Living with an unpredictable illness is not all mirth and laughter, though.  Some aspects of getting older are a bit more frustrating, at least for me.  This is where Tonic, a new iPhone/iPad app, enters my story.  As you probably know, staying healthy with CF requires more and more effort with age.  There are more medications to take, more treatments to do, more effort is required to stay fit, to eat well, to manage CFRD, to get enough sleep, enough water, to do whatever it takes to make the plumbing system work well, remember appointments for the doctors and port flushes, to do…pretty much everything.  Yet, just as the “CF care complication” factor increases, the ability of the mind (mine, at least) to keep track of it all begins its downward descent.  This is poor design, but it is what it is.

I noticed it first with Advair.  I can never remember if I have taken it.  I don’t know… I seem to have a mental block.  The block then spread to enzymes, vitamins, children’s names, books I’ve read, etc.  While it’s much cheaper to be able to read the same book (and be entertained) multiple times, too many shots of ProAir or too many Pancrelipase capsules can be problematic.

I have officially dubbed this past winter, “the winter from hell.”  For some reason, I had three episodes of pneumonia with resulting rounds of home IV antibiotics over the span of eight months.  If this wasn’t enough, I cultured MRSA recently, so each round of IV’s included three different medications, all through IV access.  IV meds must be refrigerated of course, and when they come in Entermates (as two of mine did), they need to be removed from the refrigerator a few hours before being used.  When you forget to do this, 1) brrrr, and, 2) the infusion takes forever.  Not to mention that during exacerbations, I do three treatments per day, try to sleep, try to remember to eat (when I have no appetite), and take the usual oral meds, supplements, and vitamins.  I also have follow up appointments with doctors and need to get to the lab for blood draws three times each week.  Did I mention the port dressing changes? I literally needed a flow chart to traverse through my day, or I would forget an essential item.  Of course, most people get admitted to the hospital for this rather intensive treatment time, where, at least in theory, they keep track of these things.  Wink.  But I hate hospitals, and only go in if it is absolutely mandatory.

Enter Tonic.  As luck would have it, I was able to beta test Tonic this “winter from hell.” Tonic is an app that helps you to remember and track whatever you need to track.  Setting up Tonic is a simple task.  You simply make a list of all that you want to remember and track.  It took me about 30 minutes because my list of “tonics” was enormous.  When it was done, though, my trusty little iPad would bleep whenever I had to do something.  Take out med (bleep).  Infuse this (bleep).  Take this (bleep).  Eat (bleep).  Weigh yourself (bleep).  Eat more (bleep).  Trust me, the thing was bleeping all day, every day of each exacerbation.  But I was so completely on track!  I missed nothing.  Nor did I do or take anything more than I was supposed to, because you check off each “tonic” as you do or take it.  This is a very satisfying property of Tonic for anal compulsive people who like checking things off lists (like me).

Second, remember that the idea is to make your life easier, not to add another chore to your day.  When my life is so complicated that I really need help, I use Tonic.  But other times (like now) when things are pretty good, I let Tonic fade somewhat into the background.  It still reminds me, but I turn off the “bleep” alarm and don’t always check off all the activities or enter a lot of data.  You will find your own balance.

In summary, Tonic is just what I needed at just the right time.  I would recommend it to anyone, whether you have a complicated regimen like mine, or just want to track a few things.  If you decide to give Tonic a try, let me give you two hints.  First, use it for all of the things you do for your health.  Everything. Really.  Meds, sleep, exercise, nutrition, water intake, everything you can think of that you know you want to do to be at the top of your game.  For instance, Tonic even reminds me to journal, to stretch my hamstring muscles, and to meditate.

You can find Tonic on the web at http://www.tonicselfcare.com.

Related Posts:

• Step Four of Perfect Workout: Movement Preparation
• Step Three of Perfect Workout: Corrective Exercises
• Step Two of The Perfect Workout: Just Move It
• Step One of Perfect Workout: Rolling
• Why I Hate CF

Well, it has been a very long time, hasn’t it?  You may wonder where I’ve been…why no words of wisdom from the now 50-YEAR-OLD Julie?

