Cheriz: My life with Cystic Fibrosis

Thank you to my Husband: As of August 16, 2016 Andrew and I have been married for a year! (click here to read our 2 wedding blog posts ) It is hard to believe a year went by already. It was an exciting year, that's for sure! Andrew got a promotion with the company he works for and we moved the week of our wedding for the new opportunity. Even though it added a bit of stress to our wedding week, we didn't mind because we knew it would be worth it! We got to move to the same town my sister lives in and a big bonus factor is my Cystic Fibrosis Center is in Peoria too! After moving to Peoria, I decided to finally become licensed as a Real Estate Broker. The career choice wasn't new, I had always wanted it. I just couldn't be a Real Estate Broker, because I needed health benefits. Both our careers are going really well  and we decided to buy a house this June! So it has been an exciting year thanks to all the milestones we have achieved.  I just wanted to take this tim...

Our Story : Andrew and I met in a show choir. I graduated from the University of Illinois in 2010 and decided to return to the local community college to take a few courses, before jumping into graduate school. I wanted to be a social worker at a medical facility, and also have my real estate license. Andrew had graduated with his culinary degree, but decided working in a restaurant wasn't exactly what he wanted. So he decided to return to the community college and find a new path... (picture on right, from November 2012, school field trip with friends- Conklin's Barn Dinner Theatre.) We met in August of 2012, that fall, at the 1st show choir practice. He was really sweet and nice, but I wasn't really looking to date anyone. I had been engaged in the past (2009), then followed that relationship up with 2 bad relationships. But Andrew had different plans for me. He was sweet and asked about my CF. In fact, he had told me he was following my blog. So I knew he underst...

Lots Going on & Beyond Excited: I've been writing about some big topics that discuss how Cystic Fibrosis affects Marriage. Not all the changes are bad. Yes, moving to new locations for my Husband's work means the hassle of switching pharmacies, updating info with all doctor's offices, and even deciding whether or not to switch doctors. I wrote a whole blog post on why choosing & deciding whether or not to stay with our current doctors is so difficult. However, I LOVE where we are living right now & we are closer to my hometown, so I can still be involved as much as I want. It's a good area for Real Estate too (which I will be starting once we are back from our Honeymoon).  I'd say the hardest part for me post-marriage has been switching insurance & switching pharmacies. We have a good insurance plan (we pay $3000 per person for a deductible) because it cover 100% of all specialty drugs post deductible, there is no 20/80% costs or co-pays, etc....

Go with the Flow: Adapt is my advice to any bride-to-be. Not everything will be exactly as you planned it, but it you go with the flow, the day will still be perfect in your eyes. Since I have Cystic Fibrosis I'm pretty used to adapting. I get sick quickly, have arthritis flare ups, have to change meds, fight insurances, etc. Trust me adapting should be my middle name. I think that is one life lesson CF taught me early on, and if REALLY helps with wedding planning! I talked in my last post about how much I loved our Wedding. I did love it, every single aspect. I was beyond thrilled with the businesses that helped make it perfect. I tried to keep everything local and spread the love to smaller hometown businesses. Our caterer, Flowers, Decorations, Venue, Favors, etc were all local. #SupportLocal The week before the wedding was chaotic, not because of the wedding, but we were in the middle of moving! Andrew had taken a promotion at the new store and we were moving 2.5 hours ...

We Took Our Vows: Sunday, August 16th, Andrew and I said "I do." People asked me all weekend if I was getting nervous and now that we are married people ask how married life is going. Well, here is what I have been telling everyone.  No, I wasn't nervous about the wedding or marrying Andrew. I was slightly nervous I'd fall flat on my face in 2 inch heels walking down the aisle (which was grass). But, why would I be nervous to get married to Andrew. I've never had a doubt in my mind about him. I knew I wanted to marry him. We were  ready to be husband and wife and you just know when you are ready. So no, I wasn't nervous. And now that we are married I'd have to say life is similar to it was before we were married. People say "oh things change after you're married." But they didn't for us. I'm not sure if that's because we are open with each other, or have been through a lot early on in our relationship. Read this past post ab...

Just Boxes Everywhere: There are boxes taking over the apartment.  So even though I still have more to pack and very little time left, I decided to get out and go for a morning walk! I missed my morning walks the last 3 days from packing so much and sleeping in a little (til 8:30). So I didn't jog at all or try to push it. I need energy for more packing and moving of boxes today! I did 1 mile over a nice 20 minute leisurely stroll around the lakes. It was pretty nice out too! And of course now I'm doing meds while blogging :-) One of my favorite combos! I really want to be at my healthiest when I marry Andrew (read my "getting healthy plan" post here ).  Getting married and moving all in the next two weeks. Crazy, looking back at myself in 2012 before I met him, I had no plans of getting married or even finding a boyfriend at the time. I really had always seen my CF as a road block in relationships. But Andrew has proved me wrong. Read his post about dating me , ...

Gotta Keep Chugging: 2015 as year has been amazing, but also difficult at the same time. I love the achievements, happy memories, and celebrations that have or are happening. For example: I turned 30 years old in April. If you don't remember, check out the photo album from it on my CF Facebook page . We turned my birthday party into a Bowling CFF fundraisier, raising $400 for our Great Strides Walk! In June, I also hosted & organized Princeton's 2nd CF Walk (first official Great Strides Walk) and we raised over $22,000 for the CF Foundation. And of course, ANDREW & I ARE GETTING MARRIED in August!!! As promised here are a few more photos from our wedding shower- It was a beautiful shower, THANK YOU! It has been an amazing year!!!! But, it has its rough patches too. I've had lots of GastroIntestinal Issues, was on IV meds that I didn't respond too, was on steroids and over 11 nebulizers a day for a long time... And I only saw a slight increase in my...

