Friday, January 21, 2011
Day Eleven
What a great day for walk'n. Today I walked for 45 minutes. For 25 of those minutes I walked 3.0mph. My total distance was 2.2 miles. I didn't even get winded. WHOO HOO!
Free speech
Lungs give us the power to speak freely. The problem is we all take advantage of this power. By taking advantage I mean we over step boundaries, we take no consideration as to how our words will affect another person, and we use our speech in an attempt to boost our self-esteem while at the same time degrading someone else.
The lungs give us the ability to express our opinion; however, if someone else is going to impose their opinion on me and I listen, then they need to show the same courtesy. There are some who are so narrow minded, or should I say simple minded, that their vision is impaired as to be wearing horse blinders. These people bulldoze their way through a conversation, I mean lecture, and have no intention of issuing you the courtesy of a listening mind and of a reply. Instead of my generation being called the me generation, it should be call the entitlement generation. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. It is really no wonder our children are having a difficult time expressing themselves appropriately. There is no one to listen to them.
While waiting in the check-out line at the grocery store free speech was plastered all over the tabloids and magazine in the racks. I even read the headlines and subtitles. Our children see the gossip exuding all around them, and they watch us as we read the titles and watch us buy the printed gossip. It is no wonder our girls retaliate on facebook with slanderous accusations. We are giving them all the ammunition they need to prove this is how the world works. Sadly it does work this way. What needs to happen is not censorship of the tabloids or magazine, but we need to censor what we read, listen to, and say. We need to consider how our words will affects others. We need to set good examples.
We defined-all human beings
The lungs give us the ability to express our opinion; however, if someone else is going to impose their opinion on me and I listen, then they need to show the same courtesy. There are some who are so narrow minded, or should I say simple minded, that their vision is impaired as to be wearing horse blinders. These people bulldoze their way through a conversation, I mean lecture, and have no intention of issuing you the courtesy of a listening mind and of a reply. Instead of my generation being called the me generation, it should be call the entitlement generation. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. It is really no wonder our children are having a difficult time expressing themselves appropriately. There is no one to listen to them.
While waiting in the check-out line at the grocery store free speech was plastered all over the tabloids and magazine in the racks. I even read the headlines and subtitles. Our children see the gossip exuding all around them, and they watch us as we read the titles and watch us buy the printed gossip. It is no wonder our girls retaliate on facebook with slanderous accusations. We are giving them all the ammunition they need to prove this is how the world works. Sadly it does work this way. What needs to happen is not censorship of the tabloids or magazine, but we need to censor what we read, listen to, and say. We need to consider how our words will affects others. We need to set good examples.
We defined-all human beings
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Day Six
Day Three, four, five, and six are pretty much as follows. I walked for 40 minutes with speed up to 3.00mph, and reached about 1.9 miles. On day four I added a stretching yoga routine for fifteen minutes. It felt so good to stretch after walking. Today I see a chiropractor for my neck. I am not sure I have ever experienced neck pain due to stress before, but it hurts. It may be more than stress, because I usually don't feel stressed. I stay pretty calm cool and collected.
I think in the last blog post I sounded begrudging or fed-up with my daily routine. Yes, in some ways I am. There are things I would rather be doing. But, I also find that I would not want to be a mother with 3 or more kids all going in opposite directions. A mother who puts herself last and then is completely exhausted at the end of the day. I would not want to be a women working up the corporate ladder, letting her day rush by with out ever taking a breather for herself. I wouldn't want to be any women who does not appreciate the person she is and is becoming. Part of appreciating yourself is giving yourself time to be, and just be. My daily routine gives me that opportunity. I am much more relaxed throughout my day and much more in-tune to others because I have given myself time to just be.
I actually do know what that feels like to be completely exhausted and it is not fun nor a good feeling. I know what it feels like to put myself last, and in doing so I can't help anyone else. I know what it is like to not appreciate my talents and my body. When I get sick, my usual day at work makes me so tired I am ready for bed by 7:30. When I was putting others before myself on the job I neglected my needs.