The reason is that it has been a winter from Hell, and I will just leave it at that because my mother (RIP) always told me that if I didn’t have anything nice to say, I should just say nothing.

But, here I am, ready to begin this strange past-time of blogging again, wondering if anything will fall out of my brain.  I decided while on my walk today that I will begin by doing what is easy: posting what I have already written.  Lame, I know, but let me explain.

Two years ago, I decided I knew exactly what would be helpful to other adults with CF, and I set out to write it up.  I fondly titled this project my “CF Wellness Boot Camp.”  The idea stemmed from the fact that most people with CF, and certainly all adults with CF, are increasingly thrust into what I like to term “exacerbation exasperation.”  Say that five times as fast as you can.  You know the game:  you go about, living your life, doing what you do, feeling as good as you feel, and then WHAM, you are sick, need IV antibiotics, and essentially life must go on hold.  Your body-your master- revolts, and you are its slave.

Three weeks later (and can I just get a hand here for Western medicine?) you are better.  Your lungs are clear-or as clear as they get.  You now have enough energy to shower.  You look at your desk, your kids, your spouse/parter, your dog(s), your list of everything you were supposed to do back on the day before the aforementioned body revolt, the scale now reports that you are five lbs lighter…  You take this all in, and the only thing you want to do is crawl back under the covers.  Does this happen to you?  It’s all so overwhelming, this re-immersion into your life.  Whatever fitness progress you made before your illness is gone.  The stress of being completely knocked down is replaced with the stress of getting up.  At least, this has been my experience.

So, the plan for the Boot Camp was to outline a three-week plan (everything seems to come in blocks of three weeks) to begin anew and re-enter the world with some new, healthy habits to accompany those pristine (?) lungs.  So I put on my wellness coach hat and began to write.

This was quite a project for me.  I wrote for a couple of months until I was happy with the content.  I then began to research how to make it into an e-book, put it on the website, and, generally, do all of the technical stuff that one must do in such a project.  Roadblock.  Big time.  Julie is not “tech-y.”

Thank God for David Mahoney, though, because he really tried to help me.  I was just not able to keep the ball rolling, and the project sat for two years, lost but not forgotten, on my hard drive.

So that brings me to my walk this morning.  I want to blog again, so why not start by posting my 21-day plan?  Maybe when it’s all up, I’ll figure out how to bundle it into a pdf and send it out instead of the fizzled out newsletter promise in the opt in box?  Who knows?

So, as my favorite email come-on’s say, watch your inbox (for those who have opted in)!  Tomorrow we begin the CF WELLNESS BOOT CAMP!

To your health….

Related Posts:

• Step Three of Perfect Workout: Corrective Exercises
• CF Wellness Boot Camp – Introduction
• Step Four of Perfect Workout: Movement Preparation
• Step Two of The Perfect Workout: Just Move It
• Step One of Perfect Workout: Rolling

Try out these exercises with your ball.  They are great for your legs and abs! And don’t worry, you can do them with a PICC in your arm!

Related Posts:

• Another Great PICC-time Exercise: The Lunge
• Lower Body Time!!!
• How to Structure Your Weight Lifting Routine
• Step Five of the Perfect Workout: Strength Training
• Step Four of Perfect Workout: Movement Preparation

When you are addicted to weights as I am, those weeks with a PICC line can be a pain the the butt, and psyche.  In order to not get completely depressed (i.e. to stay sick-but-getting-less-sick and happy), I always at least walk every day, and then as the magic juice starts working and I feel better, I’ll add in resistance work for my lower body. So I’m starting to add in some video blogs because a) they are easy to do, and b) it is much easier to demonstrate exercises than to describe them in words.

Here is the first of this weeks focus videos–LOWER BODY TIME.  Today is the squat, a very basic exercise that targets multiple muscle groups.  Go for it.  Add weight if you can (hold dumbbells at your sides).

