Cookie Season

It's once again Girl Scout cookie season, but this year comes with some changes. Most notably, the addition of online ordering and that the price of a box of cookies went up 50 cents to $4.00 per box. It's all for the kids, I know, I know... but I will agree with my mom in that they are going to price themselves out of selling cookies before too long; especially when you consider that you only get 16 or less cookies in most boxes. There will always be those people who buy them no matter what, but for those of us who don't have a niece, cousin, or relative selling cookies, it's a bit of a tough sell to convince me to buy cookies just for the heck of it. Jarrod and I don't plan on getting any this year because, honestly, we don't love those cookies that much. Heck, I still have Tagalongs from last year, that's how rarely I eat them.

In thinking about the price change, it doesn't seem all that surprising considering food costs for everything have risen over the past year. So I'm guessing the ingredients to make the cookies went up in price, thus they needed to raise the price.

I've never been a fan of the Thin Mints, which I am sure is still their biggest seller (take this from a girl who used to sell 200-250+ cookies a year [when they were $2-2.50 a box, mind you] the Thin Mints always outsold everything else by a landslide.) But if you are a fan of the Samoas*, like myself, I am here to tell you there is an alternative...

Not to rain on the Girl Scouts' parade, but you can get Samoas in the grocery store year round. I finally tried a package of Keebler "Coconut Dreams" cookies which, by the example on the front, looked to be like Samoas.

They ARE Samoas.

They are the same size and they taste EXACTLY the same. And I'm not speaking in terms of how some off-brand things 'kind of' taste like the name brand, enough so that you think to yourself 'Ok this will do, it tastes pretty much the same.' No, these are dead on; in a blind taste test, you'd have no idea which one was which. I even compared the nutrition labels: they have the exact same calories, same fat content, and the ingredients list is the same except for being in a slightly different order—but not by much.

And just for funzies:

• Keebler Coconut Dreams: $2.50 per box, 18 cookies, 14¢/cookie
• Girl Scout Samoas: $4.00 per box, 15 cookies, 26¢/cookie

*I'm talking about "Samoas", not the stupid "Caramel DeLites" our area was treated to a couple years ago because the region's chapter decided to switch bakers. The Caramel DeLites sucked, and I have no doubt it was because they were a "lighter" cookie with less calories and fat (it's true, they have less than Samoas.)

Feeling Better

I had a good PFT on Thursday. On the Friday I left the hospital, I blew out a FEV1 of 0.90, and on Thursday I was at 0.94! So a small, good improvement! My doctor called to say she was pleased with my results, and I finished home IV meds yesterday. 

I was so excited, as always, to take a shower after two weeks of not having one. It was also exciting, as always, to wear normal clothes again—tshirts and sweats are only fun and comfy for so long, but they lose their appeal quickly and then you just start to feel a bit like a bum.

Yesterday and today have been nice weather-wise, so I took the dog outside and played ball with her. I know she loved it. It was nice for me too, to get out in the sunshine for a bit. Who would have thought I'd be barefoot and barely wearing a jacket in the middle of January?

From the Worst to the Best

This week has been quite the week. It started out with some bad news, then good news, and finally news that I will most likely go home tomorrow.

On Monday I was dealt a huge blow. My doctor made her rounds, and when she stopped by she told me that my sputum culture results were starting to come back. But it was not good: my culture was coming back pan-resistant to all of the antibiotics so far. It wasn't completed, there were still a couple meds that maybe would come through as sensitive, but it was not looking good.

Before I continue my story, I'm going to do a little CF301: Sputum Cultures here to explain everything I'm talking about, as a refresher or in case you're confused. Every time I come in the hospital or go to a clinic appointment, I do a "sputum culture" which is where you cough up something and send it off to the lab. It takes 5 days to complete, because the ones they do for us CFers are very detailed. So once at the lab, they determine A. what bacteria are growing and B. the drug sensitivities of said bacteria/bugs. The two biggest players in the CF world are MRSA (staph, as everyone has heard of) and Pseudomonas. There are others bugs that are bigger concerns, but those two are the most common. There can be different strains of the same bacteria. Each one is different, each one can have different sensitivities. When I say "sensitivities" it means if the germ is "sensitive" or "resistant" to a specific medication. As in, a medication will work with something that is sensitive, but it won't if the strain is resistant. Ok, we good? Good. I shall proceed with story...

