Of breathing, bashes, and blessings...

Breathing:   I'm about six weeks out from my last round of IV's and I'm already wondering if I can make it to my Oct 16th Duke appointment without another hit of medicine.  Truly, since my embolizations, I am just not breathing right.  My exercising is a struggle and needing to boost my oxygen up to 4 liters when walking just makes me angry.  It feels like I can't expand my lungs big enough to get a full breath.  Then when I cough,especially at night, the blood pounds in my ears, my body feels all sorts of weird sensations and as I struggle, I am working to keep feelings of panic at bay.  Will I ever be able to catch my breath?  Will the bleeding start up?  Once I get scared, it's harder to breathe and well, you can see how fun that vicious cycle becomes.  Needless to say, going to bed is no longer something I look forward to.  I stay up late just to delay the inevitable coughing fits that interrupt my slumber.  Life with cf is tough--I try to stay positive but it is hard work...some days more than others.

Bashes:  We took a trip to Idaho to see the family, celebrate the fair, and attend my 30th class reunion.  Of course I always look forward to being with those I love and the county fair gives us the perfect excuse to get together.  My nieces and nephews are just fun people to be around and I treasure the time I get to spend with them.

Josh flying down the hill at Steadman's Ranch.   A farmer
turned a field into a slide-at-your-own-risk attraction.

You can even see the center pivot irrigation in Krista's background.

Jess and Noah take a run while Celeste waits behind.  A fun
way to spend a sunny Idaho day.

One afternoon we took the boat down to the river to pull the kids around on the tube.  The other bank dwellers and I were waiting for the group to return and trade off since not everyone could go at the same time.  We were starting to wonder what was taking them so long to come back into view.  Finally, the boat came around the corner and up to the dock.  You could tell the riders were shaken up.  Noah, my 15 year old nephew, was sitting in the back seat and didn't notice the tow rope around his foot.  When the boat started to accelerate, the rope wrapped around his leg and flipped him backwards over the motor and into the water.  Thankfully, Rheid looked back just as it happened and cut the motor immediately.  Besides being scared to death, his leg was bruised with a nasty looking rope burn around the knee.  So grateful a fun day on the river didn't turn into a tragedy; Noah's safety was a tender mercy.

Rheid whips around the boat so the riders fly over the wake.

The parade and fair were the same as always--which is why it is so great.  Tradition--there should be a fiddler on top of the roof grandstand.  We went to the rodeo one night but the arena was so dusty from the heat that I decided to leave half way through.  (Coughed up blood for the next two nights so not sure if that contributed or not.)  Watching the cattle sorting on another afternoon was a lot of fun as well.

Cowboys must sort the ten cows into the adjacent pen
in numerical order with a minute time limit.  Cows
are not known for their intelligence...just sayin.

I was excited yet hesitant to attend my 30th (gasp) class reunion.  Ten years ago I was one of the people they thought had changed the least and now here I am toting oxygen, feeling 20 years older.  I was disappointed that so many of the group I hung out with didn't come this time. It would have been great to catch up with them again.  Still it was interesting to hear classmates share their life experiences and realize how far we've come.

Blessings:  Last Saturday, August 24th, the groundbreaking ceremony was held for the Fort Collins Colorado LDS temple.  A limited number of people were allowed to attend on-site so I was able to watch the proceedings at my local church house.  It was a beautiful, warm summer morning.  Elder Rasband of the Seventy presided over the groundbreaking.  I can hardly wait for 2015 when the blessing of attending will be so close.  It was a happy day.

The 15 acre field where the temple will be
constructed.  Porta-potties are the only remnant
of the earlier gathering.

Our good friends (and they happen to be our neighbors) received some scary news--their newly married son, Justin, was diagnosed with cancer.  Doctors found a large tumor in his chest which had begun to cause him pain.  He just finished his first round of chemo and has tolerated the treatment fairly well.  Through a series of mini miracles so far, their family hopes to be blessed with a cure for Justin.  If you would like to help the newlyweds defray their medical costs, here is a way you can help bless them as well. Just click on the link below.

Jogging for Justin (a virtual race)