Snow day in SC

Hey y'all! Now I know all you northerners are laughing your heads off at us southern folk, but we are not used to this weather! Now we only got a few inches, like 2 or 3, but that was enough to shut down all the schools and businesses in my area. Schools even got out early yesterday before anything happened at all, just in case. We had a wonderful snow day today filled with sledding and warm chicken soup. Schools in the area are delayed tomorrow but still in session, much to the dismay of my little sister.

But as the snow day ends my chest is now hurting a bunch, especially when I cough. My cough is never ending. But according to my doctor's appointment Monday, my pfts were up higher than they have been in a long while. So that's good! But what is not good is I still feel awful and my doctor is at a loss at what to do. My pfts never seem to stay up anymore. It is almost as if I can feel them dropping with every breath I take.

Who Am I?

Hey y'all! It has been awhile since I last posted, so sorry for that. So I figured this post should be a getting to know me post. I complained to y'all constantly and give you little tidbits of my life but I have never really shared much about me. Now I am not going to sit here and list my different medical conditions and such because that's not me.
Soooo here we go...try not to be too terribly bored.

 My name is Chelsea...obviously. I am 20 years old. I'll be 21 in July so I am pretty pumped. I expect to be carded as I stand 5'2 and look like I am 12. If y'all have not figured it out by now, I am from the south. South Carolina to be exact. I am a small town girl (so difficult to not bust out with the rest of the song). You cannot find my town on a map. I have a huge family that I love with all my heart no matter how crazy they get, and they get pretty crazy. I graduated with the same 185 kids I started kindergarten with, give or take a few.  I was a cheerleader for 8 years. I also graduated in the top 10% of my class. I took advanced class and such. I was a nerd, but a cheerleader. It balances.

 I am a junior in college now. I have been to three colleges so far. I do not like to stay in the same place for too long it seems. I am studying Early Childhood Education to become a kindergarten teacher. Most of you know that I live underwater in my own apartment, but will soon be moving to dry land. My favorite place to be is the beach and I hope to move there some day. My favorite color is green, like my eyes.

I have many hobbies. I am a total bookworm. No matter where I am at, in the car, the kitchen, heck even the bathroom, I will always have a book with me. I love to babysit my baby brother who is three. He is my main man. I love shopping, for anything, even groceries. I love hanging out with my friends, especially on the weekends around the fire. I like to ride around in my car and listen to country music. I am severely addicted to Pinterest. I am a big fan of quotes. I love eating. You can't tell because I only weigh 86 pounds, but I eat like a grown man. Food is my passion. I eat mostly chicken, chicken anything. I am also a huge fan of Kaminsky's Pecan Pie. I love doing crafts and I love to paint canvases!

My main hobby, which I intend to turn into a career one day, is baking. I love to bake. I was accepted into culinary school but declined to get my Early Childhood Education degree. I want to open my own bakery one day, preferably on the beach.

 I'm sure there is more about me but I just cannot think of much else. I probably will as soon as I post this. That always happens.

It sickens me to see CFers so hateful

Hey y'all! This blog is a more serious one than the past. I'm completely and utterly disgusted with the way the CF community acts towards one another. I started going to online CF forums and places like CF confessions to be able to relate to people like me. I wanted people I could talk to and share my feelings with. These people should be the ones who understand and support you. But sadly they are not. It disappoints me to see CFers tearing other CFers down. You cannot post how you feel, your deep feelings that you cannot tell others, without getting trashed. It's sad and frankly I don't want to be apart of such a nasty community. So if you're one of those people who feel the need to tear others down, leave my blog and do not come back. I do not put others down and I will not allow that to go on. I want a blog where people can comment and share their feelings no matter without being downed. You do not know what battles others are fighting. You have no right to judge others. What's even more disappointing is seeing adults with CF doing this to one another. It's childish and nasty. I came to these websites looking for acceptance but now I do not want anything to do with those people. CFers should stand together, should fight together. We should be supporting other CFers. People need to grow up. This just makes me sick. My blog is an accepting place to share your feelings if you so wish. Nasty comments and downing will not be tolerated here. It's just downright hateful. Pathetic really. Anyone else notice this kind of behavior going on? Does it not bother you? We need to stand together and eliminate this hate!

