Cystic Fibrosis Fatboy — Page 60 — The daily quest to gain weight

CF Fatboy Is Mildly Depressed

August 5, 2010

I’m sorry to make this a rant/sob story of the likes of Beautiful’s today, but we’re a team, and we are in this together. What affects one of us, no matter how opposite the other is in demeanor, time wears the other either up or down until we have a celebration day or a pity party with both of us immovable until even Fatboy breaks down and cries.

When we got married, we did our budget within the first month and were not able to make the numbers match up, but we somehow made it work. We out-earned our expenses. What got us ahead were career advancements and career moves with advancements. Our expenses stayed the same until 2 major life events in the last 2 years of our almost 4 years of marriage:

Buying our townhome
Fatboy going self-employed

There’s some good, bad, and ugly in those two events that look like this. This is where any but of sob story ends and it’s pure facts.
[Read more…]

The Coolest Medical Procedure I’ve Ever Had

August 4, 2010

This entry is part [part not set] of 4 in the series The History of Fatboy

We, as CFers, are no strangers to uncomfortable, if not horrible, medical procedures. Enemas, enteroclysis, PICC lines, central ports, and a slew of sinus surgeries. Today, I get to share with you the coolest procedure I’ve ever had done to me.

I can remember having issues with my meconium ileus scar getting infected since the 7th grade or so. Over on the left side was a dot of a hole on each side of the scar, as if I’d had my belly pierced. I often wondered if I could thread a paperclip from one side to the other. Every month or two, I’d notice it start to turn red, puff out, and then become a pussy mess that I could squeeze clean over the course of a few days. It happened without fail.

After this had gone on for years (I think I was 18 or 19), I finally decided I’d had enough of this and decided it warranted going to my primary care doctor to look at it. I was still going to a pediatric doctor since I hadn’t transitioned both my CF and non-CF care to adult services, so this may have been one of the coolest thing she had ever done.

[Read more…]

3 Things I’ve Learned About Life Because of CF

August 3, 2010

Having cystic fibrosis makes you a different breed one way or another. There are stronger CFers and there are weak, defeated CFers, but none of us are “normal,” no matter how hard we try. We are automatically changed, forged by CF into something different than who we would be without it.

A favorite topic among CFers is whether or not you got a genetic a re-do on life if you’d take it because of the different person you’d be without CF. I’d give up CF in a heartbeat and take my chances with my body working correctly and see what kind of person I’d be. A few things would be different, but not too many, I don’t think. One of the things is perspective. Here are some things I’ve learned about life because I have CF.

Life is short: Yeah, yeah. That’s cliché, but “normal” people say that. We have CF and have been given a different life expectancy number from the time we can remember. What we do with that expectation and how we let it affect us is what makes us different. [Read more…]

Meet Fatboy’s CF Coordinator: Sue

August 2, 2010

I went out on a limb one day a while back and asked my totally awesome coordinator if she would be willing to answer some interview questions so we, as CF patients could get her perspective on what she does and what we do/do not do as patients. I was threatened with life and limb or something about never getting another Rx again if the photo we took at Great Strides ended up on the Internet, so this post is sans-Sue photo. Instead, I’ve used a photo of a person pretending to be Sue. Just so we’re clear – this is not Sue (of course, she knows that!), so I can continue to receive treatment at my CF center.

She warned me of her rambling answers, but after reading through them, I have editorially decided to leave them be, and de-labeled them as rambling. It’s rather a stream of consciousness that makes perfect sense. I think they tell an interesting story that I’d never heard, and I’m sure most of you haven’t either.

Fatboy: Ok, so I know you’re an RN, but how did you get so darn good at being a coordinator with all of the administrative things that you do? You’re undoubtedly one of the reasons I’ve been able to get and remain compliant because of easy e-mail access to the doctors through you. Before it was like jumping through hoops to get meds or an appointment. Did you set out to change that or was that why you were selected as the new coordinator. Mad props to your administrative abilities. I couldn’t do your job.

[Read more…]

CF Fatboy Is Mildly Depressed

August 5, 2010

I'm sorry to make this a rant/sob story of the likes of Beautiful's today, but we're a team, and we are in this together. What affects one of us, no matter how opposite the other is in demeanor, time wears the other either up or down until we have a … [Read more]

The Coolest Medical Procedure I’ve Ever Had

August 4, 2010

3 Things I’ve Learned About Life Because of CF

August 3, 2010

Having cystic fibrosis makes you a different breed one way or another. There are stronger CFers and there are weak, defeated CFers, but none of us are "normal," no matter how hard we try. We are automatically changed, forged by CF into something … [Read more]

Meet Fatboy’s CF Coordinator: Sue

August 2, 2010

Time Elapsed Since IVs