

Sometimes I feel like I use this blog to vent/complain about things going on in my life, and I don't want to continue with all of that negativity. So each week I'm compiling a list of positive, happy, lucky, fortunate things that are going on in my life, or anywhere in the world.

• Four day weekends are wonderful!
• Even more wonderful is when my class votes to have a pajama day on the day we come back from that four day weekend!
• 352 days and counting for 100% compliance with all treatments and medication! :)
• I finally went running light jogging over my four day weekend. We have a complementary YMCA membership for a few months through my job, so I finally took advantage of it on Friday. I met one of my teacher-friends there and we walked the track for ~45 minutes, ran for ~10-15 minutes and walked for another 20 minutes or so. It felt so nice to start running again, even if I could barely keep it up for 10-15 minutes. I still haven't signed up for the 5k in March because I'm not sure that I'll be ready for it, but I think I just need to sign up and suck it up on the day of the run!
• Twenty-three people have replied "Going" to my Facebook Great Strides event! I really hope that those 23 people do show up and also do some fundraising. If each person raised $100, we'd already be at $2,300! 
• I was talking to a cyster last night who was going through a rough time and I gave her this advice, "You need to see yourself as a normal person. CF is just something that you have to deal with everyday - not something that controls the direction of your life." I realized that this is how I've been staying so positive, and I feel like people in the CF community (especially those who are struggling) should try to keep in mind. I'm proud of myself for coming up with such an insightful quote. :-)

The Urge to Run

I never thought I'd miss running, but I really do. Tim and I have been doing some work out videos a few times a week with a weighted ball which have definitely increased my strength and balance, but I miss running. I know it's probably not the best idea if I'm trying to gain muscle and weight, but it was great airway clearance. I think I'll try to do some weight training a couple days a week with maybe a day of running, just so I don't lose the mileage I built up last year.

Today I tried to mix up my work out routine by doing a few different things, but it just doesn't get my lungs going like running does. This is what I did today: First I did the workout called "Kill Those Legs" to try to build leg muscle, then I did "Malibooty" workout which didn't do too much for me, honestly, and finally I ended with the Standing Abs video which was pretty good and went by quickly -- all of these workouts I found on Pinterest. Although I think these things are good for me, I just don't find them very exciting.

I need to take advantage of the YMCA membership that I have (for free) through my job through May. I'd really like to find a kickboxing class or something to join. I want to find something that will be good cardio and good weight training. The key is to build muscle, not burn too many calories. I should also take advantage of the Y's treadmills while it's still pretty chilly to be running outside.

I cannot wait until it warms up enough so I can start running outside. This Wednesday and Thursday are supposed to be in the upper 40s, so I'm hoping after work I can get outside and see how far I can go. It's been about four months (that have flown by) since I've run because I stopped after the Turkey Trot. I'm hoping that the workouts I've done over the past couple months have helped with my leg strength and will help me get back into my running groove faster.

I think I'm going to sign up for a local 5K in March, just to make myself get back into running. I loved doing races last year and I really want to do more this year. This one is called Penguin in the Park and it's on March 23, which gives me about 6 weeks to get my butt in gear. I haven't signed up yet, but I probably will this week. I need something to look forward to, and I think this is just the thing. :-)

Positive Thoughts Thursday

Yes, I realize it's not Thursday, but this is something I want to start this year -- it just took me a little bit to figure out what I wanted to call it.
Sometimes I feel like I use this blog to vent/complain about things going on in my life, and I don't want to continue with all of that negativity. So each week I'm going to compile a list of positive, happy, lucky, fortunate things that are going on in my life, or anywhere in the world. Here's my first list:

• I am very lucky to have access to amazing health care professionals to help me with my CF and now CFRD, to keep me in tip top shape.
• I loved having the past two weeks off of work. I was able to sleep in a lot, spend some time with Tim, clean the house, read some books and most of all: relax! 
• This week I talked to my awesome friend, Catie, about life. I love having such a wonderful, supportive friend. :-)
• Tim and I started exercising together this week. I want to gain some muscle weight and Tim is working on being healthier. Its been fun doing the work outs together and encouraging each other to be healthy. 

St. Louis Glo Run!

