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.

So it has been awhile....

Looking back on my last post I realize it has been forever and a day since I have blogged. So much has happened in my life that blogging just kind of took a backseat. I switched schools again...I know, I know... so indecisive. I'm finally at a college for good. I'll be starting my junior year soon...so excited! My boyfriend and I broke up for a couple months but recently reconnected and started dating again. I spent time with old and new friends. I've had the time of my life. I've experienced so much and learned so many lessons. I even went to Dayglow or Life in Color as its now called. So fun!!!

 My semester ended and then I went to have sinus surgery performed. My doctor recommended I go to an ENT who then decided sinus surgery would be the best thing. They were both under the assumption that bacteria in my sinuses were reinfecting my lungs causing exacerbations. They thought maybe it would help my CF. It seemed like a simple procedure. The ENT even said that I would most likely keep getting the procedure because I wanted it! He said it would make me feel so much better. The place I had my surgery at was two hours away from my home. I arrived and got prepped for surgery. I went back and they started putting something through my IV, not sure what but it made me very calm. I  heard the doctors talking but couldn't really understand. A surgery that wasn't suppose to take very long ended up taking several hours. In recovery my mom was told they wanted to transport me to a hospital. My doctor from home called my mom and let her know my oxygen was low before surgery and dropped pretty low during surgery. None of the people at the surgery place bothered to tell us before or during the surgery. Needless to say I went home that day, not the hospital, but was on oxygen for weeks after the surgery.  My functions plummeted from the 50s to the low 30s. I was in bad shape. I had to go in for a PICC line a couple days after.

 The sinus headaches never went away and I never felt better. My functions are back up but I would not consider getting the surgery again. I recently had to go back to the ENT where they removed scabs from inside my sinuses. If you look close you can see the red light shining through my mouth, nose, and eyes.

 I  wonder if anyone else had an experience like mine. I am going to get back on my blogging game. I just feel like my life isn't exciting enough to blog all the time but I'll try.