So the pseudomonas bug that I have was coming back pan-resistant... which means it was resistant to everything. Again, the test wasn't completely finished, but out of the meds they had tested so far, it was resistant to all but two. This is not good, and something to be feared. What it meant was that the meds I was already on were doing nothing, and there would be no meds I could take to get better... because it's resistant to everything. If you're thinking Well... how can that be, there must be SOMETHING right? Sadly no, there are cases where bacteria become resistant to everything and then, according to my doctor, you just hope and pray that things change and that what you're doing just maybe gets through and does a little damage to clear out some of the bacteria. This is what the medical community is concerned about and there are news reports every once in a while about anti-biotic resistance; this is exactly what they're talking about.

It honestly took a little bit for this news to sink it, but once it did it was really hard to deal with. Knowing there was a strong possibility that I was not going to be able to get better was scary. I called Jarrod to tell him what was going on, and he obviously had a lot of questions, as did I. Unfortunately, I knew I probably wasn't going to be able to see my doctor on Tuesday to clear up some answers, but would have to wait until Wednesday.

Tuesday was not the best day. I was trying to stay positive and hang on to some hope that maybe, just maybe, those last two meds would come back with an S showing they were sensitive, and we'd have two meds we could work with, and also knowing that my bugs switch up all the time as to what they are sensitive to, so maybe at a later time I'd regain some sensitivity. I had a few moments of crying throughout the day, and explained to one of the head nurses who stopped by how I was trying to stay positive with the news, but it was tough.

I prayed. I really tried to talk to God to help me through this, and when the eucharistic minister brought me communion that morning, I burst into tears. (As a side note, receiving communion in the hospital is so much more personal than at church. I know you place your hands out to receive the body of Christ and it's pretty much the same motions, but there is just something different about having a one-on-one experience when the person is right there, in your room with you, saying "Behold... the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world..." like the priest does at the altar but she's holding it right there in front of your face for a much much longer time than when you're at mass, and you're the only one responding. It can be extremely moving, and it was especially for me on that day.)

I talked to Jarrod in the afternoon and we decided I should ditch my anti-visitor rule, and he should come up here. So he did, and I'm so glad. It kept my mind off of things and it was just so good to have him here. We finalized our vacation plans, which I'll talk about another time, but it was good to get my mind thinking of something I'm looking forward to. He ended up staying the night too, so he could be here when my doctor came around to talk to me.

So on Wednesday around 1:30, my doctor came in and she said she had good news. My pseudomonas came back almost all sensitive! With the exception of like three meds that had an R next to them, the rest had an S. I was stunned. Two days ago, when I was looking at this same report, I was seeing all R's. But they somehow had all changed to S. And! This time I only was growing one strain of pseudomonas, and that's it. Last time I was here I had 3 different strains, plus my MRSA. But this time I didn't even have staph! No staph. Like... I can't even remember the last time I didn't have staph when I was in the hospital. I have cultured staph for a very, very long time, fairly consistently. I could not believe it, I was so speechless and on the verge of tears of happiness.

This whole incident was so unexplainable, I have no other explanation than that God heard our prayers. I know the test was not completed on Monday, but like I said, when I looked at it everything had an R by it and on Wednesday, those exact same things had changed and now showed an S. I have to believe that God is not done with my lungs yet.

The other good news I have is that I will most likely be coming home tomorrow. Barring some sort of unexpected bad PFT tomorrow morning, I am scheduled to come home on meds for the following week. I haven't done home IV's in a long time, but with the flu and everything here, I figured it would be best to come home as soon as was reasonable. We were thinking of waiting until Monday, but I am kind of anxious now that I know I get to go home soon. 

God is good!

Writing to You Live from a Hospital Bed

So I'm in the hospital. Alas, Jarrod and I talked it over a lot last night and decided it best for me to finally check myself in. I've been contemplating the need to come in the hospital for well over a month now, as you may recall that one blog I wrote back in November when I was almost sure I would have to come back in soon after my previous visit. Well, I made it another month and a half or so, but I've also had to deal with two colds since that time. I am feeling 'okay' but I've been below my baseline for some time now. I'm hoping to get back to my baseline and feeling better.

Jarrod and I stopped for some hot toasty sandwiches at Pickleman's on the way in, and it was everything I hoped it would be (as a side note, Washington REALLY needs a hot sandwich place like Pickleman's or Firehouse.) Whenever I head home, I hope I get a chance to eat at Zaxby's on the way out, because I always forget they have one here—Zaxby's is a southern chicken chain with delicious chicken, and I can only assume they expanded up this way now that Mizzou is part of the SEC.

