Cystic Fibrosis Fatboy — Page 75 — The daily quest to gain weight

Growing Up – Hospital Style

June 19, 2010

Wouldn’t you know it, but it seems like darn near all of my new blogging/Twitter CF peeps are in “jail” right now for one thing or another, including a successful double-lung transplant. I thought it would be a good time to run down what my hospital stays used to be like, but I do have to apologize for the lack of real photos. See, they didn’t have cameras back when they used to put me in the can.

Annual clean-outs

That’s what they called it every summer. Sometimes July, sometimes August – depending on the Little League schedule, I think. I’d go in for 2 weeks, rain or shine as far as my cough was concerned. Come to think of it, I can only remember two or three times they put me in the hospital for my cough that wasn’t an annual clean-out.

Back then, you didn’t get your own room. Heck, the TV was a 5″ box that swung around next to your bed and cost $7/day to have turned on. There were times we couldn’t afford for me to have TV while I was in the hospital and times where they busted both arms with IVs and I couldn’t swing the TV by myself. I remember bonking my head one night because I fell asleep with the TV right in front of my face. Ah, memories!
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This Is a Story About In/Dependence

June 18, 2010

This entry is part [part not set] of 1 in the series Insurance, Working, and Disability

In my new family by marriage, we like to preface a good story with, “this is a story about…” Thus the title of this article. I plan on this being a new series, so I’m not diving in too deeply into any particular aspect that I am touching on tonight. Let’s call this an overview.

I may have come across harshly with a couple of Twitter folks last week when the topic of being disability came up, so I want to discuss the topic a bit. Explore the water. Clear the air. Join in and let’s see how the community feels. I really hope this isn’t too disjointed, because it ended up in four separate articles by the time I was done.

Upon reading this, some of you may love me more or hate me and never come back. Who I am, though, is a very cut-and-dry, black and white person. I see very little gray in the world, though I’ve been through enough of those muckety-muck college courses to hear about how the world is painted in monochrome, but I don’t buy it for a nickel.

I guess I’m saying, “you’ve been warned if you want to just keep thinking of me a nice, positive guy who thinks the best of everyone and wants to help people;” because I am, but I’m also an onion with many layers. I chose these two photos for this piece because they capture my attitude pretty well. I only listen to those who have my ear through earning my respect from friendship, past experience, or academia that isn’t useless academia. I will go up that hill. I will gain this weight. I will live a long and healthy life with Beautiful. I will not accept anything less than the best for us.

This is a story about dependence…

In Tampa, there was/is this program called Abilities that I used their assistance around 1998 because I was a poor college student who wanted to lessen the burden from my parents’ budget for all of my extra food and some medical supplies. I had a job working at the cancer lab on campus for $5.15/hr that year, which basically paid for my gas and let me go to a movie per week, which I went to early to study in the big, quiet theater. Abilities needed all of my food and medical receipts and pay stubs to process everything, then I got a reimbursement check. Isn’t it nice that they didn’t bother to help me with budgeting or making sure I was making the money I was earning work for me? They didn’t teach me to fish, they just gave me as little fish as possible to live on “better.”

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Get in My Belly, Wee Man!

June 17, 2010

If you’ve been keeping up recently (I know, I’ve been awesome and posting something new every day for a while now) with this week’s happenings, Beautiful and I went on an out-of-state family vacation to a big cabin outside of Gatlinburg, TN. It’s been GREAT, but it wasn’t without its planning and accomodating for me and my dietary needs.

Since I didn’t have CF before March (wink, wink), we never did much to do anything special for me other than just accept that I was going to order more food and request that we eat earlier and more often than anyone. Before this site, even they didn’t understand the full effects that food has on my health, to no fault of their own. I hid it because I always want to be normal.

This time was different! We had extra portions for me, extra sides, we brought a ton of Boost Plus, and I was completely unashamed to finish others’ portions, like how I practically ate two full meals at Pappadeaux tonight before going to the baseball game. “Beasting it up” became the badge of honor, as was “being a champ” for either first done, most eaten, and sometimes both.

I didn’t quite hit my 130lb goal for vacation, but there’s no way in the world that I’m disappointed with these results.

Three Moments That Have Changed My Life

June 16, 2010

“Moments make the man.”

If that’s not a real quote by a really famous person yet, I declare it to be mine now. Actions speak louder than words, but it’s the moments at which both happen that change people, nay, change history. When a fire comes through and destroys the landscape, new growth comes in. Think of those fires as “moments” and the new growth as the men and women that make things happen from the bleak situation.

Where would we be without The Gettysburg Address, “I Have a Dream,” or Thomas Edison’s final material test that brought about the lightbulb? Thankfully, Edison lost the war between DC and AC current powering the world’s power grid, but now I’m just bragging about my love of engineering history.

I’ve been called an optimist more times on this site than in my entire life, but I can assure you, I have a deep, dark side that I do everything in my power to keep under control and undercover for the sake of Beautiful and those whom I’m trying to help. Some bloggers do this dark blogging as a release, an outlet, under monikers or anonymously, which I do not fault them for in the least. I’ve made Beautiful sad on more than a few occasions in these first 80 articles/posts, as I’m sure I’ve done the same to my parents and in-laws through my writing.

That’s right, we are up over 80 now, and I thank you all for your loyal readership.

So… what are Fatboy’s Top Three Moments?

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Growing Up – Hospital Style

June 19, 2010

Wouldn't you know it, but it seems like darn near all of my new blogging/Twitter CF peeps are in "jail" right now for one thing or another, including a successful double-lung transplant. I thought it would be a good time to run down what my hospital … [Read more]

This Is a Story About In/Dependence

June 18, 2010

In my new family by marriage, we like to preface a good story with, "this is a story about..." Thus the title of this article. I plan on this being a new series, so I'm not diving in too deeply into any particular aspect that I am touching on … [Read more]

Get in My Belly, Wee Man!

June 17, 2010

If you've been keeping up recently (I know, I've been awesome and posting something new every day for a while now) with this week's happenings, Beautiful and I went on an out-of-state family vacation to a big cabin outside of Gatlinburg, TN. It's … [Read more]

Three Moments That Have Changed My Life

June 16, 2010

"Moments make the man." If that's not a real quote by a really famous person yet, I declare it to be mine now. Actions speak louder than words, but it's the moments at which both happen that change people, nay, change history. When a fire comes … [Read more]

Annual clean-outs

This is a story about dependence…

“Moments make the man.”

Time Elapsed Since IVs