Frolick. Play. Treatments.

Coffee chats with Grandma Inez, laughs with my sister, lunch dates with Allie, lazy days watching my favorite shows, quality time with Grandpa, and lots of treatments... that's what I've been up to the past few weeks. I have been so pleased to spend my time with such amazing folks. I truly am so very lucky. Tomorrow night the fun and frolicking continues! How could I possibly top the activities listed above, you may ask... with MAROON 5 tickets of course (insert appropriate shriek here)!!! I love them oh so much and may or may not know their entire CD backwards and forwards. I'm more than a little excited. My friend Kelly and I are dressing up fancy-schmancy and going to dinner then the concert. Woohoo! I know, it's almost too much fun and excitement for one little blog post.

On a little less exciting note, I've also been fighting an infection that seems determined to inhabit the dark and scary parts of my lungs. Don't fret, I seem to have fought it off for the most part. Still feeling crumby in the mornings and at night but I have a few prime hours in the middle of the day when I am able to breath easier. The times when I can't breathe easy really freak me out. I don't know if it's unique to CF or if everyone feels this way but I swear that each illness or bug makes me feel less and less resilient. Very frustrating, especially since I'm such a basket case already. I'm a bit of a control freak, type A personality, and ultra claustrophobic with a giant side of anxiety, so when I feel like I can't breathe (as such is the nature of CF) I freak out a little... okay, more than a little... a lot. Just this bug that's been threatening to invade my lungs has been wiping me out. I am thankful that I've had the time and opportunity for rest these past few days. Alright, no more whining in this post; you have my word.

I promise to post a completely bias and adoring review of the concert in the next few days! Like I said, I am SO EXCITED. If you are reading this and you're one of the people mentioned in the first sentence of this post, I love  every second of my time with you. Just saying. :]

Taking A Break

Today is Cierra's first official day as a senior. Aaah!! So exciting. While Ce and most of my friends will be starting classes today, I will not. After much careful consideration and seeking of advice from all the right people, I have decided to take a semester off.

As many of you know, my last semester took quite a toll on me and my health. While I love school and always enjoy my classes, I think it would be best to make sure my health is on solid footing before I run myself into the ground again. Three of my four college semesters have ended with me in the hospital and I'm not eager to go through that again. Hopefully a few months off will allow me to focus on my treatments, raise my lung function numbers, and get the bugs that keep causing these severe exacerbations under control. Fingers crossed!

There was another major factor in this decision: my 93 year old grandpa. His health is failing quickly and I'm afraid that he won't be around much longer, much less at the end of the semester. His wife, my 80 year old grandma, also needs help and support as she has decided to keep him at home during his final months despite her failing health as well. Taking some time off of school will allow me to spend precious time with my grandpa and help Grandma care for him and herself.

Come spring I plan to enter the EKG Technician Certification course at TMCC. This course would open up a wealth of career opportunities while allowing me to finish my degree when I feel healthier. I'm pretty excited about this plan.

I've spoken to a few people who have adamantly argued against this decision but I'm confident that this is the best option for me right now. So much of Cystic Fibrosis is about getting ahead of infections and taking preventative actions; this is my preventative action. Thank you to my Aunt Maria, my dad, Allie, Grandma Inez and Cierra for being so supportive and just plain amazing. I love them!

Obsessed

Currently, I can't get enough of the following things:

-Iced, soy, sugar free, vanilla lattes
-Marc Anthony's voice
-Jensen Ackles' face
-Those wickless candle wax-melter things... my house smells amazing!
-Things that are mint scented
-The King's Speech
-Purple and green
-Girls nights with my Cierra and my Allie!
-Sleep
-"Faster" by Matt Nathanson
-Supernatural (possibly because of Jensen Ackles' face)

Just in case you were curious... or extremely bored. Either way, you're awesome.

Summer Adventure #1: Salem Wedding!

Like I said in an earlier post, this summer was INSANE. We had two weddings to attend in two different states, one of which my dad was officiating. Our first summer adventure was wedding number one in Salem, OR (not officiated by my father).

We drove up on a Tuesday and returned home the following Tuesday. Cierra, my dad, and I had a truly amazing time! The Jenkins also came up for the wedding (bonus!). The word that comes to mind when thinking about this trip is "fulfilling". While the folks that I call my "Oregon Family" aren't actually blood, I feel at home whenever I'm near them. And Salem, I kid you not, is one of the most beautiful and wonderful places on Earth. If you haven't visited you're missing out.

Ce and I spent almost every day helping out with pre-wedding craziness and preparations. It was a busy week but so worth it. I already miss my favorite Oregonians so much! Here are a few pictures from the wedding reception courtesy of the lovely Terry Jenkins (since my summer aversion to responsibility and commitment obviously extended to picture-taking). The wedding was perfect and reflected just how amazing the bride and groom are.

