What I want people to understand about their choice to go to work sick…

Everyone is aware that if you are sick, you can pass it along to others. What people don’t think about is how that affects those of us who have a weakened immune system. For you all, if you get sick, you feel pretty terrible for a week or so, and then you move on… no big deal. As a teacher, I totally understand that calling out of work can be more work than actually going. I get it. You have to get a sub, make lesson plans, remember to write down when each student has somewhere they have to go, write down all the details of a day that you just do without even thinking, and so on. So, teachers are the worst about going to work even when they are under the weather.

IV antibiotics that had to be infused every 8 hours.

Now that being said, when you are at work with your contagious germs, you are putting my life at risk. It may sound like I’m being dramatic, but staying healthy is a huge challenge for me as it is, without extra viruses or bacteria taking over. I have been able to stay away from the flu thanks to the flu shot (Don’t get me started on the arguments against the flu shot.)  for most of my adult like with one exception.

Christmas 2012: feeling horrible but pretending I'm ok. 

I caught the flu in 2012. Instead of being down for about a week or two, it took me around 3 months to start to feel back to my normal. I lost 14 pounds which is a huge deal for someone with cystic fibrosis. The August before this, I had 60% lung function… it dropped to 41%, and I haven’t seen 60% since then. My lungs were permanently damaged. I missed a lot of school that year… it would have been more if my sickness hadn’t been partially during winter break. I had to do IV antibiotics for 2 weeks. Then I was put on an oral antibiotics and prednisone for 2 more weeks, but it was still 2 months before I started to see any real improvements in my lung function.

Now the flu and other viruses are spreading around our district like wildfire. I’m truly scared of catching either. Yesterday, I wore a mask at work because I know there are multiple people at school who are sick. With the threat of more being there today, I chose to take the rest of the week off to hide from all of the germs. I can’t risk my life to be with my students, and it breaks my heart that I can’t be there with them.

So I just encourage you whether you are a teacher or not, think about what your choice to go to work sick means for the people around you. Do you have someone at your work that has suppressed immunity or is especially vulnerable to getting sick? If you must go to work, please make sure to take precautions to not spread it those people. Use the CF rule… stay at least 6 feet away, and wipe down things you touch that they may come into contact with.

Back to School

Well, after two weeks of winter break followed by three snow/cold weather days, I am finally going back to work tomorrow. I don't really know how I feel about it, because I do love my job and have missed my kids. At the same time, I have really gotten used to being around the house all the time and actually having time to get household chores finished. It's been a nice relaxing break that I have thoroughly enjoyed! Throughout the break, I kept thinking back to how sick I was this time last year and how that really ruined everything I tried to do. I felt so weak and tired from the beginning of December through the end of January. I'm so thankful for being healthy this year. I just hope it continues.

Speaking of staying healthy, I'm doing everything in my power to do so. It's January 8th today, and I have been compliant all 8 days of 2014! I know it seems small, but you start somewhere. I'm on the right track. The break has been bad for my gym routine, but that will be back on track now that I'm going back to work and back to the real world.

So here's to the 2nd semester of my 2nd year of teaching! I hope it goes smoothly. :)

6 Weeks

Wow.... I've been teaching for 6 weeks already! I can't believe it... It has gone by so quickly! It has been extremely overwhelming but so amazing at the same time! I love teaching so much, and I can't believe how much I enjoy being around my kids.

In other areas of my life, things have been a constant crazy. I am currently living in a house with my sister taking care of 5 dogs. I moved in Labor Day weekend, and we are still working on getting used to having so many dogs. Eldon is still living in Murfreesboro while he finishes up school. He will be done in December, but until then, we are doing the whole "long distance marriage" thing. It has definitely been rough, but since we did long distance for 3 years while we were dating, the fact that it's only a semester has been helping me get through it.

Now that I've gotten my school life a little more put together, I need to really start focusing on my health again. It has been a struggle settling into a routine, but I can't put it off anymore. I'm signed up to run a 5K on October 6th, and I have got to get my act together if I am going to be able to run it at all. My next clinic appointment is in November, and my goal for my lung function is 70%. That is a really tall order, and I need to put in a lot of effort, time, and energy into my health.

In other news, I just registered to do the Out Run CF virtual race again! It will be on November 22, and you can run any where and anytime you want! That's my kind of race. :) There is so much less pressure. If you are interested in participating, just click HERE.

Happy Friday everyone!!!!

The Beginning of Classroom Setup

Today was the first day that I have gotten to go into my classroom. I thought I had a good idea about what I wanted, but once I got in the room, it was much more difficult to visualize than I thought it would be. It's hard to start from scratch and to come up with a whole new idea for a classroom using very little past experience to get your ideas. Here are a few pictures of the classroom before we really got to rearranging everything:

It started to get a little bit easier once we started moving things around and getting a feel for where things worked well. Here are some of the pictures of the progress we made during the day.

That's how I left it today, but I'm going back tomorrow morning to work some more work in. I also made a nice list of things I need/want for the room. It's really hitting me that I actually have a classroom after searching for a teaching job for 2 years! I am so nervous and so excited about it!

Happy Monday, everyone!