Now I realize in order to stay healthy I have to love myself as God loves me. I love me. I have a great life. I enjoy writing, sewing, reading, playing with my dogs, exercising, designing, planning events, speaking in front of an audience, listening to my students, helping my students succeed academically as well as socially. I love talking to God. I talk to Him about everything. I help with a prayer group. We pray for those who need healing. I'm learning to play the fiddle. I like taking drives to see the changes in the leaves and the scenery. I sit on my couch in the morning drinking coffee while I look outside my back windows and watch the sun come-up. It's not a house on the beach, but the view is just the same, God's creation. I am amazed everyday to see the colors God decorates my windows with every morning.
I have learned to say no. One of the hardest lessons I have ever learned. Time after time I would commit to projects I really didn't want to do. Each time I would feel the reluctancy creap in, taunting me, making me irritated at myself for committing to the activity. I finally said to myself, " If you don't really want to do whatever that thing is they want you to do, then don't do it." I have found the things I do great and am really proud of, are the things I was passionate about. Now ,I say yes to the things I really really want to do. I like planning the Borgia Boutique, teaching myself to play the fiddle, exercising every morning, getting a massage every other week, praying with our prayer group, and I love my job.
So in conclusion, do what you love. Surround yourself with the people you love. Talk to God all the time and listen. Listen, listen, listen!
I think in the last blog post I sounded begrudging or fed-up with my daily routine. Yes, in some ways I am. There are things I would rather be doing. But, I also find that I would not want to be a mother with 3 or more kids all going in opposite directions. A mother who puts herself last and then is completely exhausted at the end of the day. I would not want to be a women working up the corporate ladder, letting her day rush by with out ever taking a breather for herself. I wouldn't want to be any women who does not appreciate the person she is and is becoming. Part of appreciating yourself is giving yourself time to be, and just be. My daily routine gives me that opportunity. I am much more relaxed throughout my day and much more in-tune to others because I have given myself time to just be.
I actually do know what that feels like to be completely exhausted and it is not fun nor a good feeling. I know what it feels like to put myself last, and in doing so I can't help anyone else. I know what it is like to not appreciate my talents and my body. When I get sick, my usual day at work makes me so tired I am ready for bed by 7:30. When I was putting others before myself on the job I neglected my needs.
Now I realize in order to stay healthy I have to love myself as God loves me. I love me. I have a great life. I enjoy writing, sewing, reading, playing with my dogs, exercising, designing, planning events, speaking in front of an audience, listening to my students, helping my students succeed academically as well as socially. I love talking to God. I talk to Him about everything. I help with a prayer group. We pray for those who need healing. I'm learning to play the fiddle. I like taking drives to see the changes in the leaves and the scenery. I sit on my couch in the morning drinking coffee while I look outside my back windows and watch the sun come-up. It's not a house on the beach, but the view is just the same, God's creation. I am amazed everyday to see the colors God decorates my windows with every morning.
I have learned to say no. One of the hardest lessons I have ever learned. Time after time I would commit to projects I really didn't want to do. Each time I would feel the reluctancy creap in, taunting me, making me irritated at myself for committing to the activity. I finally said to myself, " If you don't really want to do whatever that thing is they want you to do, then don't do it." I have found the things I do great and am really proud of, are the things I was passionate about. Now ,I say yes to the things I really really want to do. I like planning the Borgia Boutique, teaching myself to play the fiddle, exercising every morning, getting a massage every other week, praying with our prayer group, and I love my job.
So in conclusion, do what you love. Surround yourself with the people you love. Talk to God all the time and listen. Listen, listen, listen!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Everyday
This will be the only time I bore you with the details of my daily health routine. It is menotinous at best. I get extremely bored with the the routine, hence the reason I vear off the path and get myself into trouble. Mind you, I am diligent for the most part, but somedays I just wish I had healthy lungs. Some days I am ready to breath easy with a new set of lungs. Somedays I am ready to breath easy with my Lord. But everyday, EVERYDAY, this is what I do.
