incredible to icky in under 6: a rambling update

i'm sitting here cuddled in bed as people everywhere around me are recovering from the super-mild-but-totally-unexpected earthquake that hit earlier this week and, at the same time, bracing for hurricane irene, which is slated to hit this weekend. what's going on, mother nature? we may be one of the fattest cities in america and admittedly completely over-invested in the success of our city's sports teams, but we're surely not supposed to be hit by earthquakes or hurricanes here in the non-coastal, inlands of the city of brotherly love -- and certainly not in the same week. to top this craziness off, my itty bitty baby sister got her license this week! she's ten years younger than me and forever my baby sister and the thought of her being a licensed driver absolutely boggles my mind.

"why in bed on thursday evening?" you may be reasonably wondering. after returning from a wonderful week-long family vacation in asheville, nc, i was feeling great albeit still quite sore from hanging out with my super outdoorsy family. we went ziplining in the blue ridge mountains, white water rafting down the french broad river and hiking all the way to a spectacular waterfall that my sister, julia, and brother, coby, slid down! it was terrifying for us to watch, but thrilling and wonderful for them. you can see the division between anxious and daring members of my family.

towards the end of the trip, my sister, annie, and parents came down with a bad virus. i upped my hygiene paranoia and we all tried our hardest to keep the virus contained to them. by the time we returned on saturday, i was feeling pretty proud of my immune system for keeping the virus at bay. i should have known better! on monday, i developed a bothersome-but-not-terrible sore throat. still feeling over-confident about my body's heartiness, i chalked it up to post-nasal drip. then monday night, it hit me like a ton of bricks. i suddenly started coughing and felt like my energy had been wrung out of me. i knew at that instant that my immune system had succumbed to the virus.

i tried to tough it out on tuesday but by night time, it was clear i was in bad shape. most concerning was my suddenly deep and productive cough. i stayed home from work on wednesday and went for an already scheduled doctor's appointment in the afternoon. my doctor added cipro and told me to continue with doxy, which had been working well before the virus struck. i haven't taken cipro in well over 5 years. last time, it caused severe nausea and vomiting, but i've been wanting to give it another shot since my PA was even more sensitive to cipro than levaquin last time it grew in my sputum culture. this seemed like the right time for a trial because i'm not in such bad shape that i urgently need an anti-PA antibiotic that works and that i can handle and this way, i'll know if cipro is an option next time i have a PA flare-up.

although the excessive congestion is annoying, the virus really wouldn't be so bad if i wasn't completely preoccupied with concern about it settling in my lungs and turning into a full-blown CF exacerbation -- especially given the big upper respiratory component. the good news is i woke up today feeling a little better and, most importantly, my cough is less productive and deep. i'm hoping this trend continues. the not-as-good news is i'm already feeling nauseous from the cipro after only the second dose, but i'm still committed to trying to stick it out by coating my stomach with copious amounts of carbs (good luck to my CF-related diabetes!). i haven't resorted to zofran yet, so i still have that in my arsenal if extra carbs don't do the job against the nausea.

that's the rambling health update. i'm frustrated with my body's seeming inability to fight this itself. it makes me feel weak, disempowered and disappointed in my lungs and body, but the truth is that at this stage in my CF, i can't take any chances. if it takes some extra cipro and the associated nausea, then so be it. i'll still consider it a hurdle overcome. fingers crossed that cipro, doxy and i can do this together!

friday

today

then to now in under 6 (days). i wish this was a car commercial.