Wedding Through The Eyes of Dad & Denise

While my Dad and Denise were here, we downloaded some of the pictures they took from our May 2010 wedding. Man does time fly!! I thought it would be kinda cool to post how our wedding looked through their eyes...

Rehearsal

Rehearsal Dinner

Morning of wedding:

Wedding:

Reception:

Brunch the day after:

Thankful Thursday: Play Dates & Goofy Face

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 that Peanut is starting to sleep well at night! We get one 5-6.5 hour stretch and a couple 2-3 hour stretches. That makes for one happy momma in the morning!

I'm thankful for a good 6 week postpartum check up and being 100% cleared to workout. I was able to get into the gym today and lift for the first time in 6 weeks and it felt awesome. And on Monday I did a 5 mile run.

I'm thankful for "play dates". I've been meeting weekly for coffee with a friend with a 3 month old, and we're going to start meeting weekly to walk the zoo (fun sights for the kids, exercise for mom). Also, we have a next door neighbor that just had a baby Sunday night and we're already planning all the fun walks and pop-bys we can have. Gotta love mommy and baby time with friends. It'll be great as the kids get older and can actually play together!

Ronnie's List:

I'm so thankful that my Dad and Denise were able to come out for the Thanksgiving holiday. It was nice to have them stay at our house as it gave us the opportunity to spend a ton of quality time together and actually use parts of our house that rarely get stepped in to! Denise was a cleaning rock star and my Dad and I were able to knock out some projects around the house (more on that to come).

I'm so thankful for my goofy looking face. For the past week or so, I've been able to get Mckenna to smile or laugh at me on command. She has one of those wide mouthed smiles that is absolutely adorable, so I'm trying to elicit one from her every chance that I get! 

I'm thankful for beautiful weather. For the past couple of weeks, we've had highs in the low to mid-70's and not a cloud in the sky. I love being able to open up all of the doors and windows in the house and just enjoy the "freshness" breezing in. Of course today, as I write this, it's raining :)

So, what are you thankful for today?

Workout Wednesday: The Update

I wanted to give ya'll an update on that exciting new workout I talked about a couple of weeks ago (if you have no idea what I'm talking about, click here). The "spartan" workout has been going really well and it's provide a nice break from the routine that I was stuck in for many many months. It got to the point where I was bored while doing certain lifts and found myself starting to just go through the motions instead of really focusing on what I had to do. It's so important to exercise with purpose. Going through the motions simply won't get it done. Sure, it's better than nothing, but since I'm at the gym anyway, I might as well give it my best effort.

Anyway, the first couple times doing this workout was quite an eye-opener as it is one intense booty kicker. I knew going into it that it wasn't going to be easy, but I never thought that it would make me sweat nor breath as hard as it has done. I figured that the required 3 times a week of doing this workout was going to be a piece of cake, but I now see that they purposely give you some rest days cause they're absolutely needed! I mean, I couldn't walk straight for about the first 10 days of the regiment. But as a lot of you know, getting that sore can only mean one thing - I hadn't worked out those muscles like that for a long time. And now, it's up to me to keep those seldom used muscles in shape!

The other thing that I've added to intensify this new workout is to run to the gym on my workout days. This really gets my heart rate going and I feel warmed-up before I start "pumping the iron". Now, it also make my workout more challenging as some of the lifts require me to use leg strength and stamina, and after a mile run, my legs feel a little bit like jell-o. I like it though because I'm already sweating when I enter the gym and I continue to sweat the entire way through. There's nothing like sweating your butt off at the gym, or as I like to call it - the liquid representation of all your hard work :)

Like I said before, if you're looking for a new challenge, look no further! This is a great workout and will get your lungs as pumped as your muscles. If you have any questions, please don't be afraid to ask.

Happy lifting!!

Top Ten Tuesday: Thanksgiving Day

Haven't done a Top Ten Tuesday in a while and I thought this would be a good time to write one out. With Thanksgiving here and now gone (too quickly might I add), I wanted to take the time to reflect on what I enjoyed most about this particular Turkey Day. These are in no particular order :)

Carving Knife - I have never seen, nor held for that matter, a carving knife in action. Not only did I get to see my Dad work the carving knife while slicing up the turkey, but I actually own one now since he and Denise bought us one for the house!

Stuffing - Denise, my step-mom, made her world-famous stuffing (at least in my world now). I still don't know everything that was in it, but I do know this - it contained bread and sausage. Winning.

Hosting - This was the first Thanksgiving that Mandi and I hosted at our home. We usually head down to Tucson, but with my Dad and Denise in town, we thought it would be a perfect time to have Thanksgiving at our house. It was awesome to be able to use our kitchen to it's full capacity and put our dining room table to good use :)

Family - Like I said before in previous posts, my Dad and step-mom Denise are in from San Antonio to visit with us...and Mckenna :) I love spending time with family, and I love spending time with family even more around the holidays.