I didn't bring any crochet projects with me this time, but brought along three books—Jim Henson biography, a book about a Cairn terrier, and my study bible—and a puzzle book, plus I'll be able to watch things online on Netflix if I want to. I usually bring more than enough to do, then end up sleeping (or at least trying to) most of the time and it was all a wasted effort. So I tried to cut back a little this time.

So I ask for your prayers that I get to feeling better, back to baseline, but I really need your prayers for something else. By being here, I am most definitely at a heightened risk for catching the flu. Apparently, here they have had sooooooo many cases of the H3 flu (the strain that mutated and isn't much affected by the flu shot) and I am planning on taking even more precautions than normal. I always wear a mask outside of my room, when I walk down the hall for a snack or to treadmill, but this time I am also going to wear gloves, and maybe even a gown. We are also trying to limit how many people come to my room, and that is why I am also not wanting visitors this time. It sucks, but I just don't want to risk anyone coming here, potentially exposing themselves to something, or unknowingly expose me to something, or catch something and bring it home, and then when I come home... you get the idea. It's just for the best, and I'm just trying to be as proactive as possible.

A Small Christmas Miracle?

Last weekend, Jarrod got sick. He developed a bad cough, along with headaches and stuffy nose-ish symptoms. Luckily, he wasn't running a fever or feeling achy, so it seemed he at least didn't have the flu, which has been going around here lately.

We went into action to keep me from catching it... wiping down switches, door knobs, various surfaces; quarantining ourselves to separate parts of the house—with the exception of eating, Jarrod stayed downstairs and I stayed upstairs; we wore hospital masks when we had to be in the same room with each other; we slept in separate rooms. But...

Despite all of our efforts, I still got sick :(

I started showing symptoms on Tuesday afternoon, and I was so upset about it. We had tried so hard not to get me sick, but it didn't make a bit of difference.

I had my usual bouts of endless coughing that I get when I catch a cold, but this time things were different. By 5:00 on Thursday (only 2 days later), things started to look up for me. My cold-cough subsided, and I honestly wasn't feeling too bad.

I don't know whose prayer list I ended up on, but I am just simply amazed at how good I feel right now. This is just... wow. Aside from my awful couple days of coughing, I've been managing life pretty well. My nose never got that stuffed up, and my exercise tolerance has not dropped off the deep end either, all things that I expect when I get a cold; today, I walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes at 2.8 mph, which is what I was doing pre-cold.

I'm not even a week out from catching my cold, and I can honestly say that I'm confident I might be able to kick this on my own. I was almost for sure that if I caught something again, I'd be going in the hospital, or at least needing antibiotics. But this time? I'm not so sure I need them, at least not yet.

I obviously have been in contact with my doctor about all this, and I picked up the meds they called in for me, but for now I'm holding off on using them.

There was one, maybe two, things I did differently. One, I started using those Cold Eeze lozenges very early on, which is the key to their effectiveness. Since I knew Jarrod was sick, I didn't hesitate to start treating my symptoms as soon as my throat started to feel a tiny bit 'off'. [The Cold Eeze things are one of those home remedies that is like: really? Does this really work? Or do you just think it does? I read up on them, and if you know a little about the pathophysiology of a cold virus, it makes sense that they would work. Zicam is based on the same principle. So maybe I need to just take them every time I start to feel funny.]

The second thing was that I took off two days from work to get over this. Since I was coughing so much, it meant little sleep, so I tried to get it any time I had a small break in coughing. And even if I wasn't sleeping, I was still resting my body so it could work on fighting off the virus.

And prayers. If you've been praying for me, I'd like to say thank you and keep it up. I can't emphasize enough just how different this cold has been, and how amazing I feel right now. I mean, I'm not like 100% better, plus I did lose my voice on Friday (all that coughing really started to irritate my throat something awful) but compared to how I usually feel right about now? It's really great.

14 Books in 2014

I'm happy to say that last week, Monday night, I reached by goal of reading 14 books this year! I'm pretty much one month ahead of schedule too, so that's cool.

Last year I read 10 books, and this year I upped it to 14. Next year, I'm going to do 15.

Sadly, I didn't have any books that I felt deserved a 5-star rating. Most all of them I rated 3 or 4 stars. Although, looking back over things, the same can be said for the books I read in 2013, too. I'm just a tough critic.

So there, if anyone asks me in the upcoming month about a New Year's resolution, I guess I already have one: to read 15 books next year. Woo hoo!

