The Good News is Everybody Does It...

The bad news is it will take you a few times before it becomes second nature to you. That's what Denny W. told me last week when I called to findout what I was doing wrong trying to remove my cleated bike shoe from the pedal.

I had an America's Funniest Video moment for which I am grateful no one had a video of. I pedalled up to my driveway. Came to a complete stop thinking how hard can this be to get my shoe released from my egg beater pedals. Tried once, tried a second time and simultaneously fell over sideways. Later in the week when I got home from work I slipped on my bike shoes, got on my bike and leaned against the back of my truck practicing removing my cleats from the pedals. I also discovered my floating cleat is on "my" right foot instead of my left foot so it is kinda awkward but, I do have the hang of it now.

I went down to Spring Street Sports in Chippewa Falls to buy a different saddle. According to one of the techs the Damselfly is too narrow. The shop owner said to hang onto the receipt and in a week if the seat didn't fit right bring it back and try another one. I needed a 155. I bought a Specialized saddle..... since according to Terry bike company sales lady they were none available in different sizes other than length and width at the back which were in inches. I'm loving the new 27 speed set up that Anybody's Bike Shop in Eau Claire put on. I no longer have problems with the chain dropping off the front chain ring(I'd taken the bike setup with the 24 speed in to be readjusted several times but, within 10miles of pedalling it would go back to dropping the chain).

I have to say the Spiriva is working well. I also think the Cefprozil the Urgent care dr put me on Friday is helping but, it's going to be a slow recovery from this Upper Respiratory infection.

I saw Silent Sports July issue is out. On the front cover the caption reads something like "Dairyland Dare a draw for on gutsy woman". That lady would be me. The article appears on page 19 & 20. I passed on the baseball game today in an attempt to get rested up and lick this UR infection.

I went in Noreens chatroom last night & discovered that next years Alpha1 National Convention is tentatively plan for San Francisco. It would be nice to be sponsored to attend. On the other hand I might just have to save up my schillings to attend. San Francisco is sorta near Monterey, Santa Cruz & Carmel.

Someone Let My Evil Twin Loose In The Bike Shop,,,

...at least that's what I'm trying to convince everybody. I went in to get my 24 speed upgraded to a 27 speed. I saw these bike shorts, then I asked about Cat eyes and water bottle holders. This was followed by a discussion about bike seats, pedals and bike shoes(so much for foulies). I set aside a pair of mountain bike bicycle shoes(as they were more comfy and stable than racing bicycle shoes). Well, of course you can't have shoes w/o cleats and pedals, Right??? So, now I have added cleats, shoes and pedals to my things needed. Not to mention 2 more pair of bike shorts. That is followed by an additional water bottle holder. I deplore my new cat eye so that is replaced by the new Cannondale computer w/ easy to use buttons on it(but, we didn't go all out and spend another $20 for a wireless unit). Seeing as I will be participating in a longer more grueling trek this summer I need a helmet that is lighter and has more vents, too!

Oh, yeah! I almost forgot....the verdict is still out on the Spiriva. Other than it's real easy to use. I am on my last see food diet day. Tomorrow is the beginning of the new whole foods diet. Needless to say I splurged and bought Ruffles potato chips to go w/ my sour cream & french onion soup mix dip.

I bought bread w/ flax seed, Asparagus, apples, pears, cauliflower, rutabaga, baby red potatoes, lettuce salad mix, Alaskan salmon and whole milk to go with my Kasha Cinnamon harvest cereal. Tomorrow Crystal light is banned from my diet. Just straight water. I figured being off this week it would help me stay committed to my new eating regimin.

What do I hope achieve by this change??? I hope to better fuel my body 24/7 so I no longer burn muscle mass when I want to burn fat. Also, to help myself not "bonk" during a trek.

All n' all I guess I got off cheaper than if it had been a Harley!!

Long time no talk...Lots to tell!

Hi folks!