Apple Pie - We made an apple pie from scratch (as long as you don't include the crust) and as long as you don't judge a book by it's cover, it turned out really well! It was very very tasty and to be honest, I'm looking forward for another holiday so we have an excuse to make it again.

Gravy - This one really doesn't need an explanation. Gravy. That's it...Gravy.

Relaxing - Don't know if it's the turkey, the company or my comfy couch, but whatever it was, I had a very relaxing Thanksgiving. It was so nice to be able to relax and hang out with family after a fantastic meal.

Football - Thanksgiving and football really go hand-in-hand don't they? I wasn't able to throw the pigskin around like I usually do, but being able to watch it on TV was almost just as nice...and less tiring.

Fire - It was a bit chilly out, so just as we always do, we found our excuse to make a fire. Granted, we didn't sit next to the fire as we had an alternate heating source (more on that in a bit), but it was sure nice to look at.

Heater - Mandi's parents bought us a heater for our back porch and it really came in handy on Thanksgiving night. We sat on our outdoor furniture with coffee in hand, pie on lap and heater turned on. It was glorious.

So what would be on your Top Ten Thanksgiving list?

Momma's a Slacker

Ok, so you don't need me to tell you, but I'm a total slacker!! Truth be told, since I'm not working, I only know it's Sunday because we go to church, but all the other days run together. And even when I know it's Sunday, Mandi Monday still slips my mind until my loving husband wakes up Monday morning and jokingly says, "what did you do Mandi Monday about," knowing full well I spaced it. Anyway...enough with the excuses...here I am.

Things are going well. I had my 6 week postpartum check up today (can you believe it's been 6 weeks already? Where does the time go?) I got a gold star (not actually, although that would be kind of fun and motivating for a type A like myself). I got the go ahead to resume activities as normal...but as I've mentioned, I gave myself the go ahead weeks ago. I'm back running again. I took it a little easy, wanting to wait into I got the official clearance before going full throttle. So I was only running 2 times a week and walking the other days. I did manage to get my mileage up to 3.5 miles though....so hopefully I can just build on that quickly. All in all I feel great. I could go for slightly more sleep, but truthfully I get a lot, just not all in a row. And mornings are always fun because Mckenna is adorable in the morning, grunting, groaning, stretching, etc. So it makes a bad night's sleep feel so worth it.

Mckenna is doing great. Growing like a beast. She's up around 9.5 lbs these days and adding more and more rolls to her collection. I love them!! Why can't rolls be so desirable on EVERYONE? Mckenna's big update this week is that she's officially smiling, a lot and on purpose!! She started occasionally doing it about 10 days ago, but now she definitely smiles intentionally. It melts my heart! We sit for what feels like hours with HUGE smiles on our faces because we can't get enough (and you still have to work at it a bit). By the time you get a smile you feel a bit like a clown who's face is going to fall off...but it's sooo worth it. You can see her gummy grin in the picture above. We're still working to get a good photo...but this is the best one yet.

That's all I have for now. Off to Carters to buy a few pairs of pants for her. No, I'm not joking...it's a sick addiction ;-) I kid. We haven't bought THAT many clothes, she just "needs" some pants.

Thankful Thursday: Thanksgiving & Mckenna

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 smiles. Mckenna has started to smile AT US. Not just smiles in her sleep or randomly during the day because she didn't know what her face was doing. We're talking SMILES. Real ones. You have to give her the scariest, biggest, so-big-it-looks-like-a-painted-on-clown smile to get her to smile back, but I smile at her til my cheeks hurt...and it's worth it!! I am so thankful that she's growing and developing. I am SO thankful for her smiles. I am a bit partial, but I think they may be the cutest smiles in the history of smiles.

I'm thankful for family. Ronnie's dad and step-mom are in town for the week, and it's awesome to have them here. It's great to get to hang as a family and spend time together.

I'm thankful for our first Thanksgiving as a family. We've never had a Thanksgiving at our house, and it seems so perfect to have our first Thanksgiving at our home the same time as our first family Thanksgiving. With that said, I'm REALLY thankful that Ronnie's step-mom is here to help make Thanksgiving dinner...I'd be in trouble if I had to try to cook it on my own. I could figure it out, but it wouldn't be pretty.

Ronnie's List:

I'm thankful and excited that we're going to be able to host our first Thanksgiving as a family at our house. Like I mentioned yesterday, my Dad and step-mom are in from San Antonio and we thought it'd be the perfect time to host a Thanksgiving meal. We usually go down to Tucson, which I'll of course miss somewhat, but starting some of our own traditions is very important to me. We may not do Thanksgiving here every year, but proving we could have the ability to do so is exciting!

I'm so thankful that I have my special time with Mckenna. Like I've said before, and no I'm not extremely proud of this, but I'm just a tad bit jealous that Mandi gets to spend a bunch of quality time with Peanut while breast feeding. In order to get some special time of my own, I "called" tub time with Mckenna. So far she has taken to the water very well and it has been an enjoyable experience for us both.