If you're looking for something to read and find me a trustworthy book recommender, I'll add a few comments at the bottom about the books I read. :)

Crossroads—Written by the same guy who wrote The Shack, it was another story of reflection and thinking about your spiritual health. The Shack is better, though, read that one.

V for Vendetta—The second graphic novel I've read. Also heavily influenced by the same guy who created Watchmen, the illustration was spectacular. The story, however, differs from the movie version, which we are fans of. It was alright.

Bitter Brew—This book was really great! It is about the Busch family, and a well-rounded look at the history and scandal that has plagued their massive beer empire. I highly recommend this one.

Is This Tomorrow—This one was the most surprising. I read it on a whim and turned out really liking it. It's a fairly easy read, the story is about childhood friends dealing with a tragic accident that happened in their childhood but haunts them into their adult lives.

The Hunger Games Trilogy—For me, this series was good, but didn't really blow me away like I expected it to. After reading it, I'm kind of done with the teen trilogy thing for a while. It starts out really strong, but by the end I was just over it. The last book was a drag.

The Fault In Our Stars—Somehow, I only cried once. But this is a solid book with a less-BS approach to disease, dealing with it, and the struggles that loved ones face with you.

Steve Jobs—I've only been slowly reading this ever since it came out three years ago... but his life sure is a fascinating story. It's good, if you like biographies.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time—Really good book about a child with some sort of autistic-spectrum-disorder. The neighbor's dog is killed, and the young boy sets out to solve the mystery.

Orange Is the New Black—Part 'insider's account' of being in prison, part 'platform to tell everyone what she thinks is wrong with the prison system', this started to feel a little snobby by the end. The writer's concern for her fellow inmates started to feel less and less sincere. Also, this book is nothing like the Netflix show; the show is loosely based on it, and I mean very loosely.

Brave New World—I finally read this classic, and just like other futuristic dystopias, it is frightening how much this holds true in the present day. Great book. I never want to live in a brave new world.

Bossypants—Tina Fey's book started strong, simply due to her wit and jokes. The book was written almost like one long standup routine, and by the end it was getting a little boring. Who wants to read a standup sketch? Put it this way, if there's an audiobook version of this with Tina Fey reading it, listen to that. I guarantee it will be better.

Friday Fast 5

Five quick things:

1. I learned how to make scrambled eggs this morning! [Ok, you can laugh at me now.] Last month I learned how to make an omelet, and now I know how to not make one. You could say I learned this a little backwards, and I would agree. It's like we're rediscovering eggs at this house—I think we've ate more eggs in the past 2 months than we have in the past 2 years. Omelet night has become a thing here when we want something easy, yet fresh and healthy.
2. I got my tree up this week! My mother-in-law helped me with it, especially the ribbon. I decided I wanted to use ribbon this year for a more updated look, and I'm really happy with the way it turned out. However: so... much... glitter... everywhere. The ribbon is pretty, but it sheds glitter more than a lab sheds hair. I'm sure we'll still be finding glitter around the house in June. Josie was trying to help and ended up having a blast attacking the used ribbon spools (she also got glitter all over her muzzle, haha.) At one point she had one in her mouth like a bone and it was hilarious. 
3. This year is definitely the earliest I've ever gotten my Christmas cards done, the earliest I've ever gotten the tree up and decorated, and the earliest I've ever had the whole house decorated. And I've got a good jump on shopping too, which is nice. More than ever, I'm realizing I just need to do what's right for me. I know it's only the 5th right now, but as it gets closer to the holidays there are always more and more things going on, making it harder to find spare moments of down time. There is no reason for me to go go go and run myself down (and my health) in the process. 
4. Yesterday Josie knocked off one of my S'mores ornaments—it was the lumberjack guy haha. She wasn't chewing on it, but was just sitting there with it. I got after her, so hopefully she doesn't think the ornaments are toys.
5. I discovered the iHeartRadio app this week, and it's been one of those "Why have I never used this before?!" kinds of experiences. You always hear it advertised on stations like 103.3 or K-Hits, but it's basically an app to listen to the local radio stations via the internet, and this week I've started listening to the radio thru the TV. It's quite nice, because my iHome radio in the kitchen has proved a buggy disappointment; for one, the antenna doesn't get a great signal, and it will go from clear sound to fuzzy with no apparent change in the house, and two, it's got a weird thing where after some time of listening, it turns the volume down, while keeping the volume number the same. But if I move my hand right near it, it turns it back up, and as soon as I walk away, it gets quiet again. It's kind of like how your phone dims after inactivity, except it makes absolutely no sense why or how a radio would "dim" the volume, and it makes listening to it quite annoying. I promise you all of this is true and it is weird and makes no sense. Anyways, not all radio stations are on it but the app has been a nice find and I could see it being useful at the gym or anywhere else wifi is available.