I have been very tired lately. To the point I was falling asleep at the wheel going to work. I told my Pulmonologist at Mayo about that as well as the fact my rib cage is expanding I guess because of bulla in the bottom of one of my lungs. My pulmonologist has switched me from Combivent to Spireva(sp?). Finally turned in the scrip @ the local Wal-Mart but, they couldn't get it filled & processed before I went to work today. Told the Pharmacist I would have to pick it up tomorrow as I had to get to work. He paused as he was walking behind the counter w/ a deer in the headlights look(which if you know him means he feels really bad they weren't able to get my script filled before I left).

I am feeling more rested. I am still cancer free as of Wednesday. I had to laugh though....when I was called in for the mammogram they asked who I was and assigned me changing room # 7. I'm sure there are ladies out there very afraid of a quick comeback of the Big C but, not me!!

I got a week of voluntary layoff next week. I am supposed to have a two part article that is to appear in Silent Sports magazine over the next 2 or 3 months. Burdy gave me grief uptown tonight for not seeing me training like he saw me last year. I also decided to let that piece of land go because the person who had it for sale wanted too much for it. I decided to make an offer on(I cringe as I say this) a double wide on a basement with 11 acres. It is in a township that the roads are better cared for during the winter and during the summer gets far more traffic. I reasoned that I could sell pick your own fruit and be very sick or rent out recreational equipment and be very sick. I then could save up money to buy a far superior piece of land at a later date to build a dream home on. Nobody started at the top of the heap and in the event my lungs deteoriated much faster than expected I would not have as large a debt load.

I am still mowing lawns but, picked up my commercial mower from my girlfriend in Janesville. I now wear a 2 strap disposable respirator mask when I am mowing lawns as well as when I'm raking. I am looking forward to my garden I was unable to have last year. I feel bad for the GM workers in Janesville that will soon be w/o a job(I grew up in J-ville and I still have friends who work at "the plant").

Tommorow I go take my bike up to a bike shop in Eau Claire to see about getting it changed over from a 24 speed to a 27 speed. In addition to that I get to see how many water bottle holders I can install on my bike. This morning I am hoping to figureout how to load songs on my Ilo I bought a month ago. Burdy's BIL("bad Brad") is going to loan me his CD collection . I am hoping loading 160 songs on it will be enough to get me through the Dairyland Dare 100k. Also, I did attend the on the water seminar at Wayzata Yacht club. I got persuaded to attend a baseball game in the Twin Cities(Minneapolis/St. Paul). It is the Twins vs. Brewers game June 29th and it will be the first baseball game I have attended since I was 11 or 12 w/ my church youth group(my Father wasn't fond of sports as a rule).

Double Dog Daring

I decided if it's not too late to register for it(and I can either register in a non traditional way since I no longer have home internet)...I am going to attempt the 100k Dairyland Dare. I really need to nip my self doubt in the bud and challenge myself. I have been filling myself self with too much I shouldn't I couldn't.

Wish me luck!! At the very least the training will help my body become better conditioned.

Katie Has a Meltdown,Chicago & Ed day

I've been struggling with respiratory issues for a month or two. Each spring it seems to get a little worse. I wound up using a new prescription for predinisone and a new antibiotic named doxicyline hyclate. I had some great physical highs while in Chicago.

-I ran 30 ft to my car in big bad airred Chicago Friday and my lungs didn't tighten up when I
stopped

-I woke up Sunday morning feeling like a million bucks!!

- I got up Sunday morning and my peakflows increased 200%

- I walked like a son of a gun and I talked like a son of a gun during the Stepping Up To Wellness walk...I was on cloud 9...I felt normal and was sure if I had completed the 5k I would have made some serious time

The Meltdown:

The next day my peak flows had dropped 33% of what they were the day before, I felt crummy, I developed a fever and began urinating a lot and every irrational fear kicked in!

Was I going to be on oxygen in 6 months or less? Was my liver giving out? Maybe I'm never going to feel better.