I get up at 5:30 AM to feed my 4 lovely munchin canines, Curly, Hally, Riley and Miley. By 6:00AM all have went outside to potty and returned to go back to sleep or nau on a bone. 6:30 to 7:45 I do my respitory therapy vest and 4 nedulized medications, and one inhaler. First I nedulize albuteral to open my airways, next I inhale two puffs of symbacort. I then wait 15 minutes for the symbacort to reduce the inflamation in my bronchial airways. After the 15 minute wait I put on my Smart Vest, a therapy vest which sends deep vibration into my chest to shake loose the sticky mucus. While wearing the vest I nebulize hyper saline solution to hydrate the mucus so it is easier to cough out. After 20-30 minutes of shaking and coughing I get to take off the vest. Then I nebulize pulmazyme and lastly tobi or cayston. The tobi and cayston are antibiotics that help to keep my lungs from being such a good environment for psuedomonis to grow. You think I'm done... Oh no.
8:00AM it's time to do the walking. I walk before I eat because I cough so much while walking and my diaphram is so strong from the couphing that I have a tendancy to throw-up what I have eaten. I walk for 40 minutes and increase my speed gradually to reach 3.00mph. After I am finished walking I stretch. Yoga is usually my stretching choose, but pilotes sounds interesting.
After I finish stretching I finally get to eat breakfast. My breakfast consist of protein, dairy, fruit, and a starch. A beagle and cream cheese or an english muffin with soft cheese like brie, three peices of crispy bacon, peanut butter and a bannan, glass of whole milk, a glass of berry blend juices mixed with orange juice, and coffee with flavored cream.
Oh I forgot, before I can eat I take enzymes-zenpep, vitamins-A, D, and AquaDEKs, zantac, azithromysyn, singular, and zytec. Then I can eat. If I don't take this before I eat, I won't get any nutrients from my food. Another perk to having CF is I can eat whatever I want and as much as I want and I won't gain a pound. Plus, I don't digest fat. This is the reason I can look so good on the outside, by be completely out of shape and unhealthy.
Let me tell you something about the word try. Try is just a word used to give someone the opportunity to back out. Try is the cop-out, the excuse word, the back-up word when you really didn't do anything. Try should be removed from everyone's vocabulary. I do not have the word try in my vocabulary. If it was in my vocabulary I can tell you I would not get my daily routine done any day of the week. There are lots of other things I would rather be doing and so I would make an excuse not to do it. But I would tell you I tried, because my mind was think'n about doing it, but my body just didn't take action. So if you really want to get something done, then do it. I mean how can you learn to drive a car if you don't get behind the wheel and actually drive the car. Yes, you may drive the car into the side of a builidng, or up on the curb, or you may drive done the correct side of the road. The point is you were driving, not trying to drive. If you drove the car into the side of a building, then you didn't drive so well, but you did drive.
I get up at 5:30 AM to feed my 4 lovely munchin canines, Curly, Hally, Riley and Miley. By 6:00AM all have went outside to potty and returned to go back to sleep or nau on a bone. 6:30 to 7:45 I do my respitory therapy vest and 4 nedulized medications, and one inhaler. First I nedulize albuteral to open my airways, next I inhale two puffs of symbacort. I then wait 15 minutes for the symbacort to reduce the inflamation in my bronchial airways. After the 15 minute wait I put on my Smart Vest, a therapy vest which sends deep vibration into my chest to shake loose the sticky mucus. While wearing the vest I nebulize hyper saline solution to hydrate the mucus so it is easier to cough out. After 20-30 minutes of shaking and coughing I get to take off the vest. Then I nebulize pulmazyme and lastly tobi or cayston. The tobi and cayston are antibiotics that help to keep my lungs from being such a good environment for psuedomonis to grow. You think I'm done... Oh no.
8:00AM it's time to do the walking. I walk before I eat because I cough so much while walking and my diaphram is so strong from the couphing that I have a tendancy to throw-up what I have eaten. I walk for 40 minutes and increase my speed gradually to reach 3.00mph. After I am finished walking I stretch. Yoga is usually my stretching choose, but pilotes sounds interesting.