All smiles after completing the run! :-)

Last night, my sister-in-law, cousin and I ran in the St. Louis Glo Run 5K! It was so much fun! I loved doing something like this with family, too! There were a couple DJs (one at the start/finish and the other along the course), strobe lights, black lights, glow sticks and awesome neon race shirts. Since it was in the 40s, the DJ played some dance music before the run to get everyone dancing and warmed up - it was a fun, party atmosphere.
This wasn't as 'intense' as a typical 5K because it was not timed, but it was still a good run. The course was marked with glow sticks and was a little dark at times. There were three tents to run through set up along the route which were sweet: a black light tent, a strobe light tent (very weird to run through) and a multicolored light tent.
There was also a costume contest at the end, which we were unaware of, so there were people dressed in all kinds of things like tutus, neon wigs, butterfly wings, etc. We're already planning on making our wardrobe much more interesting for next year's run!
I was expecting more 'fun' along the route, but I can't complain. I didn't train myself very well for this race, but I did pretty well. My sister-in-law and I walked for about 5 minutes together, and we both ran the rest of the way. I finished in about 37 minutes, I think -- I wore my watch and estimated that we didn't start running til about 6:35 and I crossed the finish line around 7:12ish. My legs are killing me today, but I was coughing up so much lovely mucus. When I don't run for a while, I forget how much my lungs benefit from it. I wish I was better about running/exercising more regularly.
The Glo Run did help me realize that I can still run in cold weather. It was probably mid 40s last night and I didn't notice any difference in my breathing because of the cold air. I layered up and actually was sweating by the time I was done despite it being chilly. I'm not as worried about the Turkey Trot that's coming up in two weeks. I'm sure that one will be a bit colder, and if it's hard on my lungs I'll take it easy, but I know that if I layer up, I can keep myself warm.
Last but not least, I try to show some CF love/support when I do my races because it's the reason I'm doing them in first place. Last night, they had neon paint that you could use, so this is what I chose to do: "Cure CF"

Shoreline Classic 2012

I ran my second 5K this morning!!! And I completed it about a minute faster than my first one, woo hoo! Originally, Tim and I planned to run it together and we both signed up. But this past week, we had been running together and Tim developed shin splints. He's not one to complain about pain unless it's really bad and he was miserable, so I felt terrible that he had to come take pictures of me when he was supposed to be out there with me. He made a smart choice though because we were afraid he wouldn't be able to walk if he tried to run today! I was still really happy that he was there to support me while I chugged along the more-hilly-than-I-thought course. :) I didn't have such a huge adrenaline rush this time around, but I was still able to run the entire course without stopping, walking or re-hydrating until I crossed the finish line.

When I was in high school, if someone would have told me that I would be excited about running 5Ks in my 20s, I would have called them crazy. Also, if someone told me then that I was going to be healthier in my 20s, I would have called them even crazier because I thought it was nearly impossible to gain any lung function back. Now here I am feeling healthier than I have in a very long time, kicking CF's butt because my compliance and exercise! It just feels good to finally be taking care of myself because I want to, not just because I have to. I still don't absolutely love running, but the feeling I get when I cross the finish line is SO worth it. It's going to be a challenge this winter to stay active because I'm not signed up for any gyms, but I'll have to start looking into alternative exercise until I can get back outside.

I'm debating about signing up for the local Turkey Trot in November. I know it'll probably be much colder than it was this morning (which was high 50s-low 60s) which might not be the best for my lungs. But even if I can't run the whole thing that time, at least I'd be getting out there and doing it! Well...I think I just resolved my issue -- getting out there and trying is better than making excuses and skipping it. Stay tuned in two months for my third 5K, the Turkey Trot on November 17th!

Back in the Saddle!

I finally got my butt out of my classroom and off the couch, and finally went running tonight...and man, did it feel good! The hardest part is always just getting myself to do it...it's like I forget how much better it makes me feel. Tim went with me on his roller blades which encouraged me to run more than walk. I only walked about 1/2 block total. We only went about 1.4 miles (6 blocks), but it was a good start. I'm going to try to get back into my 'on two, off one' day routine again with one more run tomorrow evening. I even registered myself for another 5K to motivate myself to stay healthy and keep running! AND, I got Tim to register too so we'll be running it together!  It is a little less than a month away on Sunday, September 16th, and I'm looking forward to it! :-) (Anyone available that morning to please take some pictures for us, I'd really appreciate it!)