Summer adventure #1 = SUCCESS!

Emily, me,  & Cierra in our purdy dresses.

This picture made my day. Hilarious!

We so dang cute.

Familia!

Show 'Em Your Scars

Yesterday, I read a Facebook post from one of my high school classmates. The post was, "If you want to get to know someone, show them your scars". I know that what she meant was all figurative and deep but my interpretation was a literal one. That little line of words really made me think, hence this post.

Just a few months ago I wouldn't have had any major scars to show. Sure, I have a few PICC scars and the faded marks on my abdomen where they stole my gallbladder but nothing that's ever drawn looks or questions, until now. Of course, I'm talking about my port scar. It ain't pretty. When I first realized that it was shaping up to be quite the scar I had to decide whether to cover it up or just let it be (cue The Beatles please). I say I had to "decide" but, truth be told, my mind was already made up; I wasn't going to let a scar change what I wore or how I acted. That didn't stop people from asking about it or noticing it though, one girl even asked if I'd had heart surgery! When curious folks question the cause for such a scar I usually tell them the truth (CF, IV antibiotics all the freakin' time, PICC's are bad, ports are good... the whole spiel). Pre-port I never would've told random strangers these details of my life, but post-port I acknowledge said details and discuss them quite frequently.

 Every once in a while I do get self conscious about my scar and the teensy bump underneath it where my port sits. When that happens I just repeat the words my CF friend Tabitha (Fun fact: in the CF community other CF friends are called "Cysters" and "Fibros"... cute, huh?) once told me, "I don't feel embarrassed about it. It's a battle scar". Truer words were never spoken, er, typed. Circling back around to the whole point of this post, thank you random ladies in my life for making me appreciate silly things like the ice-breaking qualities of funky scars. Maybe nowadays I'm a little closer to everyone I meet because I choose to show them my scar.

Summer Slacker

Hi there!

It's been awhile. Too long, if you ask me. These past couple months have been busy, crazy, joyous, relaxing, stressful, and refreshing all at once! My lack of blogging has less to do with my summer plans and more to do with my hopes to avoid commitment, responsibility, and CF as much as possible this summer. Those of you who know me well know that I tend to over commit just a bit; this summer I tried my best not to. In fact, I tried to slack as much as humanly possible... and let me tell you, it felt GOOD. I do apologize for being so darn unreliable.

Anywhoo, this next week before school starts up again I will blog at least 2-3 times and chronicle my summer slacking. I also have some new things to write about regarding my plans for this semester. Yay!

Below is a little sneak peek of the fun I had this summer: me revving a '68 Chevy Impala SS convertible!! I hope each and every one of you enjoyed your summer as much as I did! :)

-Haley

I Haven't Been Kidnapped

... But most of you knew that.

I apologize for my lack of posting over the past few weeks. I have been pretty burned out on anything CF related. Unfortunately, that included my poor, neglected blog. I'm finally feeling a little less reclusive.

I have so many things to write about! Where to start? How about where I left off in my last post. I had my port accessed and that was a pain, a painful pain in the butt. Dr. Hulka did a great job placing my port so that it wouldn't be totally obvious but that also has a downside when it comes to access. Apparently, placing it deeper and therefor making it less noticeable also makes access more difficult. Also, the scar is directly above the access point. This first week it took three stabs to get the line placed. The second week it only took one try. Woo! This last week (the third and final) took another three tries. Not the best experiences of my life.

Other than difficult accesses and itchy dressings, this port thing isn't too bad. I'm able to wear t-shirts that cover it up completely and if you didn't know I had an IV in you definitely wouldn't be able to tell. That's a huge plus over the PICC lines. Also, the nice people at Arlington Clinical were able to put my high doses of antibiotics in syringes instead of pumps. That way a full dose of both antibiotics only takes about 20 minutes instead of two hours with the pumps. Those darn antibiotics haven't been very nice to me though. The first week was really, really tough. I was sleeping about 18 hours every day and when I was awake I didn't have the energy to do anything. Nausea also visited me more than a few times during these past few weeks. No fun. My body seems to have adjusted now and I've had more energy the past few days. Here's the great news: I get my IV pulled on FRIDAY!! Yeah, I'm just a little excited. I also have a doctors appointment with Dr. Budhecha on Wednesday and I'll let you know how that goes.

So what have I been doing to help pass the time between IV treatments? Hanging out with my Cierra and Allie! Gosh, I love those two. Supernatural marathons with Ce and nights at Allie's playing Candyland and Apples to Apples. These two have been incredible distractions. :)

All in all it's been a good few weeks but I couldn't be happier to get this IV out of me. Thank you to all of you for being such awesome friends and family. I don't know what I would ever do without you. I'll try and check back in sooner rather than later!