Pancreatitis

It's been so long since I've posted anything on here, for that I am sorry.

I'm currently in the hospital. One week ago today I started having the all too familiar stomach pain that I used to get years and years ago when I would have pancreatitis. For those who have never had pancreatitis, they say it's one of the most painful things to have to go through and I can honestly say it is. I tried drinking some milk and went to lay down in bed hoping it would go away on it's own. Within four hours I was hurting so bad I couldn't find a comfortable position to sit, lay or stand. I ended up calling the hospital and asked to speak to the doctor on-call for the weekend. He called me back and said I needed to be seen in the ER as soon as possible. So, Benito packed me a bag and we hit the road to Sacramento (an hour drive from where we live). Since our puppy destroys things when left at home, we had to bring her with us, which meant we had to take Benito's truck so she could lay down in his back seat. My car has leather seats and she's already made a rip in one spot, so I don't trust her alone in my car. That hour drive to Sacramento in his bumpy truck was Awful. The pain increased with every bump on the road. I felt so bad for Benito... Every time he would turn to look at me he looked so helpless and in pain himself seeing me that way.
So we got to the ER and luckily we didn't have to wait to be seen. I was hardly able to explain what was going on because the pain kept taking my breath away, but once my vitals were taken and iv started they were able to give me a dose of pain medication. Such a relief! It brought my pain down from a 10 out of 10 to a 7 out of 10... I was able to at least talk again and the nausea from being in such pain was lifting. The lab tests had shown that my lipase (pancreatic enzyme count) levels were 1,900 when the normal is 80. I definitely had pancreatitis. I was admitted that night. There really isn't much treatment for pancreatitis. Basically you need to stop taking anything by mouth (no eating, drinking, or even chewing gum) so that the pancrease doesn't have to work to release enzymes into the stomach to digest the incoming food. So they put me NPO (nothing by mouth) and started me on iv fluids and pain medication around the clock.
Yesterday was the first day I felt a great deal better. My pain was down to 5 out of 10 without any iv pain meds. I was able to eat and not hurt afterward. It was looking like I would be going home the next morning. Unfortunately I woke up this morning at 7am with 10 out of 10 pain again and nausea. After two doses of iv morphine my doctor came in and said she was putting me back on a clear liquid diet and won't be going home after all.
Needless to say this has been a very long week and I'm getting pretty bummed out. I miss being home, but mostly I miss Benito. He's been coming to visit for a few hours after work each day, but it's just not the same. At the moment I'm in 8 out of 10 pain and haven't eaten anything since last night. I was hoping this bout of pancreatitis would be a quick one, versus my previous times with it when I was younger that lasted up to 6 weeks.
Luckily my boss has been very understanding of the time I need to take off. I'm in the process of changing major's in school, so I'm not missing school because of being here, so I do have that to be thankful for. I found out a few nights ago that the hospital just started offering free wifi for their patients, which really has helped me from getting too bored.
I should stop for now. This has become quite a long post. I'll be updating again soon.

By the way, I've started my very first team for this year's Great Strides walk. Please visit my Great Strides homepage to make a donation or sign up to be part of my team! Thank you :)

http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/LeahBailey6380

On the up and up

I can hardly believe it's been so long since my last post on my blog. Life has been keeping me busy these past few months!
I'm taking a break from writing a paper for my class, to write on my blog... I should be getting up to stretch or have a snack, but nooooo... The computer has a hold on me! hehehe

My biggest news to share is that after over 8 months looking (and a handful of interviews) I finally have a job! I start tomorrow at JCPenney. It's part time and entry level, so hopefully it won't take too much out of me and I'll be able to keep up in school as I am now. I can't help but be amazed by how much has changed for me over the past year; this job being the latest upward change of mine.

It feels like my health is finally giving me a rest. I've coordinated with my CF specialists in Sacramento to take over the balloon dilations from now on rather than having to make several trips to San Francisco every month or two. It's actually been a much better plan of action because we've been able to get my airway open just as it seems to be closing itself off, which avoids infections!

Benito and I are as great as ever. With his support and motivation, I got through a class I was seriously considering to drop. The love and support we have for each other is enormous. I can't imagine love feeling any better than this.

I guess that's about all the time I should take away from finishing up my paper, which is due tomorrow by the way! I hope everyone has enjoyed their weekend and is doing well!

Great Strides 2009

Hello friends and family!
Yesterday was Chico, California's very first Great Strides walk, and let me tell you... It was a success!! Even though it was HOT outside, we all had a Great time with one another raising awareness and donations towards finding a cure for Cystic Fibrosis.
The tally hasn't been in yet, but I think we did exceptionally well in raising donations this year. Even though our economy isn't doing so well right now, people are still eager to give to such a good cause! It warms my heart to be surrounded by such caring people. Thank you!!
Our team leader (and fellow CFer) unfortunately had to be admitted into the hospital the night before the walk, so she couldn't be there with us, but like I told her: I'm glad she put her own health first. I was grateful to have some of my closest friends there to support me; I just can't thank them enough!
Here are a few pictures I took at the walk. I took a few others with my 35mm, so once I get those developed I'll be able to post more.

Home from a stay in the hospital

Friends and family,
I wanted to send a big thank you for all the well wishes I received from you during the past week while I was in the hospital. I'm happy to report that I was discharged last night after being poked, prodded, drugged, and watched over for the past 6 days in the hospital. While there I was running a fever (up to 102.4*), a white blood count of 18 (very high for someone post transplant/immunosuppressed), and in a great deal of pain (body aches). My doctors were very confused with what was the cause of me being so sick because all the cultures (blood, urine, and junk from the lungs) came back clean. My fevers and body aches have come down, so my doctors decided to discharge me before I were to pick up any unwanted bugs from the hospital. I'm still feeling pretty weak, running a low grade fever here and there, and body aches come and go, but I'm feeling so much better than this time last week! A big plus is that while in the hospital this time, my CF doctors were able to get me in for a bronch, only to find out that airway I keep having trouble with had closed itself off almost completely again. They went ahead and ballooned it open again and saw that behind the closure was full of nastiness that could have turned into pneumonia in the very near future. I am breathing a lot better than I had been, so them opening the airway was a huge help! It will most likely continue to be a mystery as to what caused all of the awful symptoms that got me admitted into the hospital, but I'm extremely happy to be home in the loving arms of my other half again.
On a side note, I just wanted to tell the world just how lucky I am to have Benito (my other half) in my life. He showed me these past two weeks just how supportive he can be, and I'm in awe at how much our love continues to grow. He brought me dinner every day after work and spent a few hrs holding me in the hospital while I was in such pain before having to make the hourr trip back home to get some sleep before work the next day.

It's that time of year again (and quick update)

Hello All-
It's been over a month since my last posting and I'm so sorry for that. Life has been moving along and I've been trying to keep up with it.
I've been feeling somewhat better since my last posting. I'm still having the same side pain, but I think I'm learning how to better deal with it. I'm in my 4th week of a written communications class and am Extremely happy with how well it's going, as well as the grade I'm getting in it! I must say though - I'll be happy when I'm done with my General Ed!!
I've registered and sent out emails for this years Great Strides walk, so I thought I would also say something here about it. My very good friend, Jennifer is helping put together a walk this year in a much more local location. Benito and I are both excited to help man the stations on the big day, as well as participate in the walk. I reached my goal last year of $1,000 and have set the same goal again for this year. I would be ecstatic if I surpassed this years goal though! With your help, I could very well do it (hint hint). Please visit my Great Strides web page and consider making a donation. That web address is:

www.cff.org/Great_Strides/LeahBailey6180

Thank you so much!