 

I'm thankful for the reactions we're getting from Peanut lately. She's getting real good at tracking with her eyes, turning her head to find us and smiling when we're silly. Granted, she still has her biggest smiles before barfing or pooping, but the smiles she gives to us just because, are quite special.

Lastly, a very very happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. I hope that no one is actually reading this because of family time, but if you are, please take a moment to reflect on all that you have to be thankful for.

So, what are you thankful for today?

Thanksgiving Visitors!!

This week and into the next, we have the pleasure of having my dad and step-mom hang out with us and spend the holidays in our home. They came in from San Antonio to see Mckenna for the first time and we all thought Thanksgiving would be a great time for the visit. It's especially nice to have them here for Thanksgiving since this will be the first Thanksgiving dinner hosted in our home and to be frank, we really wouldn't know where to get started. Thankfully Denise is here to show us the ropes in the hopes that we may be able to do this on our own someday :)

We hit up the grocery store today to make sure we had everything we needed for the big meal on Thursday. Just off the top of my head, it looks like we'll be having: Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, green beans, cauliflower, cranberry sauce, corn and pumpkin pie. Think that's enough for the 4 of us (and I wouldn't be surprised if I'm forgetting a thing or two)??? I seriously can't wait as the Thanksgiving meal is one of my favorites, although I always must remember not to eat myself to death...almost literally. Have I told that story on RSBR before? The time that my Thanksgiving meal almost killed me? That's a good one.

Anyway, the whole point of this blog is to welcome my dad and Denise to Arizona and let them know I'm extremely happy they are here (as I know they'll get the message since they read this everyday). I look forward to the next 8 days and can't wait to see what trouble we get ourselves into. Thanks for the help with the yard today and please, don't hesitate to think of other projects we can knock out while ya'll are here. I mean, we can't sit around and stare at Mckenna all day every day right? Right???

Mckenna Speaks!!

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!

Kicking Cystic Fibrosis!!

Guest Post by Eric Verdon

My name's Eric, and I'm 17 years old from the Great White North's capital, Ottawa. On October 27^th I officially made it 4 years that I have been blowing an FEV1 of over 100%, and I owe those numbers to exercise. At the age of 4 my parents put me in soccer, and it wasn't until I was 16 that I stopped playing. I've spent countless hours at the soccer field near my house, literally countless. I have spent summers there, the soccer field WAS my second home, and it really payed off. I managed to make a provincial team, and I played with them for three seasons. All of that time spent running around the field with a ball, practicing my shot, and whatever else I ended up doing there for hours definitely payed off for my soccer skills, but more importantly it payed off for my health.

This all started about 5 years ago, and during that time it definitely started to show that an increase in my health was being made. In about 2 years, I jumped 3 divisions and made it to a provincial level, and from 14-16 I continued to play with the same team. The practices were brutal and and honestly there were mornings I wasn't getting out of bed because my abs hurt too much, or because us scrawny soccer players can do a max of 15 pushups and our coach squeezed one more out of us. In the end it all really payed off, because once I made that provincial team my PFTs finally reached 100%. The amount of mucus I was coughing up was huge, disgusting really (ask my girlfriend), but great for me. The numbers didn't increase much for a good while after, not until I quit soccer and began running.

Running is such a simple thing (and free!) and so good for people like us with Cystic Fibrosis. I don't exactly know why running gets stuff up, maybe it's the increased and harder breathing, or maybe it's the vibration of both feet hitting the ground, but whatever it is it gets junk out of our lungs. I began running about 3-4 times a week about a year ago, and not long after that I did my first 10km run, and did it in a time of 44:37. That's when I hit my highest PFT at 114%! It's been all over the place since then, as I've dealt with minor complications, but not once did it drop below 100%.

Now I've added swimming, biking, and lifting weights to my regime, and am really looking forward to completing my first triathlon next summer! Every single Cyster and Fibro can benefit from running twice a week, even once a week! There are countless stories of CF patients increasing their lung function and living a better life because of activity, and it doesn't necesarily have to be running, go join a recreational soccer team, basketball or any of the sort! Go get a gym membership and start lifting weights, or use the cardio machines they've got there. Anything is better than nothing! If this 17 year old boy can take control of his health, then anyone can.

Bio: My name's Eric Verdon, and I'm from Ottawa, Canada. My parents put me in soccer at the age of 4, and I continued it until I was 16. When I stopped playing, I found a new passion in running. Today I swim, bike and continue to run in hopes to complete my first triathlon next summer. I absolutely love learning about the body and am planning on studying kinesiology next year in hopes to continue my studies into medical school, focusing on sports medicine.

Note from Ronnie: I just want to thank Eric for sharing his story. I think it's so important to remember something he touched on - something is better than nothing! Many of us decide that since we can't do a lot of exercise, we'd rather just do none at all. Just as Eric pointed out however, there are plenty of options available to us if we want to get active. It's all about us choosing to quit making excuses and as Nike says, "Just Do It!!". Thank you again Eric for sharing your inspirational story!