Yesterday I felt good overall again!

I met Dr. Hogarth who as I've said before I want to have as my new pulmonologist. It was either Dr. Hogarth or Dr. Love who said during their speaking segment that Alpha1 was more common than Cystic fybrosis and hodgkins. That's really sad. We all need to do our part to help raise awareness about alpha1. I also asked Marlene Irwin about putting together an audio PSA for us alphas to submit to our local radio stations. She said she would see what she could do! The Alpha1 Association is continually trying to help make our lives better.

I always try to see and try something different when I'm in Chicago. To my sisters Jane, Mary & Johanna....you'll be so pleased with me. I tried mussels for the first time and like them! I also stopped by a Rockler store in Schaumberg. That was fun, too!

Nobody clobbered me on the freeway!

Finding the cancer wellness center was a peice of cake once I had a good chicago & vicinity map! Finding the Hilton in Oakbrook was challenging. I called my friend Rich to help and he talked about nobody would be letting me in during rush hour but, I never had a problem.

I ate very well tonight. I sat at a table w/ Darrel Nall. I told him I needed to get my Prednizone(sp?) prescription filled and Darrel Nall said he'd make sure I was able to get what I needed. He's very good at making sure alphas have what they need at ed days and the National alpha1 convention as far as medical needs are concerned....at least from my observations.

I had been getting burned out on fundraising but, a visit w/ Wally Checkalski last night reminded me why I had wanted to in the first place. I made a last minute pledge drive effort and stopped to visit him as his wife died of ovarian cancer a little over a year ago. He talked about Hope House in Marshfield, about how much he pays attention to whats going on in cancer research and the fact he and Anne were about 8 months shy of their 60th wedding aniversary when she passed. It was very humbling to listen to him. I found myself getting kinda emotional. It was almost as if I was right back in July of 2007.

Sometimes One Has To Make Compromises

If I want to race sailboats at Wayzata the summer I need to attend their 3 on the water seminars in May. I felt that due to the fact that my alpha1 is still advancing instead of stabilizing I better scrap the Rock 50/50. I can always bike w/ oxygen but, I doubt if I can race a sailboat with oxygen. I just don't know how much non-oxygen time I have left so I am committed to making the best use of it I can!!

I bought a new to me car which I hadn't planned on buying till after I built my healthy home but, when the mechanic says you would need to throw $3000 at a van that gets 26mpg max with 180,000 on it.....it became a no brainer. When I first got my car I had to laugh!! I distinctly remember telling my Dad almost 20yrs ago when I was in college "I'd rather walk than drive a car!". I'm certain if he were alive today he would never let me live it down. That 2003 Bonneville certainly is growing on me!! She gets 5.5mpg more than the van just commuting. I can't wait to see what kind of fuel economy she gets when we go to Chicago.

Just an update

I made the appointment with the architect. It is so hard for me to fathom sometimes why some of us in the building industry are staying busy such as the architect and the company I work yet others like my former employer are forced to shut their doors. I am heartened to see many ads for employees wanted offering good benefits pkgs in this last Fridays papers. My former co-workers were told to start looking for a new job last Thursday Morning. Most of them have never worked anywhere else and have been there 25 yrs or better.

My vehicles have issues so I haven't been stopping before or after work to workout for fear they wouldn't start. The soonest I can get either one into a reputable mechanic is this Thursday.

I decided to go with a Rustic Pine wide plank toungue & groove flooring. I am having difficulty finding it locally but, have not gotten done contacting all the people I know that might know of somewhere under the radar that I could buy it. I just can't believe I can't get it locally. I did find it for $3.45 ft out of Maine. Hopefully in another month I can get that parcel of land I am interested in soil tested and see if it tests out for a holding tank. If it tests out for a mound system I'm running away as fast as I can!!