Related Posts:

• Another Great PICC-time Exercise: The Lunge
• Step Four of Perfect Workout: Movement Preparation
• Step Three of Perfect Workout: Corrective Exercises
• Step Two of The Perfect Workout: Just Move It
• Step One of Perfect Workout: Rolling

Rule Number One that I hear myself telling people who are bummed out about their illness, whatever it is, is to remember, “there is more right with you than wrong with you.“

And that’s true, right?  Think about it, by some miracle you are here on this earth, breathing, most likely able to walk around, enjoy food, listen to good music, pet your dog, watch Survivor…

Why is that?  Because most of the 100 trillion cells in the body, each of which are probably performing thousands of events per second, are actually doing their jobs perfectly well right now.  If not; well, you would not likely be reading this.

Now I’m not preaching here.  I am mostly writing this for my own edification, because I just learned that I am now infected with MRSA in my lungs.  I really can’t convey in words what happened in my consciousness when I learned of this last week.  Maybe you know the feeling that really bad news carries with it.  The sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach, the tight chest and throat, the heart racing and the blood draining from seemingly everywhere…  Sh_t!

Then the anger, and the self-pity arrive.  Sh_t (again)!  Why me, why now?  This is a REALLY bad time for this.  I’ve got plans, Universe!

And then, the tears.

So, now I’m officially a CF Pariah.  Gown, glove and mask everyone…here comes Julie.  Man, I’m pissed.  And of course, really what I am is scared.  What does this mean?  Is my CF going to get worse?  Will the freakin IV’s even work this time?

So, I allowed this to go on for a couple of hours.  Then, I was better.  Then, it came back with a full and serious vengeance over several days.  And now, finally, I’ve decided to respond instead of reacting.  Or at least…to try.

The first thing that came to my mind was to write the post I was going to write before the fateful telephone call.  It seemed to me that writing about having a “positive exacerbation” could only be credible if it were to be created during an exacerbation.

So, even though this is a slightly unusual (for me) situation, it is most certainly a “CF adverse event” and just as certainly would be best handled with a positive attitude.

Here are a few things I do to make my three weeks of IV’s…my “home vacation:”

1) First, since I can’t exercise strenuously, I don’t.  I legitimately and compassionately stop pushing myself.  A gentle walk every day that I feel like it is about as hard as I’ll push these days.  After the port goes in and the PICC comes out today, my arms will be free at last, free at last.  So as I feel stronger…I’m back to those kettlebells!  Have I told you about my favorite new exercise?  Something else to post about.

2) I have incredible friends who have been incredibly kind.  I will appreciate them every day, in some way.  By telling them what they mean to me, I will add positive energy to their world and mine.

3) Sometimes it takes a real blow to the illusion of stability to wake me up.  This has been a great one.  I will resolve to appreciate what is good in my life.  The best way I’ve done that in the past is to keep a gratitude journal, and vow to write in it every night three good things that happened that day.

4) I have a post that I have been writing in my head for weeks now about the growing importance of meditation in my life.  I have been trying to figure out how to stress this without sounding like a preacher…hence the silence about meditation.  But it has been SO key for me this last week, that I will write this post.  It will be the next one.  I will pour my soul into it, for both myself and for those two or three readers I have:-).

So if you like this plan, or if you have some suggestions, or if you’d like to share how you deal with your own “operation exacerbation,” please leave a comment!

Related Posts:

• My Weekend at the RKC
• Rant
• Step Five of the Perfect Workout: Strength Training
• Step Three of Perfect Workout: Corrective Exercises
• Step One of Perfect Workout: Rolling

Shifting focus….I was thinking about ports the other day.  Central ports…you know the ones.  The things we hate to think about needing, because it means we need antibiotics frequently enough to justify the risk of an indwelling central line.  A central port provides immediate and easy access for administration of life saving medication as we watch our lung function diminish.  I don’t know about you, but I have always had a visceral reaction to the idea that I may need such a port someday.