In other news, Monday is the first day of school!!! I am SUPER excited for it! I thought I'd be much more nervous, but I'm not...at least not yet. I've still got a little bit of work to get done in my classroom before the kids come, so I'll be in there for a few hours tomorrow and I'll take updated pictures.
Thursday afternoon we had a Kindergarten Open House where the students and families came in to meet their teacher and drop off any supplies. I was able to meet about 1/2 of my students and their families which was really cool. It was very relaxed and it made me very excited for Monday when I'm able to meet all of my students! :)

363/364

The other day I was looking at my other pages on my blog (goals, heath stats, compliance, etc) and I realized a few things:

• I have met two of my goals this summer: Completed a 5K and I got my first teaching job! Woo hoo!
• I'm also getting pretty close to "making exercise a normal part of my routine". I'm still working towards this one because I did slack off a bit after my 5K in June, but I've been doing really good the past couple weeks with running two days, then resting one day.
• On July 31st, 2011 - one year ago today - I started my 100% compliance. Although in March I forgot to bring some nebulizers on a weekend trip, I have not missed one treatment otherwise - which means that I have completed all of my treatments for 363 out of the past 364 days.                                                   That's 726 treatments = 363 hours = 21,780 minutes = 99.73% of my treatments over the past year! Pretty darn close to 100%! I have to say I'm pretty proud of myself for accomplishing this! I hope that on March 5th, 2013 I am able to say that 99.73% will turn into a definite 100%!

Little Bit of This, Little Bit of That

Not much to report here. It's one week til move in day and I cannot believe it! I feel like these past few weeks have flown by, but I'm getting excited. We have several of our friends willing to make the three hour hike with us to help us move into our new place, which is awesome. And, of course we're moving on the one day of the year that the town is having it's 'celebration' so the main street through town will be closed - but we'll manage!

I was able to visit my classroom this past week and my friend and I made some great progress organizing and moving some furniture around despite it being at least 95 degrees in my room! (No air conditioning...) I decided to get rid of my teacher desk because it was taking up useless space and we organized my curriculum books that I have so far. It's not too much of a noticeable change to an outsider (probably just looks messier compared to the last pictures I posted), but I feel like we got a lot done. There is still a TON to do and I'll have the whole week after we move to get my classroom set up. The week after that will be filled with New Teacher Orientations, PBIS workshops, Institute Days, and an Open House for the Kindergarten families to meet the teachers and see their classroom! :-) The first day of school will be here before I know, I'm sure, and I've got lots of nerves and excitement running through me already!

View from the door - straight ahead where the fan is will be my 'desk'/group table.
The cubbies behind it will be for my teacher supplies. There's also the huge pile
of boxes from everything that we organized/stored. 

I've been keeping up pretty well with my running. I went three times this week - running/walking about three miles each time. This week I should go Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Honestly, I'll probably miss Saturday's run since that's the morning we're moving. I'm sure I'll get quite the workout Friday and Saturday loading/unloading the moving truck and everything. But I'll keep pushing myself to do the best I can to be the healthiest I can.

I don't know if I'll post anymore until the big move. If not, then I'll be more than excited to (and I'll have much more to write about, I'm sure) post after we are all settled into our new home. :-)

14 Days and Counting

Two more weeks til the big move! I can't believe it. I apologize to my readers about not posting for a while, it's been a little hectic around here lately and there hasn't been much to write about. We've been starting to clean and pack up our current place while Tim's still working close to 50 hours a week and I was doing summer school and getting things together for my classroom.
Today was the last day of summer school, so I have the next two weeks completely free to finish getting everything washed, cleaned, organized, and packed while Tim's working.

As far as my commitment to exercise since my last post, I've failed. I think I've gone running two or three times since then, including tonight. It has been so disgustingly hot out that I just cannot haven't forced myself to get out there. I did check with the gym across the street, but they do not have open gym hours during the summer due to the kids camp they have going on everyday. I've got two weeks to turn myself around before we move. Since I literally have nothing planned, I have NO excuses now. So here's my new plan: Run two days, rest one day, run two days, rest one day, etc. That way I can have a 'schedule' so I'm not just randomly running whenever I feel like it. So tonight was my first run, so tomorrow morning I'll be out again. Then I'll rest on Sunday and be back at it Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday -- I'll most likely go in the morning so that I hopefully miss the heat. I'm not going to go crazy with making sure I run all three miles of my route, but doing lots of alternating to get my legs and lungs back in shape like they were a month ago! 


Finally, I've filled out at least 40 pages of paperwork for my new job and I'll be 'officially' approved by the Board next week. I've been in my classroom to drop some of my materials off, and I'll be going down one more time before we move to meet with the Teacher Mentor Coordinator. While filling out the pages of paperwork, among it was my insurance information. I will still be able to attend my CF clinic in Chicago! I'm very excited about that even though it'll be a several hour drive, it's completely worth it to me. :-)


Again, I apologize for the boring post and the time it's been between posts, but there really hasn't been too much exciting stuff going on. At the end of next week I'll post some pictures of my classroom when I hopefully have it more decorated/organized! Til then, here's a sneak peek: 

View from the door
Yep, those are chalkboards - but I do have a whiteboard
to the right along the other wall and one behind my desk
you can see to the left.