Last but, not least I probably won't be buying a J24 this year. If finances & time permit though....I will likely be racing at Wayzata Yacht Club w/ the Minnesota Womens Sailing Organization or the WYC(www.wyc.org) sunday races. A crew membership is much cheaper than slip rent(and here I thought Green Bay slip rent was outrageous!!). If you go to WYC website take the time to watch the first You Tube clip and then watch the clip titled "This Is Yacht Racing". That's what makes us crazy fools do it!

Where Have You Been???

I have been tired and grumpy. I just can't see a grouch being particularly inspirational! I can't seem to shake the tiredness but, maybe it is because of the house I live in. Limited insulation and a number of other offenders to my lungs. My computer has become incredibly slow. I need to surrender it to a guy at work to wipe the hard drive and reinstall everything. They tell me data miners have become very detrimental to the speed of computers in the last 2 years.

I am also trying to get everything in order so I can build a house this year. It's truly amazing how much an individual agonizes over what building materials they will use. Not to mention the layout!I need the blueprint so I can get bids and I need the bids to file for a construction loan and I want to do that before loan interest rates go any higher!

I am signed up for the www.cancerwellness.org Stepping Up To Wellness walk. My team name is: Affirmation Allies. If you would like to donate we will all appreciate it. I have 6 others commited to do the walk w/ me. I also expect to attend the Alpha1 Education day being held the day before in Oakbrook,IL. I'm very much looking froward to both!!

In the not too distant future I intend to add some links on the right side bar of this blog of foundations that provide financial assitance to those with medical bills for cancer, alpha1 and several other diseases as well. I also expect to put a new itinerary up for me this year...it will be somewhat limited due to anticipation of working as the general contractor of the building of my future home.

Apologies,Apologies....& I Made It To 42!!

Many apologies for not posting more frequently!! Although, I am back on 40 hr work weeks(till nextweek...45) I have continued to be very tired. I've been sleeping 8 -10hrs every night when I get home from work. I haven't worked out at all since around the first week of the year. I was put on Levaquin a while back but, no one saw the need for me to be placed on Prednisone at the same time. My lungs still aren't quite right. I get feelings of lightheadedness and for a while was having awful head rushes...I had attributed it to the Levaquin and then to the guifenesen(I took this in hopes it would help clear my lungs). As a result of this I chose to not attend Strictly Sail. I'm a little bummed but, it's probably just as well. I think if I attended I might come home the owner of a new to me sailboat which can wait till I've seen Dr. Hogarth in March. I really need to see exactly what if anything I can do for my lungs.

I guess I could say "poor poor me" except I stopped at Burdy's after work and was struck by the fact I made it to 42 and have been cancer free for over 6 months now. Linda(Mrs. Burdy) was there tonight. Right after I returned to Wisconsin folowing my cancer surgery I wasn't able to drive and walked to town due to boredom(plus I am pretty social). Due to heat, meds, soreness or all of them together I was having a time making it home(walking and getting sick to my stomach). Linda stopped and said "You mean you STILL haven't made it home yet?!! GET IN!! I'll give you a ride. I TOLD YOU to call if you needed a ride!"

I turned 42 today. I know of at least 5 classmates whom I graduated high school with whom have passed away. I know of at least 2 people I attended Eastern Oklahoma State with whom have passed. My life may not be as long as I or anyone else thinks it should be.....but, I work at making it a rich and full life instead! Tomorrow I pickup my Saris T-Rax Pro 700 series bike rack. Monday I sign an agreement to begin the process of bidding on a piece of land. In 30 days I'll know whether I get it.

I'm waiting on a couple woodworking books. "The Cabinetmaker's Notebook" and another by Udo Schmidt. I already got the one book by Tage Frid. I'm thinking of ordering the book "The Diving Bell and The Butterfly". I don't think I could ever watch the movie. It's about "locked in syndrome". It is the memoir of a man who was editor of Elle magazine who suffered a stroke at 43 yrs old. When he recovered conciuosness he was only able to comunicate by blinking one eye lid.