So when my partner mentioned the other day that maybe I should consider getting a port, imagine my surprise when my immediate thoughts  (really) were about Tolle, and how “port” and “portal” clearly come from the same root.  So now I’ve looked it up and, sure enough, the Latin root, porta, means “gate.” Tolle’s portals are gates to the Now, and a central port is a gate to, well, your heart and circulatory system.  The next thoughts I had were about the bright side of having a central port. In other words, I didn’t freak out.

There are definite pros to having a port.  No more PICC lines, for one!  My PICC’s always have to go into the right arm (clot in the left–from a PICC, of course), and always have to be put in by Interventional Radiology (I love those guys, but really…it’s another appointment, it’s more radiation, and they SEW the sucker in so it’s hard to pull out yourself:-)).  Not only that, but as you know, you can’t lift weights when you have a PICC (did I mention the clot in my left arm?).  So no PICC, means no three week layoff from one of my favorite ways to stay in shape.

Maybe it’s my age.  Maybe it’s wanting things to be simpler.  Maybe this just means I don’t care as much about what “other people will think.”  But I’ve been thinking about it in a very “accepting” kind of way, and will likely talk with my doctor about this the next time I need IV’s.  (He’ll probably say, “Are you crazy?”)

Which brings me back to Tolle.  Full circle.  Maybe a central port could be viewed as a sort of metaphor for a “portal” to Acceptance-with-a-capital-A.  There’s no denying or fighting the fact that the lungs are needing some serious help when you submit to a port.  It would be a daily visible reminder of my mortality staring back at me in the mirror each day.  It would be hard to ignore evidence like that.  Still, I’m not freaking out for some reason…

I’m liking this metaphor.

Some Other Articles You May Enjoy

• HOW TO GET FIT IN THREE EASY STEPS
• Why I Hate CF
• Wellness is a Mindset
• How To Fit Exercise In
• The Gift of Giving

So maybe this does make me an expert because I definitely know what NOT to do.

Here’s my take:

If you have a PICC, NO UPPER BODY RESISTANCE TRAINING NOT EVEN PUSH UPS WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!  But when you start feeling better after the first few days of “happy juice,” as I now call it, you can definitely go out for a nice walk every day.  Or get on an stationary exercise bicycle.  Basically, the bottom line is don’t push it too hard, but it is good to move! If you don’t move for three weeks, it will be very difficult to get motivated again, and you will lose muscle mass, a very bad thing indeed.  Be gentle.  Be mindful.  But, move.

If you have a fever, no exercise.  Rest.

If you are just coughing more than usual, but don’t feel too bad…well, this is a tricky one.  Are you losing weight?  Are you eating well?  Do you have energy?  This is probably a good time to call the clinic, let them know what’s going on, and ask for your doctor’s opinion on the exercise question.  Do I do that?  No (well, I ask myself and I usually tell myself to quit being a wimp and do some push ups). But I’m learning to not listen to that inner little sergeant.

Last week (Week One), was the “walk every day” week.  My dogs loved it.  I also did daily Qigong (gentle stretching).

This week, I’m adding some lower body exercises (squats) and curl ups to the above.  Feeling good!  Zero cough.  I love this happy juice.

Next week, who knows…but it won’t include push ups.

Related Posts:

• Lower Body Time!!!
• The Pros and Cons of Working Out at a Gym
• Why Exercise?
• Step Four of Perfect Workout: Movement Preparation
• Step Three of Perfect Workout: Corrective Exercises

This current illness has prompted several ideas for blog posts, although up until now, I haven’t had the energy to act on the ideas.  One topic that comes up frequently when I deal with my cystic fibrosis and it’s ever-present ups and downs is what my mind does with the very simple information that my body is not perfect.

Do you have ANTs?  By ANTs, I mean automatic negative thoughts.  Do you remember the last time you watched a colony of ants, as the workers stream in perfect lines to and from the ant colony with the single goal of procuring food and whatever else an ant needs to live a good ant life.  Perfect, tiny little single file lines of ants, determined to stay in line and do what is expected for an ant to do.

