Pump It Up!

And so the wait continues on this long journey to new lungs. I have not posted in a while as there hasn't been much to report. I go about my days doing what is required to stay as healthy as possible. There is a lot of rinse and repeat action that takes place daily, but not enough blog fodder. In all honesty, I didn't think I would be waiting this long for lungs, and the longer it takes, the more I'm convinced it will be a long time before I get the phone call. I have been on the list for about five months now. I am extremely grateful for the stability in my health. I have not been in the hospital since October, which is the longest I have gone without IV antibiotics since I was a kid. I'm not sure how I'm doing that, but I just thank my lucky stars I'm able to maintain the health I have during this time.

Anyway, I'm not here to bore you with my lack of life. I do have some fun stuff, or at least fun to me, I want to share. As most of you know I now have diabetes. It's an extra little present that CF gives us in adulthood. So nice of CF, right?! I was diagnosed with diabetes two years ago and I'm still learning how to manage it effectively. It's not easy, but I'm dealing with it.

A couple of months ago, I decided that I was fed up with multiple insulin shots every day, so my doctor presented me with the idea of using an insulin pump. It is a much more effective way to manage diabetes and reduces the need for so many needles. I did some research on what pumps were available and what the daily and weekly requirements of having one would be. I was ready to take the plunge. After jumping through the mandatory insurance hoops, I finally received my t:slim pump. It was like Christmas in February when it arrived!

2014: The Year Of The Lungs

Today marks my 100th day on the transplant list. It's been a while since my last blog post, but I put this down to anxiety and paranoia, my new, unwelcome friends. December was a hard month for me, what with the air quality in California wreaking havoc on my lungs and sinuses, giving me headaches and making me wheeze, and to top it all off I ended the month with a wonderful, snot-filled cold. It was a Christmas present I won't forget.

The last time I blogged, I talked about the need to gain weight. Even though December was rough, I managed to gain eight pounds and maintained a steady if not slightly better lung-function. All of those things are great and should have made me happy, but waiting for lungs has made my brain feel a little out of control. I started isolating myself from social media, which was actually a good thing because reading about all of my other friends and their health issues was just fueling my paranoia. I thought whatever they were going through would happen to me too. To concentrate on my health as my sole job has taken its toll on me. Thinking all day long about treatments, exercise and food has brought me to this downward spiral. However, there have been some mantras that have guided me through this rough patch.

Weight For It ...

Wednesday was transplant clinic day. I was not looking forward to this appointment because of the early start. I'm used to having clinic in the afternoons and now my clinic is in the mornings, bright and early. Tom and I live fifty miles from Stanford Hospital and with California traffic that means a long time in the car, no matter the time of day.

My appointment was to start at 7:30 am, which meant leaving the house at 6:15. I thought foolishly that we could actually make it on time because who the heck is on the road at that time!? Well, it seems a lot of people are trying to get to work and beat the "rush hour." It's always rush hour here! With starting so early there is no way I was going to get up any sooner than I had to, so I prepared my treatment for the car the night before and decided I was going to go in public shower-less. Up at 6 am, in the car by 6:15, it was a doozy, let me tell you.