I took care of my Dad when he died of brain cancer and it still bothers me to this day when I think fo how quickly his quality of life changed. What most people don't know is... He went from being able to run every tool known to man(or at least pretty close) to not even being able to dress himself within 2 weeks time. We didn't learn till he was hospitalized 10 days before he died...that the tumor was placing pressure on his optical nerve so that he could not read, see a movie or tell what time it was. He essentially was locked in his body. My father was a very gifted man. He wasn't just a high school industrial arts teacher/dept head(tech ed). Until 1975 he was a licensed plumber. He would master one thing and then proceed to the next thing. He taught me how to roof, drywall, frame up a building, lay bricks and many other things. He made furniture(& looms) and he taught my brother how to be a machinist. In retirement he took up lapidary & billiards and looked forward to returning to Wisconsin in spring to all his tools & equipment.

I asked my Mom after Father had passed away how he knew how to build the cabin...I mean I knew how he could understand how to build a house but, a cabin is unique. Mom held her hands at least twelve inches apart and said "He went down to the library and got a stack of books this high and 2 months later he built it!" That just made me think WOW!!

I Want A Scooter!!

Kathy in SDL where I have been working lately had been complaining that she had to go to the computer in another part of the plant got a Mongoose scooter today. The night shift manager and the lead man from SDL came and presented it to her. What makes it especially funny is she is in her mid - late 50's. We all just laughed hysterically over this. I don't think she ever attempted to ride it but, threatened to in front of the department supervisor!

WE ARE ON 40 HRS NEXT WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!! HOORAY!! 8HR WORK DAYS!!!

I have visions of working days dancing through my head!!! A position on days has come up for bid. It is the same job I do nights so, everybody keep their fingers crossed cause I bid on it. As Johanna said "You need it for you health and sanity!" . I don't sleep well during the day and I could be more involved in my local community. I plan to take a SCORE class this next Saturday. I am confident it will be helpful!

I'll Take A Cup Of Sleep With That!

I have worked out sporadically but, am very glad for the first one as it helped my lungs pop. My lungs had been tight and sometimes when I do cardio/ ab wieght training it seems to help my lungs pop afterwords when I get home and lay down. Simply said...trapped air in my lungs escapes and I seem to have an easier time breathing. My supervisor in a meeting w/ us today said "Orders have dropped off so we should be back to normal hours pretty soon. I DIDN'T say any voluntary layoff!!" The 8hr work days can't come soon enough!!! I doubt they(10hr week days and 5hr Saturdays) have helped my lungs function well. I rarely get more than 4 - 5 hrs sleep a night as I have never been able to sleep much during the day. I'm gonna get my van fixed. These gas prices have made it to where it will be cheaper to fix it than drive my truck. Although, the last month or so I probably would have drove the truck with the ice & snow we had over the last month.

Greetings from Snowy Northern Wisconsin!

I was trying to remember when it hadn't snowed when I was driving home from work. Our snowmobile trails were opened by December 15th for the first time in 8 or 10 years! WOW!!

I've been sick. First with lung infection. Followed the next week with 3 day stomach flu. YUK!! I am still working the long hours. I turned my laptop into a shop to be worked on. I miss it but, I'm probably getting more sleep because it's not there for me to get on when I get home.

I am having hit and miss luck with my infusions. I just renewed my fitness membership for 4 months. I hope I can squeeze in 1/2 hr workout a day and that it will improve my lung function. When I went out to my truck last night I had to stop every so often to regain some air but, it was only 11 above.

Have a Safe and Rewarding New Year!!!!

Chicago became....returning to dodge

My plan this last weekend was to attend the Alphapack Christmas party and continue onward to Chicago. Between sick friends and bad weather it was deep sixed! The fact that the Alphapack Christmas party was cancelled due to the threat of 9" of snow(to the best of my knowledge never came to pass) was a HUGE disappointment!!!

