CF stuff

I have been doing a CF study for a few months now. It is hands off, non-invasive (the only kind I do...) and it's been pretty interesting. I have a monitor that plugs into my phone line and twice a week I complete a survey about my CF symptoms, I also perform a lung function test using a cute little handheld spirometer. The idea is to see if my clinic team can improve their ability to identify and treat worsening lung function. If my lung function falls below my baseline number then (as part of the study) I'll go to the U for an hour-long work up to see if I should be receiving additional medical care... i.e. antibiotics, etc

Here's the kicker... about four days after we stopped using our wood stove (our only integral heat source in the house) my lung function number jumped about two points (which I BELIEVE equals 2 liters of air flow). Since then I have jumped an additional two points. Trent and I knew that the fire was probably not a great idea as the winter wore on and we dealt with loads of dust in the house (particulate looking dust!) and even Trent developed a recurrent cough... so as soon as we could we stopped using it. Spring is here and we shouldn't have to use it again... We decided (before the house "sold") that we would use an alternative next winter regardless of whether we had sold our house or not. Hopefully, we won't have to go to any extremes now that it looks like that might be taken care of. Interesting stuff though... I would not have noticed any perceptible difference in how my lungs feel... but the numbers on the spirometer tell the real story.

Vest

Day One... It's been a while since I've used my Vest. I've been able be blissfully in denial of my CF for a long time. But... 40's coming up... How far am I willing to push my luck? Airway clearance time. Thank God for the internet. I can do my vest and troll the internet and I barely notice 30 minutes go by. Still resent having to do it though. I don't think that that will ever change.

I have decided that the inhaled saline really does work!!! I really like it. Makes my lungs feel really clear. How bizarre, How bizarre. Ooops, Bay crying...