PICC Line Dressing Change - Part Deux

Found this old video of another PICC line dressing change. Thought some of you may be interested...if not, it may be worth the commentary.

 

Thankful Thursday: Feedback & Caramel Brulee Decaf Soy Latte

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 my mom. My mom has been in AZ since Mckenna was born and has been a HUGE help. She makes dinner, cleans my house, folds laundry, plays with Mckenna, soothes Mckenna when her gas is making her frustrated, you name it! She leaves on Saturday and man I'm sad to see her go! Luckily both her and my dad will be back mid-December for xmas :)

I'm thankful for Caramel Brulee Decaf Soy Lattes from Starbucks. It's how I start every day and it makes the world a beautiful place even after very little sleep the night before!

I'm thankful for a great one-month check-up for Mckenna. Tuesday we went for her one-month check-up and everything was great. She's growing like a champ (up 2.75 pounds and is 3 inches longer). She's not going to be a peanut much longer! 

Ronnie's List:

I'm thankful for my latest PFT results. I had clinic on Monday and my FVC was 88% and my FEV1 was 74%. When the test tech came back into my room she said "These are some of the highest PFTs that we have on record for you for a very ling time!". It's always good to hear that the hours I put into treatments and working out is paying off. My hope of course is to get these current numbers even higher, but I'll of course be happy if they stay where they are at for a while with out a decline. Either way, I wouldn't be getting worse :)

I'm so thankful that Mckenna is starting to react to our voices and giving us feedback through facial expressions. It's one of those things that as a first time parent you're never quite sure whether it's an on purpose smile of a totally coincidental smile, but for the sake of this proud poppa, we'll just go with that it was on purpose. And if I may just brag for a moment - Mckenna has such a gorgeous smile!

I'm thankful for making it through a month of Mckenna without causing extreme physical damage to her or someone around me. I'm being a little facetious there as dropping her or doing something completely wrong was never a giant fear, but as I think can be expected, it was at least a little one. So far, the only "injuries" she has had have been caused by those razor sharp blades that she calls her finger nails.

So, what are you thankful for today?

I never would have thought...

Sorry as I take a second to adjust my eyes to this new blogger interface. Okay, I'm ready.

Yesterday was a great day!

I guess technically I could start out every blog that way, but let me tell you exactly what I'm talking about. Yesterday as I was getting ready to go for a run, Mandi asked if I like to go run with her and her mom. As usual, when Mandi asked if I would like to go running with her, my answer was no. (I think I mentioned it on this blog before but I'm not a big fan of running with my wife.) It's pretty simple really -  she's really good at running and I'm not. Whenever I run with her I feel like I'm holding her back and the last thing I want to do is cause her to slow down. And although I love spending time with my wife any chance that I can get, running is not one of those times I like to take advantage of.

Mandi was a little more persistent yesterday. She's getting back into the swing of things and still not able to run at the higher end of her pace. Nancy, my mother-in-law, was also insistent that she had fallen a bit out of training and wasn't going to be going that fast either. It took some coaxing from the both of them, but in the end I decided to go with the group. As we all laced up our shoes we are exchanging reasons why none of us were looking forward to this run.

“I wish it were either colder out or warmer out. It's right at that temperature that I know when I start to run it'll be freezing, but as I start to warm up, I'll be ripping off my jacket as I cook to death”

“Trust me. I'm dreading this run is much as you are. My legs feel like they're weighed down with cement right now.”

“I'm still sore from my workout yesterday. I think I'd look forward to this run a little more if it didn't feel like I was getting stabbed in the thighs.”

Those were just a few things being thrown out before we started our run, but as always, we also knew that it wouldn't be something we regretted as soon as our run was over. As we made it out the door we started out at a leisurely walking pace just trying to warm up our legs and adjust to the temperature outside. We were still cracking jokes about how nervous we were with the run getting closer and closer to starting. We made a deal with each other that we would start running as soon as we got to that stop sign. That stop sign came and went and it wasn't until we got to this stop sign that we actually started to run. That's how it usually goes right?!?!?

Anyway, off we went!