In previous interviews I had said "You have to own the disease...You CAN'T let Alpha1 own you." which I truely believe. As long as one remains inactive and silent.....the quicker you're going to die and the slower a cure will be found!....EQUALS letting Alpha1(A1At) win.

I had hope to meet new alphas and help them see that it's so much more advantageous to them to be active and promote awareness than remain quiet. As long as one stays quiet fewer new people are accurately diagnosed, less new people participate in research, less progress is made and the further we remain away from a cure.

Aside from my grumble I guess it turned out for the best all n' all. I had been under the weather and called to make an appointment w/ Urgent care and for some reason wound up going to the family practice doctor who diagnosed me back in 2003 for alpha1(at my request I was tested for alpha1). He knows nothing about alpha1. He asked the nurse outside the door "WHAT'S augmentation therapy?!" He came in and couldn't accept I was only blowing a peak flow of 200 when I have come to U.C. before blowing as little as 125 on a peak flow meter. He also suggested 3 times I be tested for allergies. My visit was more premature than usual since I opted to actually use my 2 remaining vacation days as actual vacation days(where I work there isn't sick leave offered). I thought he was putting me on z-pac and 15 day course(that's what he said) of prednisone. He put me on 5 day 500mg Azithromycin and 12 day course of prenisone. He never asked if I had any severe reaction to 500mg azithromycin. End result: too many hours so I suffered through it. Glad it's over!! Came back early and slept 8hrs last night and hope to sleep another 8 -10hrs tonight as the sleep had a marked difference on my peak flows. My best peak flow yesterday was 175. Today it was 250. Although I would have liked to have taken the cancer wellness center tour, visit the Art Institute and Shedd's Aquarium.....Chicago isn't going anywhere. I can visit another time. It was really nice to only work a 50hr work week for a change!!!!

I Realized I Forgot To Mention Some Things......

Firstly, I got my flu shot on November 1, 2007.

Some of those medical bills I received I was told to ignore and that someone would soon be calling me to apoligize for the mistake...which that individual did.

I also thought I had stated back when I was going through cancer surgery and recovery when I became cancer free I intended to do an affirmation walk every year. That it would be a different organization every year to keep it interesting for me(and spread the money around).

I couldn't find anything in my posts back in July or August. I am considering doing the Stepping Up To Wellness walk for the Cancer Wellness Center of Northbrook, Illinois. I will make up my mind after I have hopefully taken a tour of the facility December 17, 2007. I'm sure some might be wondering why....here are some of the reasons:

I have friends that live within 10 miles of it.

I think there maybe people I graduated high school with or attended college w/ that live in the vicinity.

I like what I see they offer to people fighting cancer, cancer survivors and to caregivers of those dealing with cancer.

Nuff' Said!

Thinking Outside The Box!!!

That's RIGHT! That's what I did Thursday. I psyched myself out!!

I got one Saf-T-Intima out of the box and reached for a second one. I then looked at the second one and told myself outloud "You don't need that second one because....You ARE going to get it on the FIRST STICK!!" I then proceeded to return the second needle set back into the box it came out of. Secondly, I told myself that if I didn't get this right Accredo was going to get those nurses from homecare to start coming back in! Talk about instilling the fear of God in myself! It worked like a charm. My hands didn't shake, I didn't blow a vein, I didn't have a vein collapse and I got it first stick. Let's keep this routine going! It certainly helps my confidense a little. The folks at Accredo would not do that though....They were as disappointed as I was with the Homecare standards. Besides that Leann from Accredo sez' the boss says "She knows her stuff!" According to Leann coming from the boss "That's high praise!"

I wanted to comment about the homecare nursing team. It really isn't the nurses fault. They did care but, ultimately the leader of the team set the tone....not to mention the rules the nurses have to live by. The nurse that leads the Accredo nurses has great leadership ability and it shines through in the job that the nurses that go around giving people infusions and teaching people like me how to self-infuse.