This is the way unhelpful thoughts travel in your brain.  They are a series of repetitive synapses that have traveled the same neuronal pathways in your brain so many times that they have worn grooves in the sand of your brain.  Now, they are automatic, as are their emotional and behavioral consequences.  So it is very appropriate for the acronym for “automatic negative thoughts” to be A.N.T.  I’ve read that humans have about 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts per day, and that 90% of them are repeats.  We think the same things, over and over and over.  It reminds me of that ant in a single file line, doing exactly what the ant in front of him/her (probably him I guess) does, without question.

Here are some examples of my ANTs:  “This disease sucks.  You just got through two months of P90X, only to have to stop!  You’ll never get through this 3 month program.  IV”s again?  I  (sometimes I’m “you” and sometimes I’m “I”  If you lived in my brain, you would have me committed.) already had 3 weeks of IV’s just a few months ago…My CF is progressing.  My lung function probably stinks right now…God, what if it doesn’t come back.  What if I am now on that downhill slope?  Oh man, I am coughing so hard…what if I start to bleed and never stop?  No one is here to help if I have massive hemoptysis…what would I do?  WHAT?  103 pounds…oh no… You’re disappearing.  How can you be losing so much weight?  What does THAT mean?  Do you now have to deal with CFRD and insulin, too?  That would really suck.  You know Julie, that CFRD usually means worsening of CF.  The good days are over.  Your luck has run out….” and on and on and on

They are automatic.  I don’t try to think them.  They just happen.  And they’ve happened before.  It doesn’t seem to matter to my brain that it is thinking useless, negative thoughts that it has already informed me of a million times, thank you.  They keep on coming.  I’ve tried to stop them..but that definitely does NOT work!  You can’t successfully tell yourself not to think something.  Just try…right now, try to NOT think of a pink elephant lying belly up in your living room.  See?  You can’t do it.  Just by imagining what you don’t want to think, you think it.

But I’ve learned a trick in dealing with these thoughts.  It’s come with practicing mindfulness, which simply means being aware of what is happening while it is happening.  In other words, I’m watching my thoughts.  And at the same time, I am watching what my body feels in response to these thoughts.  It’s not pretty.  What I see is a direct connection between negative thoughts and bad feelings.  “Duh,” you say.  “That’s a no-brainer!”  Exactly.  These processes occur below the level of your “brain,” or consciousness.  But when you become conscious of them, something pretty cool happens.  It turns out that you can’t be fully conscious of something you are doing that is harming you, and continue doing it.  When you directly experience the fact that negative thoughts lead to bad feelings, you will appreciate that you have direct control of how you feel.  All you need to do is decide to think alternative, more positive thoughts.

So instead of, “Your lung function probably sucks right now!” I can gently decide (consciously) to change the thought to, “Yes, my lungs are a bit under the weather now…..and that is why I am taking care of them by resting and infusing wonder drugs.  Thank God I have health insurance and access to  great health care!”  The ANT will try to take over, and I will have to be very alert for this, as the grooves run deep.  But as long as I catch them, I can always substitute a life and health affirming thought for the negative one.  Over time, the affirming thought grooves will deepen and the negative grooves will smooth over from disuse.

Try to catch your ANTs.  Remember, don’t try to force them away (remember the elephant).  When you catch and ANT, replace him with an affirming thought that carries with it positive feelings.  Is this Pollyanna, New Age garble thinking?  I don’t know.  But would you rather feel bad, anxious, worried and depressed, or hopeful and grateful for what is good in your life?  Which feelings do you think are healthier overall and better for you?  Does being depressed and worried help you in any way at all?  Will it change the outcome?  I would argue that being optimistic and grateful can change the outcome…for the better.  So why not give it a try?

Some Other Articles You May Enjoy

• How to Make the Most Out of Vest Time!
• Control Trumps Fear When it Comes to Adherence to Exercise in Cystic Fibrosis
• CF Wellness Bootcamp: Day Two
• A GIANT LEAP FORWARD?
• How to Over Do It

The “D” in my acronym stands for “Discover Your Strengths and Use Them Every Day.”  First, I want to describe why this is important when it comes to happiness.  Then I will show you how to discover your strengths the high tech way (an online resource).  Of course, you could just ask you mother.  Then I’m going to describe a project I am designing for this blog that allows me to use my strengths as an example of putting this “rule” into action.

