Good Weekend

Hello World!

How was everyones weekend? Mine was good. I got to hangout with a friend who lives in CT now. She is one of my best friends but because of the distance we don't see eachother as often as we used too. But she made the trek up to NH so we could go to a surprise party for another friend together. It was fun! The party was in Boston. So me and my friend, Chels, went to see the Justin Bieber movie. I know what you are thinking, "Why" but hey, the kid is talented. Besides I'm not 100% ready to grow up and give up my teeny-bopper crushes. I like to stay young! Haha. It was a good movie. After the movie we went to the surprise party! It was great. Our other friend, Danielle, had no idea! Overall it was a good weekend.

The birthday girl and her BF

Birthday Shots!!

Me, Danielle and Chels!

Breathe Easy

Stellar Weekend

Hello World!

I had a GREAT weekend!! I hope yours was just as good. My weekend started Friday night. I went to a surprise party for my friends mother. It was her 50th! It was so fun. They are great people. Her friends even roasted her. That was probably the best part. Very funny.

This is her Cake!



On Saturday I had brunch at another friends house. Her mom cooked us breakfast and then we talked about her wedding. I'm a bridesmaid so we chit-chatted about dresses, colors, and pretty much all things wedding. I got to see her dress too, BEAUTIFUL! I have a picture but will not post it. I don't want anyone seeing it who isn't suppose tooo!! After brunch I went back to my house and vegged out for a few hours and talked more wedding stuff, but for a different wedding, with my Ma. My older brother is getting married as well. He is actually getting hitched the weekend before my friend! Very close together. So me and my mother talked about my brothers wedding and all that jazz. Saturday evening I went out roller skating for my birthday! It was awesome! So much fun. Friday, I got the all clear from my doctor to roller skate O2 free! That was probably the best part. It was so nice not having to lug my tank around! After roller skating the group of us went out to TGIFridays for drinks and food. There my friends surprised me with a cake!! It was super yummy! Vanilla and white frosting... The best kind out there! They put 25 candles on it too. Wow, that was tough to blow out, I required a little help, haha. Over all it was a great birthday!!

The bunch that went roller skating!

Blowing out my candles!!

Sunday was just a day of relaxation and recovery. I just vegged out most of the day. Watched a few movies with my mom. Tomorrow I have to plans to for a lunch and movie date with some girl friends. It should be fun! Overall it was a great weekend. One of the best I've had in a long time. I just love my friends. They are so good to me!

On a CF note. Today is officially 9 months of waiting for my transplant. A person can grow a baby inside them in 9 months.... I'm ready for my babies. BWH call me....

Breathe Easy



Coming Up

Hello World!

How is everyone doing? It has been a little while since I have checked in here. I'm doing great. 2 days away from my birthday! So excited. I think my birthday should be a national holiday. Everyone should have it off from work and just celebrate!! Haha.

Well on the CF front I am actually feeling WONDERFUL! I was recently put on Doxycycline, an antibiotic, and it is working wonders! I have been on it in the past but it didn't work as well. I guess the bugs in my lungs are the right combo this time. I haven't felt this "clear" in my lungs in probably a month. It feels so good to breathe!!! As for my weight, its... uh.... its getting better. Its not improving as fast as I was hoping it would but it is improving. Slowly. So I just keep eating away. If you have any high calorie snack ideas, feel free to share them. I'm always looking for new food to munch on and I like to carry it with me. I'm a grazer not a big meal eater. So if you have any suggestions, please share them with me!!

I have a busy weekend coming up. Tomorrow I have a surprise party to go to for a friends mother. She is turning 50!! Its going to be great. I got to go with my friend and help pick out decorations. I love to decorate! Haha. My dad is helping me make some yummy appetizers to bring over too. It will be a good night. Saturday I have a bridesmaid brunch to attend! Super excited about that. We are going to talk wedding details. I will also get to meet the Maid of Honor. It will be loads of fun! Then Saturday night... BIRTHDAAAYYY!! We will be roller skating the night away! So pumped! Haven't been roller skating since I was about 12. Yayyy!! I'm getting excited just thinking about it. :) Sunday will be a recovery day from Saturday. I'm expecting to be beridden with soar muscles. Hahaha But it is going to be soooo worth it!

