Back to School, Back to School, to prove to Daddy I'm not a fool

Hey y'all!
Like the title? I love Billy Madison!
It was my first day back at school...and it started bad.

• My silly self took a way to school that I do not usually take and parked in a meter spot. To make a long story short y'all....I got lost walking to campus in the hot sun. I don't even know how I managed that. I think I'm losing my mind hahaha!
• The IV medicine I am taking has slowly starting showing that I'm having an allergic reaction. yesterday I woke up itching, today I woke up with a swollen, red, blotchy face. How will tomorrow go?
• It was hot, hot, HOT! I wore a black shirt. (I told you I was losing my mind)
• The bookstore ran out of the book I need!
• A freshman hit on me, bless his heart

Y'all one of my professors sounds like the teacher on Ferris Bueller's Day off! No lie! But he is actually very entertaining!

Tomorrow is friday so it has to be better!

College and ports

Hey y'all!
So as y'all know from my last post, I have not been feeling well at all. I ended up going to the doctor's Monday to get a quick check before I started school Thursday (TOMORROW!!). My numbers were the lowest they have ever been. My pulse ox was also 92% and when I did the walking test, it dipped down to 87%. My weight dropped too (of course). Well I was put straight on antibiotics through my port. So I am starting my senior year of college with a port, not that this will be my last year at college haha.

I am so excited to start school. I sound like a total nerd but when you have to miss school, it makes you want it more. Although I am classified as a senior, I still have more than a year left at college. It is fine because I mean if you don't take forever to graduate then are you really even doing college right? Just kidding, I would be graduating had I not decided to transfer and change major but you win some, you lose some. I am just a little concerned walking to class because I think I might actually collapse on the sidewalk. I have no energy and can not catch my breath. We will see!
See y'all next time!

Dear People Who Think I am Lazy

Hey y'all!
I have not been feeling all that great lately again unfortunately. I can't catch my breath and my pulse ox is running 88-91. So to make things simple....I just want to lay in bed all day and sleep. That seems to be the number one thing that people without CF do not understand. They do not understand that we are not being lazy. We simply need days to catch our breath. Even my friends do not understand. They say I need to get out more and get up and do something and to stop being lazy. Even if I explain that I do not feel good, they seem to think that getting up and doing something will magically make me better. In other words....they just think I'm being lazy. It is really aggravating. Especially since they do not understand. This is coming from people who stop their whole lives for a cold. So this is a note to those people who think I'm lazy:

Dear people who just think I'm being lazy,
Please do not pretend to understand how I feel and then criticize me. Sometimes I do not feel good. Sometimes my oxygen is low. Sometimes I'm so sleepy that I cannot get out of bed. Sometimes I cannot breathe and have cough attacks that leave me gasping for air. I am not being lazy. I am not "pulling the sick card." I am sick. Sorry that you do not understand that. Unfortunately I barely have good days. I do not bother you when you lay in bed for days because you have a cold or when you complain loudly when you cannot stop coughing from the cold. Why must you bother me about what I do? Just leave me be, let me have my sick days, my "lazy" days. I do the best I can. I can promise you there are days when I feel like absolute crap but I am still out there going to class, walking tons, cleaning, making dinner, babysitting, all without complaining. You have no idea what it feels like to have to stop and rest after walking for a couple minutes because you're out of breath. You focus on you and I will focus on me.
Love,
Chelsea

Tips for the CF College Kid

Hey y'all! So as y'all know I have been to three colleges so I kind of consider myself an expert on college. One day I may even graduate. I have had some ups and downs throughout my ongoing college experience so I figured I would share some tips for all you kids heading off to college this fall.