It used to be that to “improve ourselves,” we were to work on our weaknesses. However, new research shows that living and working from our unique strengths rather than paying attention to deficits creates lasting personal happiness and allows for peak performance. When we identify and further develop our unique talents and character strengths, we contribute more effectively and enjoy the process more.

It makes sense, really.  Imagine that you are doing something that you are really good at, working towards a goal that you strongly believe is important.  In fact, go ahead and close your eyes and remember such a time.  Remember the feeling of mastery and  flow you might have felt during the activity, and the sense of accomplishment when you were finished.

Now remember the last time you struggled to do something that was beyond your skill level.  It was likely something that you were not innately good at, and likely caused great frustration and a feeling of inadequacy.

Clearly, the first situation leads to positive emotion; the latter, not so much.

What are your strengths?  You probably have a good idea without a scientifically designed questionnaire.  But, if you take it, you might be surprised.  I know I was.

In his book, Authentic Happiness, Martin Seligman describes how he and his colleagues came up with the Values In Action (VIA) classification of character strengths. There are 24 character strengths each describing a specific aspect of positive human character. The strengths are grouped into six categories termed virtues. These virtues have been determined cherished among most religious and philosophical traditions.  Collectively, they are said to capture the notion of good character.  The characteristics of character strengths are:

•    They are moral traits and can be developed and strengthened by choice.
•    They are valued for themselves rather than as a means to an end.
•    Using them elevates rather than diminishes others.
•    They are ubiquitous.

We all have the ability to exhibit any of the 24 character strengths but tend to rely on some more than others. The website www.authentichappiness.com offers a free, online survey called the VIA (Values in Action) Signature Strengths Questionnaire, which ranks your strengths in order of importance to you. Your top five strengths are your Signature Strengths.

When I took this questionnaire, I was intrigued by what turned out to be my top five strengths.  I won’t go into them all now, but one that struck me as quite useful for me to have was number two:

Hope, optimism, and future-mindedness
You expect the best in the future, and you work to achieve it. You believe that the future is something that you can control.

Maybe that has something to do with why I have done so well (so far) even though I have cystic fibrosis.

I love to do projects…especially projects related to either learning something, or achieving an athletic goal.  I love to set a goal, and then plan my strategy to achieve it.  I am now, and always have been, very goal oriented.  Goals excite me…they challenge me, and bring out the same self-discipline that carried me through medical school.

Not surprisingly, I was a sucker for the P90X home exercise program this spring, and have written about that experience and the unexpected results in a previous post, “How I Grew a New Lung in 90 Days.”  Now that I have a PICC in for IV antibiotics again, I am already starting to plan for the next round of “get Julie back in shape”.  And, now that I have this blog, I am going to post what I do and how it felt each day.  Why?  So that if any of you are interested in joining me, you can do so, and we can motivate each other!  The best thing about a blog is that it allows comments…both to and from the blogger.

So, if you want to join me, the start date is Monday, September 29.  This will be a three-month program (unless my lungs say differently).  I am creating a program that merges the P90X program with a weight-training regimen I have done in the past to successfully gain muscle mass.  There will be six exercise sessions per week with one rest day.  Each session will take about an hour…except on ab days (ouch).  You will go at your own pace, but I will recommend a given “perceived exertion level.”

The equipment needed is: you, water, supportive athletic shoes, some light free weights, and a chin up bar.  If you can, buy the P90X program.  I will use their aerobic and ab routines because they are great!  Also, if you don’t want to go to a gym, you can do the weight training sessions with just the above equipment.  The program I am doing is a modified P90X because I love going to the gym and lifting heavier weights.  The P90X weight workouts are good, and if you do them, you will definitely get stronger.  I just need to atmosphere of my gym, and want to use heavier weights because I have some significant strength to regain.