Lots Happening: I'm still working on getting my weight and lung function back up. It's a slow and long process. I'm struggling in the 40s in lung function and still not 100 lbs. It's sooo frustrating, but eating more, doing small workouts, etc is getting easier. So hopefully, we will see a difference, all I can do is keep trying. Last Sunday was Andrew & I's wedding shower. It was simply beautiful and so much fun! My sister planned our shower, and a couple of our bridesmaids helped get everything put together. I didn't know much about it, she wanted to surprise us and boy, did she. I couldn't believe how pretty everything looked. All the tables were decorated with beautiful fresh flowers, table runners, china plates, party favors, etc. It was gorgeous! I didn't take any pictures, but a few others did, so more pictures will be in the next post, but here was a selfie I sent to an out-of-state bridesmaid.  The Showers colors were blue and yellow...

Planning a Wedding: I discussed a few other issues with wedding planning & getting married that pertained to Cystic Fibrosis. A MAJOR one being insurance coverage. I still can't wrap my head around the fact some people can't get married solely because of medical coverage. I wrote about that topic & biggest concerns right here . Other issues are much smaller. Things like "can I fit my therapies & vest treatments in the day of the wedding" or "we need to plan to keep my enzymes at the head table, so I don't forget them" and then thinking about packing & traveling for the honeymoon with CF is a whole other can of worms. We are going on a small mini-moon. Andrew can't get off too much time from work, traveling is hard on me, and after we pay for our wedding we would rather save for a home, future kids, or other bigger things in our life. So there are many little details to think about with Cystic Fibrosis. This weekend we are doi...

Happy 3 year Birthday/Anniversary to my Blog!    I can't believe I have been narrating my life in a blog for 3 years. Seems a little self centered when you think of it that way. HOWEVER, I'd like to think of all the changes that have come about because of my blog in the last 3 years! I wrote a blog entry on my Blog's 1st anniversary and 2nd anniversary . In my 2nd year blogging anniversary post I brought my readers up-to-date with the changes I had made since I began blogging. Read those entries to remember where I was in life at those points. Since the 2nd anniversary (in the last year), I've moved to the DeKalb/Sycamore area, decided to go back to school to get my real estate licenese (and finished all my courses). Plus, I got engaged to Andrew (and will be marrying him this fall)! I'm one lucky lady! In the last 3 years, not only has my life changed a lot, but my blog has really grown! I enjoy blogging about how CF influences my life. Why? I guess 1. It...

Planning and IVs: If you haven't read my last blog entry, you will want to scroll down and read it. Otherwise, you may be a little confused. I was admitted Tues night into the hospital and thankfully discharged on Friday night. Whew. Doc knew I wanted to be home for the weekend, I had lots of plans. Saturday morning I headed back to my hometown to sign a contract and pay the wedding venue deposit. I went for lunch with mom and even got to hang out with my Dad for a while. I talked to my Caterer and set up another appointment to finalize everything. That night Andrew drove home for Grandma Loebach's birthday. She cracks me up. We got her a card and Andrew picked her out a bright pink nail polish called "Young and Cheeky." She kept saying she was 19 instead of 91 and even asked Andrew to paint her nails with it. Adorable. Andrew dropped me at Mom's so I could do night meds & IVs. He had to head back early because he was due at work at 7am the next morning.  ...

Does One Affect the Other: In short, No not really. So why write about it. Well, they don't affect each other directly. I actually have found putting together the wedding to be fairly simple and fun. Nobody ever said "Oh its is fun and so easy" You always hear one of two replies. The first being "Its so stressful and time consuming" and the second "It's fun, you'll love it."  So I'm going to assume most people love it and hate it. In this post I'm going to explain some reasons I find planning a wedding easy and enjoyable, as well as some difficulties (including CF topics). Reasons why it has been easy for me. I know the area, venues, caterers, Djs, Photographers in the area. I'm the organizer of the Princeton CF Great Strides Walk  and I've planned numerous other events too. It's all about being strategic and well planned. I took one day I had free and made all the calls for multiple quotes. I knew which caterer I wanted...

Too Busy for My Own Good: My Family bought tickets to the Rivermen (Hockey) Game for Christmas for my Dad. The game we got tickets for was Saturday the 10th! Growing up we went to tons of Rivemen Games. For my 9th Birthday my family and a friend got to go to Rivermen and I LOVED it. I even met some of the players, got signatures, and a hockey puck from a game. We loved Rivermen, but as we got older we just stopped going. Too busy with high school and college, etc. Dad had mentioned it a few times, so we deicded to surprise him! He loved it! Actually we all did! Above  Picture: The Family at the Hockey Game! We love you dad!  So we decided to come home friday night (before the game) and have Dinner with Andrew's parents. Then Friday night Andrew dropped me off at a girlfriend's house, so we could talk wedding/bridesmaids stuff. Saturday Morning a friend (a bridesmaid) did engagement photos for us for free. If you didn't know we were engaged, then read the post called OUR...

Not the movie...but: That's right. We are engaged! I haven't posted in the last 6 days on purpose. We wanted to inform our family and a few friends before I share with the whole world (or whoever reads this blog...Lol). And since I share everything with you, I'm going to share with you Andrew's proposal ( which was absolutely perfect for us). We had been discussing marriage, buying a house, etc for over a year. We had even discussed engagements, rings, and proposals way back in Feb of this year. He knew my ring size and my thoughts on proposals. I think they should be thoughtful and geniune. That pretty much sums it up. Simple, sweet, and not too expensive. Picture on right: Selfie just after we got engaged! So months went by since our marriage discussion and then last Tuesday Dec 23rd Andrew proposed. Let me start at the beginning.  Monday Dec 22nd my friend, Stacey, came to visit for the night. Andrew said Stacey and I should get our nails done, you know a g...