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It's thankful Thursday time! We all have so much to be thankful for and we love to take this opportunity just to write down each and everything that comes to mind. Please take this time to share with us what you're thankful for as well. If you have a blog expressing your thankfulness, please share the link! Without further ado, here's what we're thankful for:
Mandi's List:
I'm thankful for leg-rests. As I mentioned, I've had a leadership training program this week. The first day, sitting with my feet on the floor while sitting in a chair, I learned that my feet get SWOLLEN that way. My thighs went straight to my toes. Tuesday and Wednesday I got wise. I grabbed a chair and put my legs up on them. Best idea ever!! I leave each day with calves AND ankles...can't beat that.
I'm thankful for this hospital stay. As Ronnie mentioned in a few of his videos, he's starting to feel better each day and we're thinking we MAY get out on Friday if things keep going the way they're going. While this hospital stay was a bit longer than we anticipated, based on his numbers heading into he stay, I am SO thankful for the opportunity he's had to come in and get tuned up. I'm so thankful that there are IV meds that work. I'm SO thankful that we have the insurance to pay for the stay. I'm so thankful that the timing of the stay is now, and not 6 weeks from now (I am always good with him being in the hospital...but the one exception would be if he was in the hospital when Peanut was born or in the first couple of weeks of Peanut's life. If it happened I could deal, but I'm fairly certain I would not have as positive of an attitude about the stay!!) I'm thankful that he's feeling better and ready to get out to kick butt on his own. I'm thankful that we have the opportunity to get out of here Friday and work together to get his PFTs up. I'm thankful for our weekend morning traditions of Dunkin' and Johnjay and Rich. I'm thankful for the wonderful home-cooked meals Chris, Ronnie's mom, brought us several times a week. I'm just flat out thankful for all that this hospital stay has entailed. We are truly blessed!!
Ronnie's List:
I'm so thankful for my baby brother having my back. It's a pretty long story so I'll try to give you the short version. In order to get the Outrun CF shirts to people by race day, we knew we would have to send them out in the next couple of days. Problem is, we're still in Tucson, and the shirts were in Phoenix. Mandi was at a conference until 5 PM and our only option was for her to leave after the conference and drive up to Phoenix to get the shirts. That would get her back to the hospital around 9 but she would still have to pack them all to get them shipped out. It was obviously something she wasn't looking forward to, and be honest, it was the last thing that I really wanted her to do as well. As soon as Mandi went out the door this morning on her way to the conference I texted my brother Andrew to see if he could help out. He didn't even think twice and said that he would gladly pick up the shirts in Phoenix and run him down to Tucson in order to save Mandi the trip! We're talking a solid 4 hours in the car. I didn't tell Mandi this was happening and it all almost blew up in my face when her phone died as she left the conference. I was panicking at the thought of her hitting the highway before her phone would be charged enough to make a call. Fortunately, she called me before she left town and I gave her the good news. She shed a few tears and said that she couldn't be any happier! So again, I would just like to give a big thank you to my little brother for bailing us out :)
I'm thankful for my entire hospital experience. I'll be honest, I generally don't hate the hospital because I can see the forest through the trees, but this stay has been better than usual. And maybe not better than usual per se, but better than the last day. During my last hospital stay the entire adult CF population in Tucson was transferred to adult pulmonologists instead of being seen by our pediatric CF team. Transition of course is never easy as each party needs to learn each other, but this one was particularly hard since the new adult team was basically forced into the position. Fortunately, they're not the only ones responsible for our care while in the hospital. We are seen daily by hospitalists that focus on overall care and can handle pretty much any issue. Before actually doing anything, as in writing the orders, they have to confer with the adult team, but they're the ones that you can count on to get stuff done. This stay the hospitalists seem to have taken even more interest in cystic fibrosis. They are asking more questions about it and whether it's true or not, it just seems like they care more. They are taking more pride in their job and I truly feel like they felt a little bit invested in me this day. In fact, the 3 weeks I have been here I've only seen an adult pulmonologist 3 to 4 times and I'd say that I'm doing just fine! So a big thank you to all the hospitalists that have been in and out of my room :)
I'm thankful for my most recent PFT results. They still aren't up to that magic “baseline”, but I don't expect my lung function to get there during hospital stays as I get older. Since I rely so much an exercise to keep me healthy, it's not a shocker that my lung function often drops a bit in here the first couple of weeks. There is a big difference between exercising somewhere around 2 hours a day to being regulated to walking around hospital grounds and riding an exercise bike. So all in all I'm very happy with my latest PFT numbers being around 5 to 7% below baseline. There is no doubt in my mind they will be back up to baseline or beyond in about a month or so!
So, what are you thankful for today?
