Up The Farway Tree

Spring Cleaning ....in November

So this week I have been on a mad clearing spree, which has seen me empty nearly every cupboard in the house! It started with a clothes clear out, which was well over due. I have been wanting to do it for a while (largely due to the fact I needed to make room for new clothes) but was waiting to see what kind of weight I stabilised at before I started throwing things away. I was fairly ruthless and a good few bags were filled. But that was just the start...I have worked my way round the whole house and found so many things I had forgotten I had! I also created an amazing amount of space in my hall cupboard when I finally got round to throwing out several boxes of overnight feeds and supplements that I no longer need. It's amazing how much space all my medical stuff took up. I do still have an entire (large) cupboard full of drugs but I can cope with that. It's very cathartic having a clear out...I have this notion that I need to get everything in order before January so I can start next year afresh. I like being organised :-)

Other big news is that I have joined the gym. Yes I did say gym. My physio referred me on medical grounds so I join a programme for the year and get a discount on fees. I had a consultation this week to discuss what I needed/wanted to do and on Monday I have my induction. Scary! I have never used gyms (bar the hospital ones) so it's all very new and intimidating. Everyone else always looks so fit! I have to start slowly and only do cardiovascular for the first month, and she suggested I attend the supervised sessions at first, so I can get some guidance. I will be reviewed at certain points to see if I want to add in anything else, like swimming (not keen) or classes. I really hope I enjoy this but the thought of my 10 mile walk is enough to spur me on!

Seb had his dog training tonight and he was really good! We had a different trainer tonight and she said that his walking to heel was excellent and that he must be a pleasure to walk!! I said he was, apart from the fact he runs barking at joggers. The suggestion is squirty water again - to take this on the walk and when he runs at a jogger he gets squirted! They will think I am mad but it's worth a try. It is so embarrassing because they probably think he is going to attack them, but I think he maybe just wants to run along with them ;-) He was great at his sit/stay and down/stay apart from the fact he gets bored after a while and starts looking round at all the other dogs, yawning widely as he does. So rude. We also started to learn 'the finish' for recall - where the dog is meant to come from sitting in front of you, round your back and end up sitting on your left side. We had to use treats to lure the dog round...but I only had to do it twice and he realised what I was asking him to do. I am not saying it's perfect yet but for the first go he was pretty amazing. I am rather bias though. The other thing we tried at the weekend was taking him to the country park with a 30m washing line (dog training suggestion) for practising recall. We were in a really quiet area with loads of grass, so he had free run to the end of the 30m. He loved it!! He was diving around all over the place but did come back each time I called ( I had treats obviously) so perhaps there is hope for him yet. I would love to allow him off lead in safe areas so maybe one day :-)

Here is a video of his recall efforts at the weekend (I am dressed like I'm on a trip to the Arctic because it was FREEZING)



On a different note, I had an unexpected letter this week telling me I was booked in for an endoscopy (camera test to look at stomach) in Newcastle for mid December. I phoned the transplant unit and the nurse said it must have been triggered by the results of the reflux study I took part in. I'm not that surprised because I still have bad symptoms of reflux despite maximum medication. Anyway, I then got a phone call today from the doctor who was doing the research and he said the consultant thought December was too long to wait, so could I go to Newcastle on Tuesday next week! I was a bit surprised but I suppose it's better to get this looked at sooner than later. The concern relates to the fact that reflux is a known risk factor for chronic rejection of the lungs (theory is that acid refluxes into lungs, which causes inflammation and scarring, which reduces lung function) so I do need to get this looked at. I suspect they may want to discuss surgical options for helping with this but I will find out more next week. I am not looking forward to the endoscopy though - I will take the sedation on offer, but if my bronchoscopy was anything to go by I will probably still be wide awake! However, I have had a few endoscopies in the past so I know roughly what to expect.

And for some cheery news - my friend Louise is doing much better now! She finally got out of ITU last week and had her tracheostomy tube taken out earlier this week...and they were talking about allowing her home at the end of this week! I have not yet heard if this is definitely happening but either way it looks like things are moving forwards at last! The other CF lady I wrote about just came off the ventilator a few days ago and has moved out of ITU to the transplant ward and is doing much better. I think she still has a way to go but is, at last, starting to improve. So good news all round :-)