Friday Fast 5

Five quick things!

1. I've been in the mood to do some "fall cleaning." What is it about the change in seasons that seems to motivate many of us to tackle our crap? We didn't do a spring clean this year, but I've been itching to get rid of some things. Yesterday I started getting to work and filled two trash bags with stuff, and started parking outside so I can put stuff in the garage, haha. 
2. I love Hill-Rom, the medical equipment company. My vest machine that I use that is essential to my health had started showing big time signs of wear in the past week. I first noticed it on Sunday. It worked fairly ok on the lower settings I do but had a hard time keeping up on the ultra high settings. It was like it couldn't force enough air into the vest to actually pulse it against my body, it was just loosely shaking. I checked the hoses for leaks, I checked my vest itself for holes, and didn't find any so that wasn't the problem. I got my latest vest machine back in April 2013. I pulled out the manual to see what the lifetime expectancy on it was, and it was two years with "normal use." Who knows what normal use is, but I suspect I use it more than normal since I do 3-4 treatments a day, instead of the normal 2. I've clocked 1333 hours on it. I called them on Wednesday, explained my issue, she looked up the serial number for my vest, and I assume it showed her I've had it for over 3 years, well past the life expectancy. She was overnighting me a new one and I should put my defective one in the box to ship it back. I repeat: I love Hill-Rom. I don't think I would ever switch vest manufacturers simply because their customer service has always been so hassle-free. Usually nothing in the medical world is easy like this, so it's awesome that I don't have to jump through hoops for this thing that I need every day. They didn't ask for my current insurance, they are just sending me a replacement. That tells me they're committed to providing good equipment, and I am ever so thankful (now, getting an initial machine for your child can be a hassle depending on insurance, but thankfully these replacements are not.)
3. Josie's birthday is tomorrow. She turns 4! I got her some cookies, some Frosty Paws doggie ice cream, and a new duck toy she can destroy. Can't believe we've had her for almost 4 years. In human years, she is turning 32 haha.
4. I'm so ready for fall, as I think most are. Earlier this week was a bit cloudy and cooler, especially in the mornings, which was a nice little glimpse of things to come. Actually, I'm so excited I think I'm going to put up all my fall decor as soon as the calendar turns September.
5. I've been growing my hair out since last Christmas and I think I've finally reached a length I'm happy with! It is similar to my hairstyle I had for our wedding. I don't want to grow it out super long, or even shoulder-length like I had in high school. I'm at a bit of a decision point though... do I want to dye it? or do like a wave/perm thing? or keep it straight? I loved having my short pixie cut, but was ready for a change. I am sure I will go back to my pixie cut at some point, but for now I'm excited to have options again!

One Day More

Tomorrow I am scheduled to finish up IV meds. I'm so ready... I haven't had a shower since July 27th. Miraculously, I don't smell. I wash my hair over the side of the tub and give myself baby wipe baths, and thankfully that's enough to keep me moderately clean and presentable in the meantime.

I've been home since last Tuesday. I came home on two meds, one a full-time, 24/7 IV pump and the other running every 8 hours. The medicine I was on 24/7 ran slowly all the time. This was a first for me, I've never had this kind of setup at home but I figured it was worth a try. So I carried around "Chad the CADD pump" with me everywhere I went. Chad and me were friends.

The benefit to it is you only have to change out (refill) the medicine once a day. The other method would have been running the med every 4 hours, which would mean no more than 3 hours of sleep or naps at a time. I tried that once before and it was exhausting; it practically negated the benefit or desire to be home. Even though being hooked up constantly felt limiting, the IV pump was actually pretty small and light so I was able to get around the house ok, and I was allowed rest. But after a while it did get a bit cumbersome.

We ran into some issues starting on Saturday. I was having tingling and prickling feelings all over, which is very unpleasant let me tell you. If you could imagine your body is a hollow container, and it's full of lightning bugs, it would be like each lightning bug lighting up is a like a tiny prick from a needle, in a different spot every time and in varying intensities. We finally decided to stop the 24-hour med on Monday after trying a few things didn't alleviate the prickling.

I've continued on the other medicine and will finish with it tomorrow.

It's been nice to be home, but it'll be even nicer to get back to normal.