Hospital on the Horizon

Today or tomorrow I'm expecting a call from the hospital. I knew this day was coming and I'm actually excited to be able to get in and get tuned up. As many of you know, I've had some issues with bleeding that unfortunately have made it almost impossible to exercise or even do my treatments at the level that I'm used to. After three weeks or so of this, you could understand that my lungs definitely feel different and more tight than there used to. Putting off hospital stays isn't something that is commonplace for me, as I understand the importance of putting my health first, but under the circumstances I'm able to forgive myself. I've been needed around here in the last couple of weeks and in my mind there really wasn't any way around it. Not only did I have to be around to do my part in the IVF process, but I also had to be here to assist Mandi in hers. And after the episodes we experienced after Mandi's egg retrieval, I'm sure thankful that I was around. There certainly are some times in life where you have to make tough decisions. In this case we're thankful that in the past three weeks I haven't felt like my health has taken a major blow.

So now it's just a waiting game. My CF team called a bed in for me today, but none were available. Apparently my hospital was on what they call “code purple”. Basically what this means is that they are not accepting any patients that are trauma cases. Believe me, I'm not sad at all that I don't qualify to be admitted. It actually worked out pretty well as I had a lot of catching up to do today as I just got back my computer and had fallen a little bit behind in my e-mails. I'm hoping that I can get in in the next couple of days because the sooner I get in the sooner, I get out. I'm also hoping that once I get in my lungs respond well to treatments and I am able to start exercising quickly. Obviously, we need to figure out the source of the bleeding and possibly do something about it before I'm really able to push myself. I'm counting down the days before that happens.

I'm also facing another interesting transition heading into this hospital stay. For the first time ever, I'll be seen by an adult CF team. My hospital was forced to develop an adult team as the adult population at my clinic continued to grow. It is understandable, as adults have separate issues, but that certainly doesn't mean transition will be easy. I've been building a solid relationship with my CF care team for the past 31 years and that isn't something that's easily replicated. It's going to take time, trust and an open mind to develop the kind of loyalty to this new team that I have for my old one. Luckily, I still see my peds team in clinic and they'll be updated with how I am doing. I'm actually looking forward to working with this new team as I really think my hospital has a good opportunity here to build a good adult CF program from the ground up. I'm looking at this as an opportunity to be part of something new and hopefully something big. Wish us luck!!