After I finish stretching I finally get to eat breakfast. My breakfast consist of protein, dairy, fruit, and a starch. A beagle and cream cheese or an english muffin with soft cheese like brie, three peices of crispy bacon, peanut butter and a bannan, glass of whole milk, a glass of berry blend juices mixed with orange juice, and coffee with flavored cream.
Oh I forgot, before I can eat I take enzymes-zenpep, vitamins-A, D, and AquaDEKs, zantac, azithromysyn, singular, and zytec. Then I can eat. If I don't take this before I eat, I won't get any nutrients from my food. Another perk to having CF is I can eat whatever I want and as much as I want and I won't gain a pound. Plus, I don't digest fat. This is the reason I can look so good on the outside, by be completely out of shape and unhealthy.
Let me tell you something about the word try. Try is just a word used to give someone the opportunity to back out. Try is the cop-out, the excuse word, the back-up word when you really didn't do anything. Try should be removed from everyone's vocabulary. I do not have the word try in my vocabulary. If it was in my vocabulary I can tell you I would not get my daily routine done any day of the week. There are lots of other things I would rather be doing and so I would make an excuse not to do it. But I would tell you I tried, because my mind was think'n about doing it, but my body just didn't take action. So if you really want to get something done, then do it. I mean how can you learn to drive a car if you don't get behind the wheel and actually drive the car. Yes, you may drive the car into the side of a builidng, or up on the curb, or you may drive done the correct side of the road. The point is you were driving, not trying to drive. If you drove the car into the side of a building, then you didn't drive so well, but you did drive.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Day Two
Today the treadmill walk was not so hellish. I seemed to be less out of breath. 16 minutes into my walk, walking at 2.8 mph, I began to yawn, to take deep breaths to grasp air. I didn't slow down, but pushed through it. I wonder what that means when I yawn. A commerial for the "Biggest Looser" came on at about 20 minutes into the walk. It honestly makes me sick to think people who deliberately destroy their bodies are getting attention on tv. In my opinion it is like telling people to damage their bodies so they can get attention.
I, unfortunately, have no control over the destruction Cystic Fibrosis. I can do my best to slow the distruction down, but ultimately my genetic make up prediposes my lungs to be sick all the time. I realize genetics plays a roll in many health situations, but smokers who deliberately take their lungs for granted irritates the heck out of me. Especially when they have no regard for others when they blow their smoke into the air and others are in close proximaty. I am so ready for the day smoking in public places is illegal. And by public places I mean any area for which the public may be present, parking lots, door entrances, parks, resteraunt patios. I find it very interesting that legislator thinks just by being outside 2nd hand smoke has less of an effect on invading the personal space of people. Just the very fact I can smell the smoke makes me ill, because I know that 2000 harmful chemicals have now invaded my personal space, in been inhaled in my lungs. To me that is an action of assult. I waiting for the day when someone sues another person for assault because another person blow smoke in their personal space.
By the way Julian, why not help people who make look fanstastic on the outside, but are still physically out of shape. I''d love to do a documentory on Cystic Fibrosis and the importance of physical exercise. I wonder if you could help my lungs get back in shape, like to get bodies in shape. Call me!
I, unfortunately, have no control over the destruction Cystic Fibrosis. I can do my best to slow the distruction down, but ultimately my genetic make up prediposes my lungs to be sick all the time. I realize genetics plays a roll in many health situations, but smokers who deliberately take their lungs for granted irritates the heck out of me. Especially when they have no regard for others when they blow their smoke into the air and others are in close proximaty. I am so ready for the day smoking in public places is illegal. And by public places I mean any area for which the public may be present, parking lots, door entrances, parks, resteraunt patios. I find it very interesting that legislator thinks just by being outside 2nd hand smoke has less of an effect on invading the personal space of people. Just the very fact I can smell the smoke makes me ill, because I know that 2000 harmful chemicals have now invaded my personal space, in been inhaled in my lungs. To me that is an action of assult. I waiting for the day when someone sues another person for assault because another person blow smoke in their personal space.
