This Lil' Fibro is Kicking Booty!!

My man Kaleb out in Oklahoma had a big weekend. He's been training his butt off for a 1 mile race and today he got to show everyone what he's got. When I heard the news about his record time I was smile ear-to-ear and felt like a proud big brother. I'd love it if you guys could stop by A Little Hope from Oklahoma... and tell Kaleb how proud you are. Here is an excerpt of the blog but I highly encourage you to click on THIS LINK and check out the pictures of this little fibro.

Today was a wonderful day for Kaleb! He ran his first race ever and it was a 1 mile fun run at the St. Patty's run in Tulsa. Before today, his best time when we were practicing was 16 1/2 minutes. Today, as you can see on the picture above, he finished in 12 minutes! I was so proud of him! We ran together and for most of the race, he held my hand and asked me to help him keep going. I was so proud to watch him work so hard and get through his obstacles, fears, physical hardships...all to succeed in what he set his mind to.

Don't forget to stop by their blog and give them some words of love and support. It's always awesome to see the younger ones taking exercise seriously and kicking butt in the process!!

That's the way...

...uh-huh uh-huh I like it. Oh wait, I meant to say "the cookie crumbles". My go around this time in the Hole has been a bit different for me. When I come into this place, I can usually count on slowly getting better (PFT wise) week by week until I'm all ready to go. After my disappointing results this week, it's evident that this will not be my typical stay. So far, I've taken PFTs three times while I have been in, and so far, the results have been almost identical. 58-60-58. I wish I could sit here and tell you that I know what's going on, but honestly, I'm kind of at a loss.

I've worked at reminding myself (as has Mandi) that I've been here before and not every stay in the Hole is the same. I think one of the problems is that my last couple of trips here have been short compared to my usual stays in the Hole. My last few stays I have averaged between 14-21 days whereas compared to the usual 30 that I was coming in at a time for the previous 5 years. Like I said, Mandi has done a great job keeping me grounded and focused on why I'm here: To feel better and do whatever it takes. Speaking of whatever it takes...We're going to try a prednisone burst for the next handful of days to see if it helps with the tightness that I'm feeling.

I hate that stuff. I'm seriously a different guy when I'm on it. I normally have one mood, and that's even-keeled, but when I'm on steroids; Watch out!!!! No, it's not that bad, but I have been know to have a not so long of a fuse. I'm just hoping that this time while be different and that I'm able to control my attitude when people are in my room :) I'm also hoping that it is the key in opening my lungs up and allowing me to take deep breaths. When I get to the point where I can actually feel a deep breath, I'm positive that the rest will take care of itself. Just keep me in mind over these next few days...and you might want to be thinking of Mandi as well :)

Thankful Thursday - No Morning Sickness

Know what time it is? It's thankful Thursday time! We checked into the Hole three weeks ago and it's time to celebrate a little thankful Thursday! 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. as I mentioned, I no longer have the "linky tools" but I invite you to share your thankful blog in the comments section. Without further ado, here's what we're thankful for:

Mandi's List:

I'm thankful for feeling good. I haven't had any major nausea yet, so that's a big one to be thankful about. I have some really minor nausea if I haven't eaten in awhile, or I eat a lot (especially of sugar), but nothing like what some people talk about. None of this feeling like I'm going to vomit or can't eat (I have the opposite problem, I can't stop eating!) But I am very thankful to be feeling so good.

I am thankful for Thai food. Last night we had Thai food for the second time since Ronnie's been in the hole, and man do I LOVE it! It always hits the spot. The best part is there's a great spot right by the hospital, so it's a quick drive to go pick it up. I absolutely LOVE asian cuisine, but I think Thai is my favorite. I am so thankful to spicy, flavorful food!

I'm thankful that I have a husband that takes care of himself. I must say, I was ready for Ronnie to get out Tuesday. I am ready to get back into the swing of things. But I would much rather push off the swing of things to have my hubby at 100%. But the best part is, he isn't just sitting around saying, "oh, I'll get better". He's been doing extra treatments and running/walking multiple times a day. I am so thankful that he takes such an active role in his health. (I'm also thankful that he can put up with my hormonal crankiness - which I tried to mask - when I realized that we may be here a while longer, and snuggling in our own bed would have to wait....he's such a trooper!)