It's 3 o' clock in the morning, sleeping is boring

Hey y'all! I can never sleep at night anymore it seems. It sucks because I'm so gosh darn tired. So here I am at this absurd hour, watching The Perks of Being a Wallflower writing this blog post and generally feeling like death. Despite being on IV antibiotics, it seems like I am getting sicker.  My lungs hurt, pretty bad actually. I keep having awful cough attacks. You CFers know what I'm talking about. Those attacks where you just can't stop coughing and you feel like you're going to puke and it leaves you gasping for air at the end for like 5 minutes. I just typed all that while having one of those said attacks.  Skills, my friends, skills. I woke up to a soaking wet apartment again yesterday. But the guys came in immediately to vacuum up the water and tell me what they are going to do. Well they might be fixing this apartment but I'm getting out of the place. After having to put my rain boots on just to get to my kitchen, I spent the rest of the morning at the library in a comfy chair with my laptop looking on craigslist. After standing in my kitchen later on that night cooking dinner and realizing a pipe in there was leaking, I was absolutely fed up. So I am spending the whole day today, you know once the sun comes up, riding around looking for an apartment. I will not return home until I find one.  I'll let y'all know how it goes. I also have a dinner date and I'm all for some free food. So all in all, a good day shall be had I suppose. I finished The Fault in our Stars and I must admit that I bawled like a baby. I still highly recommend it though. My port is still hurting and now my shoulder on that side hurts. Seems like one thing after another. Story of my life actually. But I will not let it get me down. I'm still holding out hope that a rich Prince Charming will swoop in to save me from my life right now, and preferably take me to a dry apartment. This post is just a sleepless rant  that jumps all over the place. I'm sorry y'all.

Ports and Books and Food...Oh My!

Maybe blogging will work out for me this time. It's a really good way to keep busy and I love writing. I went to have my port needle changed for the first time today! I was so nervous, especially since the woman next to me at the place also had a port and she was having to be rushed to the hospital because hers clotted up. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The nurses there used a needle that was smaller than the ones at the hospital. They also used a different dressing that doesn't make me want to itch my skin off, thank goodness! So it went well. Still not happy with the port, but I'm sure that will change in time. On the subject of the port...does anyone have any suggestions on keeping it dry in the shower? The hospital said Glad press and seal with some tape. I've tried it. I even tried layers of it using whole rolls of tape but the dressing always gets wet. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I'm reading the book The Fault in our Stars by John Green because I saw many CFers talking about it. I'm loving it! I'm not done with it yet, but I highly recommend it. I love the main character's perspective. Does anyone know of any books about someone with CF that are a good read? If not I may need to write one. That'd be fun. I don't know what I'd talk about but still...I could try. I'm definitely a reader and a writer.
This post is jumping around a lot but I write about what my brain tells me at the moment and I always have 50 million thoughts going on.
It's weird being out of school while all my friends are back in. This break from school is giving me a chance to relax and do stuff I want. By the way, thanks for all the support on that decision y'all! This is going to sound super lame but last night I was super proud of myself and felt so accomplished. What did I do to feel like this? Well I went grocery shopping and managed to get food to make 8 dinners, snacks, and my life necessities ( Mountain Dew and Masterpiece barbecue sauce). I got all that food for  $135. I'm trying to be a smart shopper. Next shopping trip will be less money but more food. That's my goal. One last thing for this blog. I got a crockpot for Christmas and I'm downright obsessed. Does that make me an adult?

Calling all Cysters and Fibros

Hey y'all! I'm currently writing this blog via my iPhone so please forgive me if I make some mistakes. My apartment does not have internet anymore. Anyways!!!! I have never really got to know anyone with CF. So I'm calling for all my Cysters and Fibros! I want some CF friends. It's nice to be able to have people who actually understand. If I try to talk to my friends about things, they can get uncomfortable or can't fully understand. Sometimes I tend to have a dark sense of humor and I also like to openly talk about things others feel are scary, like dying and stuff of that nature. I need people I can talk to, people who understand! I'm fun, at least I think so.  I just want to make some new friends with CF. So come on!!!
On another note, my endocrinologist has put me on 10 units of lantus at night but when I take it my blood sugar drops too low. Anyone else have this problem?

In need of a boat...or a new apartment!

