CF Happens

My back is healing well. My incision is all healed. Of course, my back is tight and stiff as is to be expected after being cut open, dissected and glued back together. Also with being very limited on movement for the last 4 weeks. I still can’t bend at the waist, lift anything over a gallon of milk and I can’t twist. With being limited with those things, you get creative so you can get things done. It’s not like I have to be as stiff as a board but I can’t over extended my movements.

I miss cleaning and doing the laundry. I am one of those weird people that actually enjoys cleaning and organizing. So yes, I’m serious when I say I miss cleaning! I’ve gotten creative in how I can do some things just so I can do a little something to “chip in.” Yes, my husband tells me not to do things but I can’t help it. I don’t like not doing anything. Doing little things here and there helps my mental health honestly. I am doing things in a new creative way that is within my restrictions. It is going to take time to build up my strength as it is, so I do a little and sit for a long time to recoup. Rinse and repeat. haha

Today’s accomplishment is that I walked on the dreadmill (that’s the treadmill for you normal people) for 15 minutes (very slowly) today. I absolutely HATE walking on the dreadmill! I freaking HATE that I have to do something that makes me out of breath to get stronger so that I don’t get out of breath as easy. It’s very counterproductive if you ask me. I’m not a fan of being out of breath because it can very scary when you feel like you can’t enough air in to actually breathe. When I get out of breath I put my hands on my hips, close my eyes, do what I call “the baby sway” (sway like you do when you hold a baby), try to center myself and not freak the F! It’s no fun at all. I’m not a fan. 10/10 do not recommend. If you’re wondering, yes, I’m allowed to walk on the dreadmill during my recovery from back surgery. The best thing I can do is walk in spurts to keep me active and keep the blood flowing. Boy oh boy, do I wish the surgeon said NO walking on the dreadmill allowed. haha

My lungs took a hit because of surgery and not being active and limited. I did lung functions on my home spirometer a week ago and they were not great as I expected. My FEV1 was 27% which is down 5%. That may not seem like much but when you’re only working with 30% of your total lung capacity, it’s pretty significant. My baseline (average normal) is around 32%. It’s going to take some work to get my lung functions back up. Not that my lungs were great before by any means but right now I would take my crappy lungs before surgery over this whole getting out of breath just from squatting down to get something. It’s dumb I tell ya.

I’ve held off on doing the vest so far because obviously the thought of something squeezing and shaking my back doesn’t sound like a lot of fun. Now that my incision is healed I might try it and just not buckle the bottom of it and see how I tolerate it. I can always stop it. Honestly, my lungs could use good shaking to get things moving. If you’re wondering if my husband could “beat me” (as in clapping on my back and sides, beating is what we called clapping since I was a kid), he could but I just haven’t had him do it.

I think that about sums up how things are going. I see my surgeon at the 6 week mark, which is February 24th. I’m ready for these restrictions to be lifted. Most importantly, I’ve been able to drive for 2 weeks so at least I have that freedom.

Until next time…