It's Advent! And so far, God's gift to me is...

...the gift of feeling better!

It seems that the burst of steroids has helped me out, and I have been able to exercise and work on getting back to where I was.

Last Tuesday, after I had already published my blog post, I was able to return to the gym, walking and finally lifting weights again. I can't do as much as before, but I don't care; I'm lifting weights again! Then on Wednesday, I was able to do the rowing machine for 12 minutes, so that was awesome! I walked on the treadmill here last night, and was able to push my speed to 2.8 for a little while, which is great news too. After a bit it got to be too much, but that's okay. :)

Since the steroids opened up my airways, I was able to exercise more.
Since I've been able to exercise more, I haven't been as short of breath.
Since I haven't been as short of breath, I'm hanging on and hoping to keep pushing off a hospital stay as much as I can.

Tiny Update

As a tiny update to yesterday's small update, I heard from my doctor yesterday. And the plan, for now, is to finish my course of steroids and sit tight. Basically, kind of wait and see what happens.

I see about 3 possible scenarios on how this could turn out:

1. I continue to improve a little even after tomorrow, when my steroids run out, and am able to get exercising back to the levels I was at pre-cold. (This is what I'm hoping for)
2. I finish the steroids and slide back, then we'll discuss a new plan or hospitalization.
3. I finish the steroids and maintain where I'm at as of today, no better, no worse.

In other news, my friend pointed out to me last night something like So thankful your hospital is not in St. Louis anymore. Yeah, no kidding, me too. I will reserve comment on the Ferguson stuff, maybe I'll let it out in another post, except for this one thing: It really bothered me when protesters shut down I-44 at Grand last night. That is the exit to get to SLU and Cardinal Glennon, both of which are fairly major hospitals in STL. 

I did a little shopping today for a couple items at Target and JCPenney. At JCP, all of the merchandise is perfectly displayed, everything is folded and stacked, and the whole store is looking quite sharp. There were hardly any people there, since I assume at this point most everyone is waiting until Friday (or Thursday, those family-hating shoppers!) to get the best deals. Once I used the 20% off coupon I had, the piece of clothing I got for Jarrod was 2 dollars cheaper than their "Black Friday Price". For the sake of my sanity, I will gladly pay two more dollars. Target was similar, with everything stocked as much as the shelves can hold, just waiting for holiday buyers to arrive in a few days. It was a little odd... like the calm before the storm, at Penney's especially. I'd love to see someone in retail do like a Tumblr of before/after photos from Black Friday. Because before, it looks quite nice, but I'm sure after only an hour or two, it is all completely trashed.

Small Updates

Good news first!

Good News—I'm doing the better. The prednisone is helping. It's not a home run outta the park or anything, but I have improved a little. I'm not nearly as breathless as before, so this is a good sign. As a refresher course: prednisone is a common steroid, and steroids are used to reduce swelling and inflammation. Ergo, my airways aren't quite as inflamed as they were and getting around has been easier.

Bad News—At this moment, I have no idea what this means for me. Does it mean I make it through this week and go in the hospital next week? Does it mean we try something and put off a hospital stay longer? No clue. I'm trying to call and check in with my doctor and give them a status update, like they wanted me to, so we can figure this out. I'm a little anxious over it, to be honest.

In other news, I started decorating for Christmas over the weekend. It's not something I have ever done before Thanksgiving, but not knowing where this whole maybe-going-in-the-hospital thing would leave me, I decided it would be best to just start on it. Trust me, I'm not putting the tree up or a manger yet, but I put up some garland and most of my snowmen yesterday. If I do go in to the hospital at any point between now and Christmas, it would be about 2 weeks of lost time for shopping or decorating. Plus, Jarrod wouldn't know where I'd want all my snowmen to go anyways, but he can still put up the tree and the manger in my absence, if needed.

But the other exciting thing is we got our treadmill out of our front room and downstairs where it will have it's new home in the "bonus room." It is so wonderful to have that space back, the house feels little less like we're still in a construction zone now. It is so much more open now that the treadmill is gone. I'm sure Josie will be excited to have more room to play ball too! This also means we WILL be able to put up a Christmas tree this year. We didn't last year because the treadmill was taking up too much room, which I talked about here. But I am glad we can put up the big tree, hassle that it is, and enjoy it.