Well... here is me playing catch up once again. My biggest milestone or challenge go with the same story. When my doctor told me I would need a lung transplant soon, I watched my future slip away from me. I know that if you get a lung transplant, you have a second chance at life, but it is risky and difficult to say the least. I have a lot of plans and goals for my life, and when I thought I was around the corner from being on my death bed, I did not see how I could ever make those things happen. I then decided to turn my life around and push back the need for a transplant. That was my biggest challenge that I am still facing today. Turning around from doing nothing and trying to do all of my treatments was/is really hard. My lung function ended up raising by 20%, and that is my greatest milestone so far! Hopefully, some of those goals I have set for myself will become even bigger and better milestones. We'll see!
I think the cons speak for themselves, but here are a few. Cystic Fibrosis shortens lives. It is shortening mine. CF makes it hard to breathe. I don't know what it is like to take a real breath of air. On hot, humid days like today, it is more difficult for me to go out and do things. The air feels thick in my lungs, and I get out of breath much easier. Because of this disease, I have a pretty terrifying future ahead of me.
Enough about the bad things though. There are so many good things that have come about because of my having CF. The picture says it so well. I really have met a lot of amazing people. I have joined a website filled with people dealing with CF, and I am constantly blown away by the stories of courage and strength. God gave me this challenge for a reason, and I believe that a big part of that is this blog. I have the ability to spread awareness of this disease that affects about 30,000 people in the US and 70,000 worldwide. I have gotten to see the generosity of people in my life. I probably would never notice that side of people without this disease.
I'll be honest about this one... I don't even know what some of those P words are or what they mean, but I can tell you about the ones I do have experience with. Pancreatic enzymes are a huge part of my life. Because of the effect that CF has on the pancreas, my pancreas is unable to release the digestive enzymes that allow your body to digest your food. I take pancreatic enzymes to do that job. I have to take 6 with every meal, and if I don't, let's just say, it's not pretty. It cause a lot of stomach issues for me the next day. Pulmozyme is one of my inhaled medicines. I do it once a day, and it takes about 10-15 minutes to complete. I have been on it since I got diagnosed. Pseudomonas is a bug that many people with Cystic Fibrosis have growing in their lungs. Fortunately, I do not have that right now.
I guess that's all for today. Maybe I'll stay on schedule for the rest of the month with the posts, but my guess is no. :) I hope everyone is having a fantastic day, and again if you have any questions at all for me, feel free to email me HERE.
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