February Health Update

Unfortunately I am back in the hospital. I checked in on February 17^th, which makes it around a month since I was in last. I can’t remember a time when I’ve had such a short break between rounds with IV Antibiotics, but I am hopeful this will be the round that kicks my lungs back into shape and gets them working right again.

I had e-mailed my Doctor Monday morning expressing my concern over an extreme shortness of breath, and he called me in for an appointment the next day, and admitted into the hospital that evening.

My oxygen stats were holding around 92% resting, which made my doctor nervous.  My PFT’s were also down 4% from January to 30%. It’s really frustrating for the numbers to be so low, this time last year my PFT’s were in the mid to high 40’s and my oxygen levels were close to 100%. It’s hard to think that all the work I did training for the runs I have done haven’t had any benefit to my overall lung heath. 

I feel like I am running out of things to do or try to get better. At this point I am just really hoping that the Kalydeco for the Double delta mutation will be available soon. I really am hoping that will be a game changer in my life. 

I am going to keep working hard throughout this year to improve my lung function so I can have the option to pursue a long standing dream of mine that I thought I lost.

It's not going to be easy, but it's going to be worth it.

UPDATE: I was able to make it home on Monday February 23rd. I will be on home IV antibiotics until the 3rd of March at least. It feels good to be out of the hospital. exhausting though! I didn't realize how much I didn't move while I was in there.

Lets Start 2015 off right!

It’s finally happened; I am officially finished with the IV antibiotics for this round! I started IV’s on December 18^th and I finished January 16^th. It is a beautiful thing to be able to get a solid night’s sleep, and to shower regularly again. I also experienced something with my antibiotics this round that I hadn’t in the past and that is side effects. Usually when I am on IV antibiotics I am able to continue my life without much change other than my shortness of breath and coughing, but this time was different. I found that my energy level was always extremely low, and if I could I would sleep all day only to wake up for an hour or two and need a nap. It’s a really strange feeling going from feeling like you can do anything (even being sick) to feeling like you can’t get out of bed.

I was concerned about my energy level and I talked to my doctor and I was relieved when he told me that for the combination of antibiotics I was on that severe fatigue is common. My mind had wandered to the idea that I would be living the rest of my life exhausted, it’s a scary thing to face. I have only been off the medications for a day now, so I haven’t seen a real improvement on my energy levels but I am still optimistic. I am sure all I need is a few more nights of good sleep.

I am still super optimistic about the future! I am working towards some big goals to accomplish during 2015, some of those resolutions may just be happening and I can’t wait! I have two trips planned at the moment a very ambitious attempt at what is called a vacation but is going to be more of a work out than anything.  I will be traveling to Orlando Florida for the Expedition Everest run held at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park on May 2^nd. I don’t have the official dates for that trip set in stone yet, hopefully a nice relaxing week of fun. And because you can never have too much Disney I will be traveling to Disneyland May 6^th – 11^th with one of my friends to complete the Pixie Dust Challenge. The Pixie Dust challenge is a Run Disney event that includes a 10k, and a half marathon run throughout the Disneyland Resort parks. My friend and I also opted to run the 5k the day before the challenge. It’s safe to say it will be a long weekend.  I also have a half marathon schedule in March, but I haven’t even started training yet. Hopefully I will be able to start walking and running again this week. I can’t wait to get my distance back up to where it should be and start working towards my running goals again!

I am really excited to start 2015 off on a healthier note. I hope to raise my PFT’s and my weight back to a healthy level again. It’s not going to be easy, but I know I can do it!

Hospitalization and The New Year

Check out my latest video, it covers my recent hospitalization and health problems as well as my goals for 2015!

Tell me what you think!