Slacker!

I've been completely slacking on exercise since I ran my first 5K a couple weeks ago. I think I've gone running only two or three times since then which is pretty sad since I was running two or three times a week before it! I was running because I wanted to make myself healthy, but also because I wanted to achieve my goal of running a 5K. Now that I've achieved that goal, I feel like I have nothing to look forward to. I know this isn't true because I know that running makes me feel better and that it's great for my body, but I feel like my motivation isn't there anymore, and I don't like it.
I can give you plenty of excuses: the one I've been using most frequently and recently is that it's been 100 degrees outside and I DO NOT want to run in that heat and humidity. True. But, I could get up early and run when it's cooler, I could be doing more running and walking intervals, I could be going back to the gym that we live right across the street from!!
Another excuse is that I've been so busy and stressed since finding out about my new job and that we're going to have to move. True. But I'm actually only working 1/2 days now that it's summer school so I've got plenty of time. And, running helps me relieve stress.
Finally, as I mentioned above - I achieved my goal of a 5K, so what am I running for now? Uh, my health, DUH! I've really let this one get away from me over the past couple weeks. I think with seeing my lung function stay the same, it kind of got me down about running. But I can't forget how much better I've felt since I've regularly started running.

But instead of sucking it up, I've let those excuses get the best of me. Not anymore. Today I read a post from a fibro's (male w/ CF) wife about getting back into the groove of exercising that's exactly what I need to be doing.

New plan of action: Take advantage of the gym across the street (especially before we have to move away from it)!!! Starting this week, I am planning on using the gym to exercise. Maybe I'm a little burnt out on running, so I might try to switch it up a little and use the elliptical for a while. Not exercising isn't going to keep my lung function stable, let alone increase it. I have absolutely no excuse that I can't fit at least 30 minutes of exercise into my schedule two or three times a week.

I'm hoping that with this post I'll be able to hold myself responsible with keeping up with exercising.

Honestly, if I "can't" do it now because I'm stressed about starting my job and moving, what's going to happen when we do move and I do start my job? Am I just going to give up and let my hard work go to waste? I can't let that happen. I need to keep myself healthy. So, if you think of it, please help me stay in line with keeping myself healthy by asking me when was the last time I went to the gym/exercised. NO excuses.

Eat More & Keep Running

That's what I've taken away from my doctors appointment today. I've been feeling fantastic lately: lots of energy, been coughing up way more mucus than I thought I could possibly have in my lungs (sorry, TMI) from all of my running, less bloating/stomach issues...all around very good! So I was anxious for my doctors appointment today to see if my PFTs would reflect the way I feel....of course they don't! They weren't bad, but they weren't 90 like I wanted.

My current FEV1 is 85% which is only slightly up from last time so it's considered 'unchanged' which is a good thing. As long as it's not going down, then we're good to go. My doctor and the guy who did the PFTs with me both told me that it's good that I'm not going down and I know they're right, it's just frustrating that I've been working so hard at running that I was expecting a bigger result. I was able to give a big sputum sample (sorry again for TMI) today which typically isn't me but I explained to her how I'm getting so much more up from all of my exercise and she was very happy about that. She said that being in the mid-80s could just be my baseline and that anything from 80-120 (someone please explain to me how you can have over 100% lung function) is considered normal so she's very please with where I'm at. I'm not mad about where I'm at because I feel excellent and that's what matters! 


My weight has gone down to 115lbs but we contributed that to the added exercise and burning calories, so I need to continue stuffing my face - even more than I do - so that I can add a few more pounds back on. It seems like, from looking back at my health stats, that 122lbs would be a good goal for me so that's what I'll shoot for. Any suggestions on how to keep weight on while exercising would be excellent. :-)


We also discussed my new job and that Tim and I have to move and depending on my insurance, my goal is to continue going to this clinic. I do NOT want to leave because I love my doctor and nurse, and I'm willing to make the trip as long as insurance allows it. I'll know more about this in a couple months once I get all of the new stuff straightened out. 


So, overall I'm going to keep running at least two miles 2-3 days a week and increase my calorie intake to hopefully gain a few more pounds before my next visit this fall. I'd say that's a pretty good visit. :-)