Cheriz: My life with Cystic Fibrosis

Relationships & CF:  So yesterday was my boyfriend and I's 2 year anniversary. It seems crazy to think I've been dating Andrew for two years. Well, not completely crazy. He's simply amazing and he makes me happier than anything else in the world so of course we are dating. But, what is crazy about it is that I, ME, that's right, Cheriz, has been dating someone for 2 years! I think I've only had 1 relationship make it past 4 months. A whopping 6 months and that was in 2003. I've only had a couple "good or  semi-serious" relationships. I've been in love before, but the truth is it is difficult sometimes to be in a relationship and have Cystic Fibrosis. Finding someone you love or care for is only one part. Finding someone that helps me succeed in my health and makes life richer is another. So many problems can happen... There is always the awkward moment when you tell the person you have CF. And one of two things usually happen. 1. They are ...

How Working Works: Since surgery on the 14th I've been really concentrating on catching up in Real Estate. Since the chaos that happened (pre-surgery) I wasn't able to work. So I haven't worked since June. Its crazy, since in 2013, I worked 2 jobs and was taking classes all year, but now I sit at home. 2013 was very tough on me medically. My lung function decreased and I spent over 1/3 of the year on anitbiotic pills and spent over 2 months in the hospital for infections, etc. Since my surgery is over, once I'm healed I can go back to work. Which got me thinking... I have 51% lung function and Doc B said if it goes down to 49 next clinic (in two weeks) then we may discuss a hospitalization and IV antibiotics to bump up my numbers. In October of 2013 I went from 48 to 64% after a week on IVs in the hospital. Also, since I have stitches in my stomach (the actual organ) and on the outside (on my skin too) I can't use my vest machine. So my lungs are getting even wo...

On a Liquid Diet, But Healing:  (stomach pics below) This week has been interesting and challenging. I had surgery on Tuesday to finally surgically fix my stomach tube hole. I updated everyone on Tuesday afternoon after I had woken up (that's when I wrote the last blog post which is below), but here is a better update. I haven't posted since then because " I went Silent for Cystic Fibrosis" and participated in a 65 hours challenge to stay unplugged from social media . It was sooo tough not logging onto facebook or tweeting anything in the last two days. I was healing and unable to do a lot, so going online would have helped time fly by, so it was bad timing. But now that the 65 hours is over I want to make sure to catch everyone up! After surgery on Tuesday I was admitted overnight, just to make sure everything was going well. They started giving me Diluadid for the pain (it wasn't too bad if comparing to my triple hernia surgery), but they wanted me to not h...

My "Bullet Hole" Fixed: Everything went smoothly and this morning went really fast. Check out my style : lol the new fashion. Pic: Taken pre-surgery I'm very excited to say my surgery is over and I'm doing quite well. I'm so excited, I've been on a liquid diet all this afternoon/evening and GUESS WHAT? No leaking, none because it's sewn shut. My surgeon did a great job and I can't wait to be done healing. Sorry if this seems a little more scattered and oddly written. I'm still on a small dose of pain meds. I'm not a big fan of pain meds considering my severe allergy to morphine. But, by feeling the pain I can gauge how fast I healing, but for today (the day of my surgery) I was told to stay on them, because of the pain coughing causes. I can cough more freely and try to clear my lungs if I take the pain medication. However, tomorrow I'm not asking for any pain meds though, since I want to be free to go home as soon as posssible. If y...

ehhhhh My Nose Buzzed:  As you know I'm having surgery on Tuesday. If you aren't sure why then  find out here!  I've talked a lot about why I had the G-tube put in during 7th grade, how it has helped me, and discussed how annoying it is that it leaks. Well, that's not really the whole picture. There's much more to this. If you count the bronchoscopies, and minor surgeries, then I've had around 15 surgical procedures. This is my 8th (for lack of a better term) major or "real" surgery. I feel like the operation board game for crying out loud!  To be honest: I understand my life will be full of operations and medical procedures. But, It's FRUSTRATING to need a surgery to fix this hole. Getting the tube taken out in June was supposed a joyous and amazing experience. I kept my weight at 106-108 for months without using my tube!!!!! I can finally say I don't need my G-tube! I was so proud and while none of that changes, it's still annoyin...

5 Needles, 2 Xrays, 1 EKG & 6 Hours Later... And I'm eating at Joe's Crab Shack! That's right my boyfriend and I decided to go out to eat at Joe's since we were in the area and it was a REALLY long day. We both love Joe's, but live an hour and a half away. It's only 15- 20 minutes from my Doc's office though! And by the time I got done today I was worn out and starving!!! No, it's not the worse day I've had, but still really long! I had my last Clinical Trial Appointment for the current Trial I'm on and received my last IV (drug or placebo, I'm unsure). I only have one more follow up appointment and this trial is over. Doc is already discussing some new ones I could join! I've done 2 clinical trials this year. The first one was testing the outcome of switching the anitbiotic nebulziers by rotating the two back and forth. That trial was simple, since I have already been doing that for years. But this second trial was new for me. ...

A Story About an Amazing Doctor: On Saturday I went to the Peoria Great Strides Walk. I've done the walk in 2009, 2012, 2013 and now 2014! I love the Peoria Walk site, It has a great route right along a very beautiful & prominent street. One side of the street are architecturally amazing and grand homes and on the other side is the river. What a gorgeous route to walk! This year Peoria added our Team Sign to the Route! CF2 (well CF (squared)) but the 2 always ends up next to it (even in my blog). It's hard to type CF and 2 to the second power! It technically stands for "Courageoulsy Fighting Cystic Fibrosis" I was beyond thrilled when I saw the official sign on the route! Pic on right: Mom and I & the Team Sign! Andrew and Sarah came too though :-) Peoria's Walk is always really friendly too. There was a photobooth, UniqueTwist (makes balloon creations), a Drum core and little girl with CF's dance class performed! I also got to see one of my two ...

T he Dells & Our CF Walk: I'm sooo proud to announce that Princeton, Illinois (my hometown) will be added to the list of OFFICIAL Great Strides Walks for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation! Make sure to mark your calendars for June 27, 2014!!!!! (for those who don't know, I decided to start this walk last year & thanks to my community it was a huge success!  Read about it here! Pic: Me giving a speech last year, wearing my Team CF2 shirt Here's the info I have so far:    Zearing Park, Euclid St. check in 9-10am,   10am the Walk.    Lunch & dessert is provided to those who registered online!   There will be lots of Raffles ($1 per ticket), Dj/Music, games, face painting! Make sure not to miss out on the fun! I will let everyone know when the online registration is ready! This year since we are our own walk site, we can now sign up numerous teams! This year (2014) our Team CF2 has raised over $14,000 for CF research! The Princeto...