By the way Julian, why not help people who make look fanstastic on the outside, but are still physically out of shape. I''d love to do a documentory on Cystic Fibrosis and the importance of physical exercise. I wonder if you could help my lungs get back in shape, like to get bodies in shape. Call me!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Day One
Ok, so I got off my pitty pot and it actually wasn't too bad. Well anyway, I guess exchanging 40 minutes of breathing hell for an easy breathing 16 hour day was pretty good. Yes, I walked on the treadmill for 40 minutes this morning. Thirty of those minutes I held my speed at 2.8mph and walked a total of 1.73 miles. I definitely would not win the 1600 meter race in a track meet, but who cares, I walked on the treadmill today. Whoo Hoo for me! Every body do a little dance, come on get down, get down, get down tonight. Say little prayer for me and you too, to get off our pitty pots tomorrow.
My journey begins
Today was the beginning of the rest of my lung power. I could choose to go with the flow this time, which would mean I could just let my lung function decline as is the usual for all people who have Cystic Fibrosis. Cystic Fibrosis is a very decieving disease. For me, on the outside, I look the picture of health. I am 5'9.5" and weigh about 150lbs. I have great muscle tone, a very clear complexion, short brown hair and beautiful. My measurements are 40", 31", 39". and I look like a model with the face of a home town girl. People often make comments about how well proportioned I am. Even stating. "You are so skinny, you make me sick." If they only knew. I tell you this description not to brag, but to give you the ability to see how different the outside look of a person can be from the actual inside of a person.
On the inside I am sick, my lungs are crap. In my 20's I had enough lung function to try-out for the Rams Cheerleaders and hold my own, now, at age 41, I can bearly walk up a flight of stairs without getting out of breath. Sometimes just walking the distance from my office at school to the main office, about 75', I am huffing and puffing for air. It is so frustrating when I need to talk to someone and the person I am addressing has to wait for me to catch my breath. In my 20's my lung function was within the 60 to 70% range, which is by no means normal, but I was so active my lungs adapted easily to any activity in which I wanted to participate. Currently my lung function is 36%, significantly lower. My tolerance for activity has been significantly affected, but I will not give up. I will walk on and dance on.
My journey is going to be tough, a challenge like none I have faced before. The challenges in the past were simply a matter of getting it done because it was completely possible by effort alone. This time I cannot do this by effort alone as scarred and cystic lung tissue is permantantly damaged. It is going to take diligent-disciplined effort, and lots and lots of faith in the lord that he will restore that which only he can restore. God going to have to put a fire under my behind, and tell me daily to get off my pitty pot. I think my husband is God's messanger because every day for the past two weeks he has said to me, "Get off your pitty pot Nancy and get mov'n" We both love that line from Every Body Loves Raymond.
On the inside I am sick, my lungs are crap. In my 20's I had enough lung function to try-out for the Rams Cheerleaders and hold my own, now, at age 41, I can bearly walk up a flight of stairs without getting out of breath. Sometimes just walking the distance from my office at school to the main office, about 75', I am huffing and puffing for air. It is so frustrating when I need to talk to someone and the person I am addressing has to wait for me to catch my breath. In my 20's my lung function was within the 60 to 70% range, which is by no means normal, but I was so active my lungs adapted easily to any activity in which I wanted to participate. Currently my lung function is 36%, significantly lower. My tolerance for activity has been significantly affected, but I will not give up. I will walk on and dance on.
My journey is going to be tough, a challenge like none I have faced before. The challenges in the past were simply a matter of getting it done because it was completely possible by effort alone. This time I cannot do this by effort alone as scarred and cystic lung tissue is permantantly damaged. It is going to take diligent-disciplined effort, and lots and lots of faith in the lord that he will restore that which only he can restore. God going to have to put a fire under my behind, and tell me daily to get off my pitty pot. I think my husband is God's messanger because every day for the past two weeks he has said to me, "Get off your pitty pot Nancy and get mov'n" We both love that line from Every Body Loves Raymond.
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