I have also been plugging away at my beading! I have done mostly braceletes but a few other things too. I'll blog more about my beading adventures another time. It has been fun though. I'm really liking it.

Breathe Easy

Pray

Hello World!

Whether you like Justin Bieber or not this is a great song. It is one of my favorites.



Breathe Easy

B-day is coming

Hello World!

My birthday is in 7 days, February 19th. I am going to be the big 2-5!! I am so excited. 25 is a milestone in anyones life. But I feel extra grateful for turning 25 because I almost didn't see 24! I love birthdays. You are never guaranteed another and battling Cystic Fibrosis just adds an extra hurdle to overcome everyday. Now, I know some people will read that and think "wow, thats negative" But its not, its realistic. The average life expectancy for someone with CF these days is about 35 years. Yes there are people who live longer, and I've met.. well, spoken to them. But there are also some out there that don't see 10 or 16 or 20. So I am very grateful for every year of life I get. I love to celebrate with friends and family. Doing it big is the only way to celebrate a birthday!! Wooo!!

ANYWHO! My parents, who are wonderful, got me an iPhone for my birthday! I am absolutely in love with it! I don't know how I survived without one for so long, haha. It is the second best gift I have ever gotten. The first gift being Tucker for my 23rd birthday. If you have an iPhone and have an good or interesting apps let me know! I'm partial to free ones but if they are good enough I'll splurge and buy one.

Breathe Easy

Extra Baggage

Hello World!

Well this is turning out to be a very busy and expensive month. Lots of doctor's appointments. Several birthdays - Including Mine!! - Have to register and inspect my car. May not seem like a lot but its a busy month for me considering how much activity I usually have.

My poor baby Tucker didn't feel well today. I think he had an upset stomach. I'll be watching him the next couple of days. He was extremely mellow and just wanted to sleep all day. He was also much more clingy than he usually is. A typical Tucker day involes bringing me a toy to throw ALL day long! He doesn't have an off switch, haha. So it was weird that all he wanted to do was sleep today.

Here he is at bedtime trying to get me to throw it one more time.



Had another doctor's appointment today. It went better than I thought it would. My PFTs are still 25% but atleast they didn't drop. My weight went down another couple pounds. Thats not good! So I have to increase my tube feeds. I may have to be hooked up around the clock. Thank God I have a portable pump. Although carrying a bag for tube feedings and a bag for oxygen, I look like I moving out! Haha. It is a lot of extra baggage. Hopefully the round the clock feedings is only temporary. I have to check in again next Monday.

A fellow CFer posted this quote and I liked it... "Cystic Fibrosis can't get me down cause I'm a deep breather, power eater, germ zapper, pill popper, and I shake for the fun of it" - AM

Breathe Easy



Give Back!

Hello World!

I'm asking everyone, and I mean everyone to please, PLEASE donate! All donations got to Childhood Cancer Research. One of my best friends (Chelsea) and her fiance (Matt) are raising funds and participating in an event called St. Baldrick's. I would be forever grateful to anyone who donates. It is for a wonderful cause.

This is the story she has shared with me and I share with you...

Hi Friends + Family,

You may remember that Matt and I have both participated in fund raising for St. Baldrick's Foundation for the past two years through New Britain EMS where he works as an EMT (although only Matt shaves his head!)

On Saturday, March 19, NBEMS is sponsoring an event to benefit St. Baldrick's, the world's largest volunteer-driven fund raising event for childhood cancer research. At the event, volunteers shave their heads in solidarity of children with cancer, while requesting donations of support from friends and family.