Wow two posts in one day...I am already doing better than last time.
I am currently living in an apartment in Charleston. If y'all know anything about Charleston, you know that when it rains, it floods. I have the perfect flood joke..ready for it?

Need an ark?...I Noah guy. Hahahahahaha! 

See, my apartment is on the first floor and right by the main doors to the building. Since I have lived there, which has only been a month, my apartment has flooded 5 times (no lie). But my apartment does not fill up with water from the rain coming in under my door or anything. The water that soaks the floors in my apartment comes from an interior wall. Apparently a pipe that comes off the roof is rusted out in the walls in the apartment above me. Every time it rains the carpet in my apartment becomes soaking wet. When I walk on it, little puddles form around my feet.

 This is a problem. This water problem has caused mold everywhere on the walls. I cannot even imagine how molded the carpet must be underneath.

Now y'all are probably wondering why I don't just ask the landlord to fix it...well I have...multiple times. It still has not been fixed. These guys come in with a shop vac every time and shop vac my carpet a little. Then they take some bleach and rub my walls down. They even tore a wall down but did nothing else. They refuse to do anything else.

Now I know, I know, with my CF this is a serious problem. I mean MOLD everywhere?! Not good for my lungs. I can tell it takes a toll on me because I feel awful just being there or maybe its just the fact that it feels like I am in a tropical rain forest when I am there. I cannot get the landlord to see this as a serious problem nor can I get her to do anything about the mold or carpets. They need to be ripped up for real. So I am currently looking for a new place to live for around the same, if not lower price. Preferably a place that does not flood every time it rains. I am so over having to wear shoes to get to my kitchen. If anyone is interested in living in a rain forest or an apartment on the water, literally, please contact me, I know the perfect place.

Taking a semester off

I know I promised to be more of a blogger last year and I was a failure of epic proportions. This year will be different. I will have more time to blog. I am taking the semester off of school! This was a decision I deliberated on for weeks and weeks. I am still not completely happy with it but I know it is probably for the best.
*Flashback to last semester*
I was sick as could be and managed to get 3 PICC lines in four months. My FEV1 dipped to 22%. Despite all of this, I managed to not miss any class. I prided myself on being in class no matter how sick I was. I am an early childhood education major so I worked in a school this past semester with kindergartners. As much as I loved my kinderbabies, they made me so sick. One week I could not even talk because I had coughed so much that I messed my throat up. I even spent a weekend in the hospital and got out just in time to be at my practicum school on Monday to teach my kinderbabies. School and my kinders were the most important things to me. My health fell by the wayside. My parents and doctors both urged me to put my health first but my stubborn 20 year old self had my eyes on the prize- a college degree.
*Back to now*
My health has declined once more. My chest is heavy and I can barely breathe. I have had massive cough attacks. I cannot taste or smell anything. Every night since New Year's Eve, I have coughed up copious amounts of blood. My FEV1 was at 32% and I had lost four pounds. My doctor decided it was time for another hospitalization. My doctor also thought getting a port was the best thing to do. Now I am a pretty skinny girl. I am only 5'2 and weigh a whopping 82 pounds. My main concern as a 20 year old female was how the port would make me look and how much it would stick out.
So I was hospitalized. The first night they stuck me four times before the nurses could finally successfully start an IV. That night should have signaled to me that this visit would be bad. I was stuck over 20 times within 6 days. I just seemed to get stuck with nurses that could not draw blood or start IVs. New nurses I am assuming but hey, they have to learn at some point. Lucky for them they got to practice on me and not someone who screams and cries at the sight of a needle. Then Monday I was wheeled down and put to sleep and my port was placed.  Now I am not going to lie, so far I hate it. It sticks out and looks hideous. But hopefully one it heals I will like it more. I am finally out of the hospital. I am still in lots of pain from the port. I feel even worse than before I went into the hospital.

School starts Monday. It feels weird to not be starting. I have been going to school since kindergarten with no breaks except summers. I feel lazy. I know I need to take this time to focus on my health. It is the most important, especially when my doctors are talking of sending me to talk to the transplant people. I just wish I did not feel like I was taking the easy way out. I need to find something to fill my time this semester between appointments and treatments. Blogging will probably be my saving grace to keep me from going crazy.