For the first 1.8 miles the pace was absolutely perfect for me. Both Mandi and Nancy were going slower than normal and it just so happened to be my top speed at the moment. We were all in a good groove and by the looks of it, all feeling pretty good. It wasn't until about 1.8 mile mark that I started slowing way down and couldn't hang with the girls. However, I set a goal of making it all the way home which was another .4 miles away and that's exactly what I was going to do. Many things ran through my mind to get me to the finish line:

“Your wife had a baby 4 weeks ago and she's pulling away from you. Pick it up!"

"You've made it this far and to stop now would just be stupid."

“Think about how great you'll feel when you run all the way home. Now, think about how bad you feel if you stop now. I guarantee you'll regret stopping now and walking the rest of the way. You always do.”

“If you don't want to do it for you, do it for Mandi and Mckenna."

“Who cares if you're moving slowly, all that matters is that you're moving forward.”

As you can see, I do quite a bit of self coaching when I'm out on the run. You must understand, that this happens every time and not just yesterday. As stated many times before - I'm not the biggest fan of running and that is the absolute truth. It hurts. It's hard to breathe. I don't enjoy it. But, and this is a big but, I am 100% convinced that running is a major player in getting my lung function to a point that it hasn't been since 2003. I know full well that I don't want to run, but I'm convinced that I need to run.

So to make a long story short, although this is already been pretty long, I did in fact make it to the end. I ran 2.2 miles and it is by far the furthest I've run since rehabbing my foot. Like I said, I felt pretty good for 1.8 miles into it, and to me, that is simply amazing! When I started this running journey I could run for 30 seconds before being forced to stop because of either my lungs or legs. To think that I've been out of the running loop for almost 5 months now and I'm already back to running over 2 miles provides me with the joy that I can't quite explain.

I'll tell you happy also -  my lungs. 

My PFT History

I get asked about my PFT numbers almost everyday. I'm constantly referring people to this post, so I figured I would highlight it today.

Click here to find out what a PFT (Pulmonary Function Test) is and what those numbers mean.

Click here to watch me do a PFT.

My Predicted Liters: FVC 5.09 FEV1 4.12

Results are percent of predicted numbers:

05/19/14: FVC 90% FEV1 75%
05/12/14: FVC 89% FEV1 75%
04/28/14: FVC 73% FEV1 57%
12/21/13: FVC 88% FEV1 75%
12/02/13: FVC 77% FEV1 63%
06/24/13: FVC 92% FEV1 75%
05/28/13: FVC 83% FEV1 73%
05/03/13: FVC 72% FEV1 57%

01/21/13: FVC 88% FEV1 75%
01/07/13: FVC 78% FEV1 65%
10/01/12: FVC 87% FEV1 74%
11/14/11: FVC 88% FEV1 74%

08/29/11: FVC 83% FEV1 69%

04/25/11: FVC 85% FEV1 73%

02/16/11: FVC 77% FEV1 60%

01/19/11: FVC 81% FEV1 63%

03/17/10: FVC 81% FEV1 69%

01/08/10: FVC 77% FEV1 62%

12/17/09: FVC 75% FEV1 60% (last day in hospital)

12/01/09: FVC ??% FEV1 41%

11/18/09: FVC 75% FEV1 53% (first day in hospital)

10/12/09: FVC 80% FEV1 67% (83/68 with old module)

9/11/09: FVC 72% FEV1 59%

8/24/09: FVC 72% FEV1 55%

8/07/09: FVC 78% FEV1 62%

7/28/09: FVC 79% FEV1 63% (post-treatment)

7/28/09: FVC 76% FEV1 60% (pre-treatment)

7/21/09: FVC 71% FEV1 59% (in hospital)

7/13/09: FVC 76% FEV1 59% (first day in hospital)

4/13/09: FVC 77% FEV 1 61% (five weeks out of hospital)
3/9/09: FVC 65% FEV1 51% (last day in hospital)
2/19/09: FVC 59% FEV1 47% (in hospital)
1/27/09: FVC 42% FEV1 31% (in hospital)

