Let's Get Clinical!

Hey there, reader. How are ya? This past week has been a little crazy with a capital "C" but things are calming down now, and for that I am so thankful. Between helping out at my family's restaurant, doing treatments, taking meds and basic hygiene I flop into bed every night completely spent. Anyways, enough whining, let me tell y'all the good news. Drum roll...

My CF clinic visit was last Friday and it went FANTASTIC! My lung function is sitting pretty at 104%, that's right, one hundred and four percent! My appointment lasted for three hours and I don't know if I have ever felt so at ease with my care team. Everything was just great. I am in love with my new doctor! He is everything I am looking for as an adult with CF; organized, articulate, understanding, and determined. My doc did order a new and more advanced sputum culture to check the antibiotic levels and resistances in my lungs. That test will decide where my care plan goes from here and the results should be back in 4-6 weeks, which is when I will be at the CF clinic again. AND I didn't even get in trouble for my weight loss. I was really surprised considering I'd lost another two pounds, but my nutritionist reassures me that my BMI is still perfect so she has no qualms at this point. I couldn't help but feel like I dodged a bullet there!

So that's that. I'm healthy as a horse! Not really, but in CF terms I'm doing pretty great and I feel really good these days. It's nice to feel normal.

An Update For the Sake of Updating

At a family dinner tonight I was informed that I don't update my blog nearly as much as I should. I agree. My excuse? Writing down what is happening in my life sometimes seems like the most stressful thing in the whole wide world. Silly, I know, but sometimes it cripples my little typing fingers. So that's my story. Sorry to my sweet cousin M who checks out my little bliggity blog often; I'll try to write more. Like now...

Tonight I have nothing pressing or exciting to report. The start of this month (a Tobi month) brought a total of four antibiotics to my system. Tobi months are never easy but the addition of a fourth antibiotic really made it tough. As of last night I'm back down to two, a little more manageable. YAY is all I can say.

I do want to mention how thankful I am for my sweet family. Specifically, those who attended a fundraiser last night for a fellow CFer. My Cyster, Tabitha, is dealing with end stage CF and therefore has started raising money for a double lung transplant. I am unable to attend any of her fundraisers since CFers can't be together without creating a bacterial swap meet. It makes me sad that I wasn't there for my friend but the fact that my cousins and uncle were there makes me feel a gazillion times better.

What's on the agenda this week? CF CLINIC of course! Friday, February 17th to be exact. Pretty exciting business if you ask me. I've been feeling really, really great lately. My only concern is my weight. :/ It is very important for CFers to maintain their weight at all times. Let me say that again, it is very important for CFers to maintain their weight at all times. Weight loss not only draws concerned looks and lectures from your doctors, it also indicates disease progression or exacerbations. Neither of which will earn you any brownie points. My usual weight at my doctor's office is 140-143 and my CF doc is very happy with that number. When I went to the office in December I only weighed 136. *Gasp* I got a skeptical look and was told that if I don't gain back those pounds over the holidays we would have to do something. Like I said, I feel great so I can hope that the all-knowing scale reflects that.

I wish all of my sweet, supportive friends and family a fantastic week and a Happy Valentine's day!

X-Ray Vision

Whenever I go to get x-rays I always walk out thinking I know how to read them. False. So so so false. Last time I tried to read my chest x-rays I thought the large mass in my left lung was some awful infection... nope, just my heart. Of course, I worried about it for two whole weeks up until I saw my doctor. You think I would have learned my lesson, right? Once again, false.

Today I went to get a chest x-ray. I brought the films home with me so I can make sure they get to the CF clinic with me for my February 17th appointment. At first I swore off any peeking at the films considering my last attempt. That oath lasted all of 32 seconds. The first thing I saw when I peeked was my port, this being the first time I'd seen it on x-ray, and i was surprised by how strange and alien it looks inside me! That was a weird moment for me. I think my lungs look about the same as they did last time we x-rayed... I think. I always get nervous when I see "cob webs" in my lungs (my doctor's words, not mine), a.k.a. the foggy, murky, web-like stuff. I can never tell if it means scaring, infection, or just plain bronchial tubes. We shall see!

I don't know how to read these x-rays, that much is obvious, but I do love looking at them. I can only hope that my doctor shares the sentiment when I see him next week.

Any radiologists out there? Here's an exclusive look at my lungs for my awesome readers!