Are you game?

Related Posts:

• How to Raise Your PFT’s
• How to Structure Your Weight Lifting Routine
• Step Five of the Perfect Workout: Strength Training
• Step Four of Perfect Workout: Movement Preparation
• Step One of Perfect Workout: Rolling

Last week, I was admitted to the hospital to get a central line placed for a course of home IV antibiotics. I was in for two days…not bad, really. The only reason I had to be admitted was because in order to get it put in as an outpatient, I would have had to wait two weeks. Not good when you need antibiotics. The experience was SO different from the one I had last winter because I actually didn’t feel sick this time My PFT’s were significantly down though, and it seemed like a good thing to do. In fact, it was kind of comical. Below are some of my observations, which I had been diligently jotting down:

First, if you really want to confuse nurses, go into the hospital relatively healthy. Bless their hearts, the poor things don’t know what to do with you! I was bopping around the nurses station, asking if I could go find a coke machine my first afternoon, and the look of pure incredulity I received was priceless. I couldn’t help it…I had asked for a coke at 2:00, and by 4:30, I was getting really thirsty! They told me that “my doctor didn’t write an order that would allow me to ambulate” (I so love that word). I told them, “Well, I’m a doctor. Can I write the order? Clearly, I am capable of walking…even without an order.” They weren’t amused, but they did go raid the staff refrigerator and get a coke for me.

When the fifth year medical student from Stanford came in, I was in a feisty mood, so I didn’t tell him that I was a doctor at first. He was taking the usual exhaustive history that you take when you are on the wards for the first couple of years. A typical dialogue is below. I have changed the name of the med student because he was very nice and I liked him…green as he was…to “Doogy Howser” because I swear he was the spitting image. It goes like this:

Doogy, ascertaining the chief complain (cc): “So, tell me why you’re here?”
Me: “I have CF.”
Doogy, digging deeper: “Well, tell me how your last couple of days have gone?”
Me: “Pretty well. I went running this morning.”
Doogy, confused: So…why do you need antibiotics?”
Me: “My doctor said so.” And on it went for awhile. Then I felt bad, and started to be nicer, answering all of his questions with a smile. He got back at me though, I found out the next morning when the nurse came in with my meds.
First, she tried to give me a shot of sub-cutaneous heparin. I said, a bit bewildered, “I don’t need that.” I’m not sure anyone has turned her down before. She looked sad.
It turns out that if you are in the hospital, they assume you are bed-ridden (imagine that) and need to be guarded against blood clots. She apparently hadn’t seen me do my yoga routine earlier.
Then came the stool softener and the Prilosec. If you even get close to a hospital, you get a stool softener and a Prilosec. Try it. Drive by, and see what happens.

When the PICC nurse couldn’t get the line in the next morning, I had to go to interventional radiology. This was quite a treat, because they have very cool imaging in radiology that you get to watch…in real time. So, after I got over the humiliation of riding in a wheelchair (the RULE…there are a lot of RULES), when I could have taken the stairs at a run, and beat the transport person taking the elevator, I hopped up on the table and asked if I could watch the line snake its way from my elbow to my heart. That was definitely the highlight of the visit for me.

The weird thing was, after the line was placed successfully, I had to wait to show them that I knew how to give myself the antibiotic. Now this RULE was really annoying, but humorous nonetheless. I’ve probably given myself IV infusions 600-700 times (rough estimate) but I had to prove my prowess.

Finally, at about 5:30, I was informed that my meds had been delivered from the central pharmacy, but I had to wait while they changed the labels…don’t even ask…another RULE. Then the call came, the drugs were ready. Do you think I got to go get them and leave? Nope…had to wait for transport again. This time, I drew the line. I walked to the pharmacy, next to transport. We had a nice chat.

Related Posts:

• Lower Body Time!!!
• The Pros and Cons of Working Out at a Gym
• Can I Exercise When I’m Sick?
• Step Four of Perfect Workout: Movement Preparation
• Step Three of Perfect Workout: Corrective Exercises