This year, Matt is co-coordinating the entire event, and along with many of his co-workers, will be shaving his head. I will be volunteering at the event as well. This is such a worthy cause, and I'm very proud that Matt is heading up this year's effort in addition to working (more than) m full time, attending paramedic school, serving as part of NBEMS's conference team in Baltimore next month AND helping me plan our wedding – PHEW! (Plus, seeing him with his bald head in past years wasn't so bad – I kinda thought he was handsome! Don't worry...it will grow back by the wedding!)

What makes this cause particularly relevant to us is that in 2008, coincidentally right before the inaugural St. Baldrick's event, Matt's cousin RJ who was 8 years old at the time, had a tumor about the size of a golf ball in his brain, and underwent immediate surgery. It was a very shocking, scary experience, but RJ's surgery went well and they were able to remove all but about 2% of the tumor, which was, unfortunately, determined to be malignant. Since then, RJ has recovered amazingly and is a happy, healthy kid (who loves playing football for North Branford). RJ's story is one of many, and all of them are a testament to the importance that good funding has on the lives of children with pediatric cancer and their friends and family.

The event goal is $10,000, and of course we'd love to surpass that benchmark. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to give back, particularly having gone through RJ's experience in '08.

Please consider a sponsorship donation for St. Baldrick's. Every penny helps bring us closer to our fund raising goal -- every little bit counts!

For more information on NBEMS's St. Baldrick's event or to support Matt and his bald head, visit his page. Donations can be made through Matt's page online, by phone or via snail mail. If you have any questions, please let me know. Thanks for reading and, as always, for your love and support!

Thank you,
Chelsea + Matt

This is the link to Matt's page... http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/participantid/423252

Matt at St. Baldrick's last year.

Matt and RJ.

Thank you in advance and please pass this along to anyone you think would be interested! Much Love!

Breathe Easy

A Busy Few Days

Hello World!

Well I have been busy the last fews days. Which isn't usually the case. Over the weekend one of my best friend's celebrated her 25th birthday. It was fun! A group of us went out to dinner the did some dancing. The end of the night wasn't great. She ended getting into a fight with her boyfriend. Yikes, it was a crazy blowout.

Me and the Birthday Girl!

Monday my day was filled with doctors appointments. Not fun. I have lost 6lbs in a week and a half. My lung functions are also down to 25%. They were 33% when I left the hospital. This bugs me because I am doing everything in my power to stay healthy and I just seem to be falling at a faster rate than ever before. Because of the not so good appointment I have to go back next Monday and discuss having a hospital visit again. I am dreading it. I'm also hoping for a super improvement in a week! Ha, trying to stay positive but my life, health wise just sucks right now. I need those new lungs. BWH call me already! haha!

Yesterday I spent the day with my Brothers. My older brother took my out to lunch at this new Mac and Cheese place. You can basically make anykind of mac and cheese you want. You can add meats and different sauces, its pretty cool. I added extra cheese and tuna to my. Tuna Mac. It was good. And loaded with calories!! Yesss! He has CF too so all those cheesey calories are good for him too! Then we went to the mall to pick up a Valentine's Day gift for his fiance. She likes turtles, so he got her a necklace with a turtle pendant on it with black and white diamonds. Super pretty! Later we met up with our younger brother. We then went bowling! My older brother, Jason, successfully kicked our butts. After bowling we went to the movies and saw The Mechanic. AWESOME!!! It was so good. I also got popcorn, nothing better than movie theater popcorn... with EXTRA butter! Hahaha. Sooo Goooood! It was a fun day with the boys!

The little bro, Ryan.

The older bro, Jason.

Today snowed all day here. So it was mostly just a hangout day. My mom took the day off work so she wouldn't have to drive in the mess. Watched some TV with her and chit chatted. It was nice. I did suit up and go romp in the snow with the dogs. They just love the snow, can't get enough! Haha. It was fun. Overall a nice, relaxing day! Tomorrow... back to pulmonary rehab. BOOO! ha! I also have a charity event I'm going to. It is called Taste For a Cure. Its a wine tasting and silent auction. All proceeds going to the CF Foundation. It will be fun. They usually have some good stuff to bid on! I'm excited.

Breathe Easy