Chelsea's College Tips

• Do not overpack. This is crucial because your mom will be taking some stuff back home when she leaves you. Your dorm room is not that big, especially when you have to share it. You will not use a quarter of the stuff you bring, I can almost guarantee it. That cool lap desk thing? It will sit under your bed. Make sure you have all of your health stuff!
• You will not need those 50 shirts from high school. You will get tons of free shirts.
• Bring a power strip. There will not be enough outlets for all your things especially once you have your vest and breathing machine going.
• A plastic 3 drawer compartment thing will come in handy to hold all your medicines and CF supplies. If you do not have CF, it is still pretty handy.
• Use ratemyprofessor.com when registering for classes. You will know what to expect from the class and what to expect from the professor. But keep in mind just because some people do not care for a professor does not mean you will hate him too.
• Get out of your dorm. I repeat, get out of your dorm and make friends.
• If you happen to be in your dorm, leave your door open. Believe me, that is how you make friends. People will just walk into your room and BAM instant friends.
• If you go to a party, pour your own drink and watch it the whole party. Do not put it down, this even applies to just soda.
• Do not go off with people you do not know well. I know that sounds like common sense but you will meet so many people in college that you'll feel more comfortable than you should with a stranger. 
• You might decide to drink- make sure you have a friend with you.
• Stay away from smoke-no brainer.
• Be organized- you will lose stuff if you are not.
• If you have CF, be upfront with your roommate and suite mates or get a private room. This eliminates you having to sneak in treatments like I tried to do for the first few weeks. They will understand. If they do not, request a new room or sit down and talk through a solution, such as you doing treatments when she is in class or her leaving when you need to do them.
• Also  sign up with student disability services. I know it may not be something you want to do, but it is better to do it now just in case than having to do it as you are sitting in the hospital. Plus you usually get to register early- better classes!
• Make time for your treatments- its going to be hard at first. You're going to want to skip to do other things but it really is important to make time.
• Take your enzymes because the college cafeteria is going to mess your stomach up.
• With that being said, always have enzymes on you because you will never know when you will eat.
• Make sure you have lots of snacks and little microwave meals. Some dorms even have a kitchen you can cook in. You might not feel like going to the cafeteria or you may get hungry when it is closed. My roommate and I lived off CVS pre-packaged subs for a week because we kept missing dining hours. Gross- I know.
• Your roommate does not have to be your best friend but you do want to get along. I loved all my roommates. They are fantastic.
• College finals are going to stress you out but they will end and you will be fine.
• Get plenty of sleep. All nighters are not as cool as they seem.
• Bring air freshener for that shared bathroom!
• If you can avoid it, do not buy your textbooks from the bookstore. It will drain you financially. Try chegg.com, amazon.com, half.com, and other textbook sites. They are usually much less expensive.
• Also try to sell your books back to those sites or to other students. The bookstore will not give you much. After spending over $550 on textbooks, I got $30 back at the end of the semester. No joke.
• Do not sign up for 8am classes if you do not normally like to get up early. You will skip. Do not think just because you got up in high school that you will get up for that class.
• Do the extra credit.
• Keep a calendar with everything due.
• Make a schedule including treatments and medicine and such.
• It is a lot easier to be upfront about your CF with people in college. It really is.
• It is really easy to get run down in college. Trust me because it happened to me. You have to stay on top of your health.
• Have fun but stay healthy!!

All right y'all...that is my list so far. If I think of anymore I will add to it of course. Feel free to post your own tips in the comment section.

Back and better than ever (sort of)

Hey y'all! It has been awhile but I have had so much going on lately. Well y'all know I got out of that nasty apartment (Yay!), and I have finally found somewhere else to live! Its a cute little house. I am so excited. Living at home is just not for me anymore.

I also started back with school! I am taking online classes this summer to catch up but I plan on graduating in a year and a half (double yay)! I am a hospitality management major now which will help with running my dream bakery. My books were so expensive (boo college).

I'm still not feeling great, but hey feeling bad is the new normal right? I tried IV antibiotics for awhile and when I came off of them I felt so great....for a week and then I crashed. But that week was great. I went to Carowinds and could walk around without getting short of breath. I had a great time. Oh and when I first came off antibiotics my pfts had jumped way up and my doctors decided to cancel my transplant evaluation!!

 But my most important news is that one of my best friends finally had her baby! She is precious and all things great. The best baby in the world! I love her so so so much and I love being Aunt Chelsea.

I have also been crafting a little. I made a burlap wreath!

I think I have caught y'all up pretty much with my life. I know I make this promise a lot but I will be blogging more.

Coughing up blood vs. breathing

Hey y'all! I have not been feeling well lately. For the past two weeks I have been coughing up tons of blood. Pure blood with no mucus. By tons, I mean I have been filling up the bottom of a bathroom sink with it. It only happens when I lay down to go to bed. I start feeling a bubbly feeling, almost like a wheeze that is when I know the blood is coming. Then I have to cough and up it comes. I coughed up so much the other day that I could not stop and was actually choking on the blood. It was gross.

SO... my doctor decided that it might be from the Colistin I started, so she took me off of it for a week to see if that helps. She also had me stopped hypertonic saline at night to see if that helps as well.

I went to the doctor Tuesday and it is now Thursday...so after only two nights of not doing Colistin or hypertonic, my lungs are not happy. I can barely breathe. My chest is tight and hurting. I cannot imagine a whole week of this.. To be fair though, the coughing up blood did stop. I almost think I would rather just cough up blood than feel like this. Funny how that is.

If I had continued to cough up blood, my doctor wanted to possibly do a CT scan and a bronch but so far...no blood! I also had an x-ray done.

In other news, my doctor wants my decision about which transplant facility I want to use so they can set up a meeting for me to just talk with them!

New Mac!!

Hey y'all! So my Dell laptop that I have had since high school graduation has not been working very well. It kept shutting off on me at the worst times. I figured it was time to get a new laptop. I have been eyeing a Mac for some time now. I finally just got it. It was an expensive investment but I love it. It is the most expensive thing that I have ever purchased myself. It is my baby. I am so in love. Just thought y'all should know. I felt so guilty about spending so much money but I know it will be worth it in the long run! I just love love LOVE it!