Poked and Proded

I am sure if you look it up in the dictionary a hospital is defined as a place of constant harrassment - tests, questions, specialists, allied health and even the cleaner. Someone always wants to ask you something, wants you to be somewhere or wants to do something to you. More often than not that something involves the providing them with some type of bodily substance and generally that isn't a bundle of fun. I have mentioned before how supportive Cam is when I have to have procedures. What I mightn't have mentioned is I am massively needle phoebic and sook like a 3 year old at the thought of getting jabbed. Cam is very understanding of this and always goes above and beyond to make sure he can be by my side for these types of things. Today I had my first ABG (Arterial Blood Gas) done. The idea of it scared the bejibbers out of me, and it certainly wasn't the highlight of my week, but as usual I had an expert hand-holder on my team assuring me it was going to be ok. And it was.

I meant to get a photo of the needle they used by they kind of whisked it all away very quickly, so more importantly I have my mans hands holding the site post test and making it all better again. Just another reason to be grateful.

A second home

When hospital is on, I'm in the car more than normal. Due to the location of the hospital and home the hours soon begin to escalate. I turned on the trip computer on just out of plain curiosity, and I had spent 4hrs 23mins driving that day.

View from the cockpit

This is a far cry from 3 years ago when we were first here in our new city. The hours I spent navigating the public transport systems unreliable timetables, and the very rough mud maps at the bus stops were sparse  and not overly helpful as they had no reference points or actual routes. It was select a coloured line and match it to the number on the bus, and follow the flashing blue dot on the smart phone until you were close to the destination you wanted before ringing the' next stop bell'. Riding the bus was really not that bad, its quite manageable to deal with dodging bogans, watching out for colds, and helping the bus driver find their way (1st time drivers always get lost), it was just the time it took to get anything done.

We have since acquired a vehicle, which is quite useful and helped us explore our city and region further, how ever it has seen a decline in my choice to walk short distances or utilise the public transport system, which I feel quite guilty about. Its Lazy! But despite this guilt about being very 'me centric' driving a vehicle with only one passenger it has become the only practical way to navigate the daily tasks and ferry between home and the hospital.

There are a few things about this second home which are good which include; its comfortable, fully adjustable, has a great sound system (which is fine unless you are listening to commercial radio.... and..."Heeellloooo Frank Walker from National....." comes on ahhhhhh, more notable at 5am) its quite fuel efficient and has a great storage in the trunk, which looks similar to a mobile wardrobe/kitchen/Storage during this time, when I keep nearly one of everything in there just incase. The amount of times I have forgotten the basics, especially socks as I become distracted about getting everything together.

There is only one bad point that I can point out... the Air Con is extremely intermittent, and sitting in traffic can be excruciating. The sweat starts to bead down the forehead  this is bearable. By winding down the window you lose the protection from the direct sunlight that is provided by the tint in the windows and the thick moist air rushes in.Such a

 We are lucky to have such a luxury of a car and in the big picture the bad points are only slightly irritation and quite trivial if placed in the scheme of things, and I'm lucky. I like driving - even if it does take over 4hours of sitting in the one position and with out it I wouldn't be able to spend as much time with my lovely new #wifey

-Cam

Love And Other Drugs (Of The Intravenous Antibiotic Variety)

I wrote this post a while ago but haven't posted it. I am not really sure why to be honest, I guess sometimes it is hard to share what having CF actually looks like - it often isn't pretty. Right now though, I am in hospital and I know some of our friends (especially the ones who didn't grow up with me) wonder why Cam and I 'disappear' periodically. So here it is, a post about what goes on when I get unwell. This time I was lucky enough to get a hospital bed, but the process and the stress and the dedication of one incredible person in my life remain the same - how lucky am I to have that guy?!

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Healthy Body, Healthy Relationship

I admit it. I am one of those freaks of nature that thrive on exercise. Hate me now. Cycling, ball sport, swimming, I enjoy all of it - the feeling of pushing my body to the max. But it doesn’t mean I don’t struggle with motivation from time to time. There are mornings that getting out of bed to hit the bike or tie up my runners is about as appealing as walking home in the rain because you have run out of petrol. There is no hour less that offers less motivation than 4 AM.

In a rude awakening to what was part of my New Years resolution I found myself facing this hour in a sleep-deprived haze a couple of weekends back.  The moment when the reality of taking on an enormous task hits you is never pleasant. That feeling of dread that slowly rises up from your stomach and threatens to disable every bone of ambition in your body. I had entered my first individual triathlon in two and a half years - Race Four of the QLD Gatorade Triathlon Series.

Love and Roses.

Last week was Sixty-Five Roses Week which aims to raise funds to support the genetic condition Cystic Fibrosis (CF). Obviously, this is something that is very close to my heart (or rather lungs), but each year when it rolls around there is something that really frustrates me.