Started new predicted module in 2009

3/27/08: FVC 79% FEV1 68%

3/5/08: FVC 64% FEV1 54%

7/13/07: FVC 80% FEV1 70%

6/25/07: FVC 76% FEV1 56%

11/22/06: FVC 81% FEV1 73%

10/30/06: FVC 57% FEV1 35%

11/7/05: FVC 83% FEV1 71%

7/18/05: FVC 72% FEV1 43%

7/19/04: FVC 80% FEV1 66%

7/12/04: FVC 56% FEV1 35%

11/10/03: FVC 66% FEV1 45%

4/7/03: FVC 91% FEV1 85%

7/15/02: FVC 77% FEV1 59%

2/4/02: FVC 91% FEV1 86%

7/2/01: FVC 69% FEV1 51%

4/20/01: FVC 96% FEV1 87%

11/15/00: FVC 63% FEV1 44%

1/13/00: FVC 101% FEV1 97%

12/3/99: FVC 107% FEV1 102%

11/18/99: FVC 90% FEV1 66%

2/17/98: FVC 109% FEV1 100%

2/2/98: FVC 81% FEV1 58%

11/17/97: FVC 82% FEV1 59%

8/8/97: FVC 113% FEV1 104%

11/14/96: FVC 90% FEV1 77%

5/21/96: FVC 114% FEV1 105%

9/14/95: FVC 104% FEV1 100%

9/8/95: FVC 85% FEV1 76%

12/12/94: FVC 108% FEV1 111%

12/5/94: FVC 78% FEV1 67%

11/22/93: FVC 63% FEV1 57%

4/2/93: FVC 86% FEV1 84%

2/19/92: FVC 80% FEV1 87%

11/20/90: FVC 87% FEV1 84%

11/15/90: FVC 73% FEV1 68%

11/9/89: FVC 90% FEV1 78%

10/23/89: FVC 61% FEV1 49%

11/23/87: FVC 95% FEV1 91%

10/16/87: FVC 87% FEV1 77%

02/02/80: The Day I Was Born

Other Links:

My Medications

My Supplements

My Equipment

Mckenna Monday: Four Week Update

Welp, it's been 4 whole weeks...time sure flies. I thought I'd give you another update on how I'm doing and what's new in my world.

I'm growing like a weed! I was born at 6 lb 2 oz and I'm now around 8.5 lbs. The weight seemed to come on over night. I had my 2-3 week growth spurt, and I think most of my weight came on in just those few days...or seemed to judging by how quickly my clothes got tight. That being said I'm not sure if my clothes are getting tighter solely due to my increased size...I'm fairly certain mom needs to stop drying my clothes on HIGH heat!

I'm awake a lot more these days. When I'm awake I love to sit in my swing and look around, have mom and dad hold me so I can study their faces, and lay on my tummy. If I'm awake and I walk into a room with a ceiling fan, I don't care what else is going on, I can't help but admire it. They fascinate me! Oh and when I'm awake, I'm not a huge fan of my pack 'n play. Mom and dad lay me in there when they need to do something quickly and need both hands, but I'm hoping they start to realize I'm not a fan (you'd think the quick discontent would tip them off).

Mom put me in a wrap thing for the first time this week. What a way to take a nap. It holds me nice and close to her tummy and chest and I keeps me toasty warm. I try to stay awake so I can look around at everything she's doing, but I generally fall asleep within a few minutes of being snuggled in that thing.

Annnd I saved the biggest update for last: my feeding fiasco. Mom and I started having a little trouble over the last week. You see, she makes so much milk that when I start eating, I can't keep up and start coughing and gulping. Because I'm swallowing so much air and because of the kind of milk I'm getting (as a result of her oversupply) I get pretty gassy. If you've ever had a gas bubble you know, it is reallllllllly miserable. But after crying my eyes out and some serious burps and toots, I feel better. Luckily mom and I met with a nice lactation consultant who gave mom some tips on how to fix the issue (or at least make it better). So we'll keep you posted, but I think in 3-5 days we're supposed to be feeling better. Pray for us!!

So that's it. I should get going...it's been an hour and a half since I last ate which means I'm ready to eat. Gotta go put my game face on!