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 going to compile a list of positive, happy, lucky, fortunate things that are going on in my life, or anywhere in the world.

Old Vest on the left (model 104), new Vest (model 105) on the right.
The old Vest had 1,215.2 hours
logged - I think it was about time for it to go. 

• For the past couple weeks, my Vest hasn't been inflating properly. I noticed a hole in one of the hoses, so I called Hill Rom (Vest company) and had the hoses replaced. That didn't solve the problem. So I finally  called Hill Rom again on Monday and explained my problem. Without any hassle, they overnighted a brand new Vest to my house! And  they had UPS come pick up my old Vest for free. 
• This new Vest is awesome! It's amazing to me how tight this one is during treatments - makes me wonder how many other people are out there with under-inflated Vests. Had mine never 1/2 inflated, I would have assumed that it was working just fine, but this new one is squeezing so much tighter - it feels good! 
• I'm so happy that Hill Rom is so helpful! Any time I have a question or need something for my Vest, it's no questions asked. They are so wonderful about filling my needs and helping me out. Thanks, Hill Rom! :)
• I'm so happy that I had a great clinic visit today! I'll post more on that later this evening or tomorrow, but I had a lot of questions answered and I cannot express how much I love my CF doctor - she is so wonderful! 
• I'm also glad that I met an awesome Endocrinologist today! He was so calm, welcoming, and full of information. He is also very understanding of me living so far and gave me his email and told me to contact him anytime about anything. Love when doctors are like that! :-)
• I'm looking forward to going back to work tomorrow (just for one day, because I know it'll be nuts) because my class was apparently terrible today and the sub "was an idiot" according to a staff member. Tomorrow should be interesting since my kids will be off the wall and I have my third observation, awesome....

Lots to be thankful for this week! Stay tuned for a very in-depth post about my trip to Chicago today.

30 Days of Blogging: Day 19

Day 19 - Your reflection in the mirror

This is probably my least favorite day so far because I don't take pictures of myself in the mirror. I have a webcam on my computer that I've never used. I was messing with it this morning while doing my treatments and this is what I could get:

It's all grainy because my Vest was going at the moment, sorry.
Not too bad for 6:00am!

Doctor Visit & New Vest!

Had my doctor visit today and it went pretty well (took some pictures for you). I had my PFTs scheduled for 10 and then I would see the doctor at 11:30. So, to start the very long day, I woke up a little before 6:30 so I could get in a set of treatments and some breakfast before I left around 7:20. I got about 20 minutes into my drive when I heard on the radio that traffic looked terrible on pretty much every way into Chicago, so I was not looking forward to my drive! I got backed up in traffic a LOT sooner than I normally do and at one point I was going 30mph and it felt fast. Needless to say, it was a long ride, especially because I had to pee the whole way!! (Sorry for the TMI)

Lovely Chicago morning traffic

Luckily I left with enough time and I pulled into the parking garage at 9:30 and checked into 5E-Pulmonary Procedures around 9:45 for my PFTs at 10...just in time! My pulmonologist wasn't very friendly or encouraging today, so it wasn't very exciting doing my PFTs. Sometimes you get the people who really encourage you and tell you you're doing great, which really helps sometimes, but this lady was pretty crouchy - oh well. She left the room several times, so I took a couple pictures to show you what the full PFT machine looks like. (If she was nicer, I would have asked her to take a picture of me in it...)

The machine on the right is where I sit. On the left is where the pulomonologist sits
and gives me instructions on how to breathe. All of my breathing is recorded on the computer
and made into graphs. 

The blue piece is what I put in my mouth (and I have nose plugs)
and it records all of my breathing.

When some of the tests are performed, the door is closed. Right now the door is open.

I did pretty well, overall, on my PFTs. They didn't go up like I wanted them to, but the best thing is that they didn't go down. The percentage in my small airways went up significantly, thanks to Advair, so I'll be continuing that. I updated everything in my "Health Stats" tab, but here's a quick overview. 

FEV1: 2.70L - 86% which is up a little from last time :-)

FVC: 2.97L - 76% which is pretty much the same. 

I did about 8 different tests today in that machine. I did a few in the beginning, then they give me a nebulizer of Albuterol and she tested me about 4 or 5 more times after that. In the test I breathe normal for a couple breaths, then I take in a deep breath and blow it out as fast as I can, for as long as I can (meanwhile the pulm. is saying "BLOW, BLOW, BLOW!") and then I take a deep breath in at the end, and I relax. I did this about 8 times, plus several different other breathing techniques/tests in between. I was pretty wiped out after, but it felt good. I was able to cough up some lovely samples for them, which they always love. 

After my PFTs were finished around 10:30, I walked down to 4D-Pulmonology to see my doctor. I actually got in a little early to see her, which never happens, so I was pretty excited. (But I missed you, Penny!) 

My doctor's huge binder with all of my files! Lots of paper
work every time. 

My doctor was very please with me keeping my weight the same and keeping my lung function stable/slightly up. She pretty much told me to keep doing what I'm doing and to keep it up. I'm hoping that with continued exercise and compliance with my treatments (haven't missed one since July 30th!) that hopefully my numbers will start going up instead of staying where they are every time. We talked for a while about everything that's been going on and keeping healthy. We decided not to change anything that I'm doing because it seems to be working. As I mentioned before, since the Advair seemed to have a positive affect on my small airways, I'm going to be keeping that up. So I'll be back again in three-four months, depending on when I can get back in. Probably sometime in the beginning of winter. So after we were done chatting, which lasted a while (it's pretty amazing to have such a great relationship with my Dr!), I finally headed out.  

This is the view from the parking garage, right behind my car.
Of course, it's always packed so I had to park on the top level. 

Of course the traffic is still there when I leave at 1:45!

Ahhh! Now this is more like it. Back home! :-)

When I got home, I had a little package waiting for me....my new PINK vest! Here it is!

Winner

Looks like you guys want me to get a PINK vest! I had seven people vote and only one person chose blue. Several people have told me the blue is a very 'medical' looking color, and I have to agree with them...so pink it is. And for those of you who know me, I'm not one for pink, but it's much more fun than a black vest! I'll be calling the Hill-Rom company at the beginning of next week to requesting a new vest, so I'll keep you updated. And I'll definitely be posting pictures if/when I get it! Thanks to those people who voted. :-)

The Vest

I got my first Vest when I was in 7th grade and I hated it! I hated that it made me cough and I would try to use every excuse in the book not to use it. It was big, bulky, very heavy and loud.

This is my freshman year of college - doing my treatments in my dorm.

Today, my Vest is portable, quiet and small.

You can see my traveling bag in the background (kind of dark).

If I didn't have the Vest, I definitely would not be as healthy as I am today.
I need to get a new size of the actual vest itself and now they have them in different colors and designs that you can put over the machine. I love this idea for children because it makes the machine a lot less scary and 'medical'. As I was looking on the Hill-Rom website, I found a couple cool links.
*To get the different "skins" for the machine
*The different color vests
*Need a reminder to take a break and cough? Or how about a Vest in Spanish?

I think it's really cool that they are adding all of these new features to this equipment. It definitely makes it more kid friendly (and adult friendly!). I'm not going to lie, this NIU skin looks pretty awesome! And since I have to get a bigger size for my vest, if they allow me, I'm totally going to pick a colored one. So, the big question is....light blue or pink?? Take a second to vote on the top, right hand side of the blog. I'll post some pictures when I get it! :-)