Locks of Love Got All of My Hair!!!

So I decided about 18 months ago or so that I wanted to grow out my hair to donate it to Locks of Love. The last 18 months were a test of endurance, commitment, and self-control...just kidding, it really wasn't a big deal. Hair grows, you cut it and then it grows again!

This was the last time a pair of scissors touched my head. The date was June 30th, 2008.

View from the front.

View from the back.

They had to put all of my hair into little pony tails to make sure there was enough length.

This is when Mandi started to get nervous.

Then it was time to shave off the pony tails!

I wanted to leave a little so I could have a mullet. Mandi said that would be fine if I enjoyed the single life :)

We managed to keep a little bit of hair, but if you look closely, it looks like somebody hit a sand shot from the top of my head and left a divot.

And there it is! 12 inches of hair to Locks of Love!!!

Even though all of my hair was gone, it still felt like I had my strength. Take that Samson!

40 Years of Hits=4 Chords

Why do all of the greatest hits from the last 40 years only use 4 chords? This video does a great job of highlighting them "all".

This is courtesy of my cousin Jason's family blog, which if you haven't yet, you should check out!

New Structure for RunSickboyRun

So I've been working through some possible changes for this blog with Mandi and this is the best that we have come up with. I've asked the you guys what you want out of this blog and most of you answered for me to be "more personal" and to share my "life experiences" with Cystic Fibrosis (as well as for Mandi to post more often :)). Well, I've listened and I think this new blog structure can accomplish that as well as hold me accountable in attaining my goals. So here it is, please let me know what you think and if you have other suggestions:

Mandi/Mom Monday- You've asked and I've listened. Mandi has agreed to post at least once a week on various topics including, but not limited to, relationship issues with a CFer, motivation for a CFer, workout/running tips, as well as anything else that comes to her awesome mind. I'm working on my mom to join in on the fun as well and post some blogs on her perspective of being a CF mom to an 80's baby. If your reading this mom, WE NEED YOU! I'd appreciate you guys leaving some encouraging comments for my mom and your need for multiple perspectives, especially from a mother who has "been there, done that".

Top Ten Tuesday- Here I will list my top ten of pretty much anything, CF related and not CF related. This will give you a chance to get to know me on more of a personal level. It could also e a fun thing for other bloggers out there to try!

Workout Wednesday- Every Wednesday I will update you guys on how my workouts are going as well as keep you informed on stats like my weight and total mileage for the week. This will still hold me accountable for trying to push myself to actually become a runner.

Thankful Thursday- Sometimes I think we can all get a little lost on how much there is to be thankful for. Here I will tell you what I am so thankful for in my life and why.

First Friday- This blog theme was started by some other fibro/cysta bloggers out there and I don't see why I can't make it a weekly thing. Instead of running down a list, I will take a single "first" in my life (could be CF related or not) and try to capture how I was feeling at that moment in time.

Sound-off Saturday- This day could turn out to be one of the more interesting days on this blog. We all have different views/experiences when it comes to life and how we see the world. I'd like to find two people with different views and have them express those on this blog. It could be anything from healthcare reform to lung transplant vs. no lung transplant to hospital stay vs. no hospital stay to how Mandi and I "saw" our date night. It will have the feel of a "he said, she said" forum. I'm looking forward to it.

Spotlight Sunday- Every Sunday I will highlight the Cystic Fibrosis blog that either touched me the most or just one that I feel people need to read. We have a lot of great bloggers in the CF community and I want to make sure that you guys know about them.

So that's what I'm thinking as of now. What do you guys think? Any suggestions? Are you guys still interested in this blog if I make those changes? Like I've said before, this blog is for you guys and I want you to love it as much as I do. So let the suggestions/comments/questions begin...give it to me. I'm ready!

Discharging of a PICC Line

So I'm finally back home and getting adjusted to the "real world". I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your well wishes and prayers while I was in the hospital. I can't even begin to count all of the emails and comments I received while getting my tune-up. I felt them more than you'll ever know and my only hope is that I can give back to you what you guys have given to me. This blog is meant to be a place to get educated, inspired and up lifted and I hope that is what you are taking from it. I certainly felt all of that coming from you guys and I can't thank you enough. Thank you thank you thank you!!!

I was able to get to the gym but had to take it slower than normal as I know it will be a little bit before I get into the swing of things. I'm also going to adjust the frequency of my workouts as well. I'm going to start next week by putting more of an emphasis on cardio and running. I got sidetracked for a couple of months because of my foot, but now I'm ready to go full steam ahead. Mandi has set some pretty lofty goals for us by October and I fully plan on meeting them. You'll also be seeing some changes to the blog in the coming week in terms of structure and content. As always, I enjoy your feedback and am doing this blog for you, so I need to know what you guys like.

Anyway, here's the last of the in hospital videos. WARNING: If you have a weak stomach do not watch this video. If you want to see something pretty fascinating then I suggest you watch it. I'm still amazed that a long "spaghetti noodle" can dangle in my heart and not present a problem. I now present to you, "The Discharging of a PICC Line":

Re-entering the Real World

My little wooly mammoth (you’ve seen the videos, you see the beard) is getting out today! When he’s in, I try to be there as much as possible, and when I’m not there, we webcam frequently, but there’s NOTHING like having him home.

By now I’m sure you can tell that I’m pretty energetic and easily excitable. Now add to that my giddiness (yes, giddiness) when I haven’t seen Ronnie in a while, and you have one bouncy, overwhelming monkey anxious to do everything you haven’t done for a few weeks together RIGHT when you walk in the door.

You may be thinking, “Aw, how sweet”...but for Ronnie, who is generally a little out of sorts when he gets out, not so much. I have learned that after being stuck in a tiny, bland room for so long, Ronnie’s body and brain go into system overload when he’s first out. Loud noises, people all around, screeching girlfriends all overwhelm him. So every time he gets out I have to do my best to suppress my prancing, clapping, wiggling, giggling, blabbering, blubbering ways for the first few days.

I’m happy to do my part because I know Ronnie does his. He tries to snap out of hospital mode a little faster than normal and not let himself go into overload (if you know Ronnie, you know he’s one of the most controlled, patient guys in history - one major point on which we differ - maybe he’ll rub off one of these days, but I doubt it), but there’s only so much he can do.

It normally takes the first day for us to get back into our grove and I’m sure the longer we are together, the better we’ll get at balancing the first few days post hospital. As for today, I’ll enjoy snuggling up and enjoying some quiet time with Ronnie home and save all my craziness for tomorrow!

Readers, I Need Your Help!!! Please Watch Video!

I need your help guys. As my hospital stay comes to an end, I need to know where to go from here. This blog started as a way to hold me accountable while I whip myself back into shape and get my lungs moving again. It has turned into a blog more themed around Cystic Fibrosis and my personal feelings about the disease (which is what was requested of me by the readers about a month ago or so). I need your help again and I'm asking for your input on how to make this blog better. I would also like to make this blog more consistent according to what day it is...something like Mandi Monday and Workout Wednesday or something (just a thought). So let me have it guys, I want this blog to be yours!

Supplements and Cystic Fibrosis

Interested in taking supplements as a CFer? There are a few things you must remember before starting any supplement which I will go over in the following video. A lot of exciting stuff is going on at RunSickboyRun.com and I have all of you to thank for that! So THANK YOU!!

You can also check out this blog if you are interested in more information about supplements: http://noexcusesnoexcuses.blogspot.com/ or look her up on Twitter @CFResearch