Ronnie's List:

I'm very thankful that Mandi is able to be by my side every single day that I'm here in the Hole. I realize that some couples aren't as fortunate and I can of course see that making this time of our lives much tougher. Not only am I thankful for the simple moments we share together in here, but I'm also thankful that she's so willing to run and go get food when the hospital tray just won't cut it!!

Speaking of the Hole, I'm thankful that my PFTs didn't go down on my last test. Granted, they didn't go up like I wish they had, but I'll take a no percent gain over a ___ percent decrease everyday of the week. I'm hopeful that I'll start to feel back on top of my game in the next handful of days. For me, it's not about the numbers, but whether or not I'm to a point that I'm able to kick booty outside of this place.

Here's a repeat from last week, but it still holds very true for today. I'm thankful that there has been no blood. I've gone on some intense run/walks for the past couple of days, and so far, no blood. My goal was to put these lungs of mine to the test and I think I'm doing a decent job of doing so. I can't say that it will equal the workouts I have at home, but the fact that there is no blood so far is a good sign! Let's just hope that this trend continues.

So, what are you thankful for today?

Staying in the Hole!!

Update from the Hole: Day 19

Pregnancy and Hospital Update

Man, this week has flown by. I figured I'd just give a little update. This week has been uneventful. Ronnie's still in the hole getting all tuned-up, and I have just been working and enjoying his company after work. We have started getting back into a little bit of a workout routine (at least our typical hospital workout routine), so we go for 2-4 mile walks each day, Ronnie runs (I still am not running because I'm still bloated, so my ovaries are probably still pretty swollen/enlarged) and then I've been riding the exercise bike in Ronnie's room for 20-45 minutes a day. It's felt great to get back into a bit of a workout routine.

Which brings me to my pregnancy update - I am thankful that I still have the energy to work out. I am pretty wiped out by about noon each day, and my body wants to nap, but if I get up and move around a bit, I can wake up long enough to finish the work day and get back to the room. I try to get in my workout before I get too comfortable, or I probably wouldn't get back up. Surprisingly, my workouts wake me up and give me a pretty good second wind, which keeps me up until around 9:30 - then it's doze off time during our typical evening TV watching. I haven't had any morning sickness yet. I've read that most people have morning sickness set in around week 6 or 7 (if they have it at all), so I'm anticipating I'll likely start not feeling so great in the next week or so (I'm 6 weeks on Tuesday). I'm getting a little tired of the Progesterone shots (which I'm on for another 2 weeks from Tuesday). My butt is a little sore, but it's certainly become pretty routine, so it's not too bad. We've been taking belly shot photos, which I'll start posting next week, but they're a little skewed because I look about 3 months pregnant from my bloating - which is starting to go down! YIPPEE. For you ladies out there who may be wondering, I will be posting (starting next week) my belly size and weight (GULP) if anyone's curious how my body is changing. As of Tuesday (our 6 week mark) we'll be the proud parents of one or two lentil(s) - they've grown a ton in just one week!

I'll be honest, I'm really ready to have Ronnie get out of the hole this time. I don't know what it is about this hospital stay, but I've been ready to get back into "normal" life more than I ever have (normally I'm not in a rush at all). I'm not sure if some of it is because things were so wacky the 2 weeks before we came in for the tune-up, as I was so sick from the egg retrieval, sleeping on the couch, unable to really eat normally, not exercising, etc. So we have been out of our "normal" routine for longer than usual between the IVF stuff and the hospital stay. I am so looking forward to getting back into our gym and run/walk routine, dinner routine, sleeping in our bed together, all those little things. I love the hospital time - the time with family and the unique time together - but I'm just ready for a little routine back into our lives (sans nurses, PCTs, and RTs coming in every hour.) I will say this though, I've thoroughly enjoyed watching Chuck seasons, Dunkin' Donuts Saturday and Sunday morning, yummy meals prepared by Ronnie's mom, and time spent with family - that I am not looking forward to leaving behind.