I did absolutely nothing constructive today unless you call going to Wal-Mart and Bookworld in Rice Lake today. The Wal-Mart in Rice Lake has a bigger selection of things and sometimes better prices than the one in Ladysmith. Since I was in Rice Lake I decided to stop at the bookstore to see if any new sailing magazines came in. YES, I was rewarded with Cruising World & Sail magazine. Now off to read some KJV bible.

Why Don't You Just Get A Port???

Why don't I just get a port? Actually, in the beginning that's what I wanted to do because I was chicken about sticking myself. I asked my pulmonologist about it. He said "I am not in favor of it due to the fact they are prone to staph infections." My reaction was.....Say no more! When can I start learning how to self -infuse direct into my veins? My father had an older sister who he loved dearly that died of as a result of a staph infection.

The reality is that whether or not you have a port to stick a needle in or stick the needle into vein you're still going to have to stick yourself or someone else will have to....there is no escaping it.

I Wanna Be Victorious Every Week!

Coach Barnabo in high school coined the phrase "Ya Gotta Wanna!" Well, I got plenty of wanna but, I seem to have had a failed self-infusion. First I blew the vein then the second time the vein collapsed. I spoke to the head nurse at Accreddo today and she said I wasn't drinking enough fluids if my veins were collapsing. GRRR!!! I drink between 60 and 80 oz of water a day.

I was victorious in another way though. I did get my last disability claim to go through finally. So, I should see a check reasonably soon. I am already thinking about my affirmation walk for 2008. It's a toss up between two. It depends who I can get to do it with me. Two events in question are both team events. One is in Southern Wisconsin...the other is in Northern Illinois. It was interesting to go read my post on here from June, July & August. It's incredible to read how hightened my emotions were and my reaction to everything.

It looks like I'm going to Strictly Sail in Chicago after all. Woo Hoo!! Hopefully between now and then I will have acquired a nice thick long wool coat down there. I did see some last year at the mall in Janesville but, they didn't seem that thick. I' ve always wanted one. As Tony likes to always tell me "It's Chicago! We'll find it!!"

I'm Thankful For!

When I lived in Claremore, Oklahoma I became friends w/ the Widneys and at thanksgiving they would go around the room and everybody had to say something they were thankful for that year( and when it came to the children...that could be quite comical). So, since I have the day off I thought I would post a list of what I was thankful for.

1) My first nurse Sue who made the intimidating transition to self - infusing smooth
and near painless!

2) For my breast cancer being detected early helping me to avoid radiation (which would
have sped up my lung function deteriation)

3) That my nephew Morgan returned from his tour of duty in Iraq SAFE & SOUND!!!!

4) For my augmentation therapy being approved by my health insurance provider( I was so,
scared I would have to pay for it w/ money earmarked for a healthy home
[http://www.healthhouse.org])

5) Believe it or not the astronomical OT I've been receiving lately that is helping me pay
medical bills that keep popping up from this last summer

6) For out of this world friends, family & neighbors!!!

7) For being able to attend the alpha1 retreat this last spring and the national alpha1 convention
where I learned a lot more about alpha1 and care/prevention of deteriation of my lungs

8) For still being able to bicycle or walk w/o supplemental oxygen

I can go on but, I need to get some shut-eye. I've had no upper respiratory infection since shortly after the Hike For Healthy Lungs....with adequate rest I have high hopes of keeping it that way!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Books, Brakes(breaks) & ATTmosphere

What a combo, huh! Well, everybody knows Katie LOVES books(Thank You Mrs. Deeg whereever you are...last I knew was Chattanooga,TN). Mrs Deeg turned the hatred for reading Mrs. Frieberg created inside out! She turned me onto "The Boxcar Children" and I went from a 5th grade reading level to a 12 grade reading level in a little over 3 years. I also gained a beyond 12 grade comprehension level! I bought the book Too Big To be Small But, Too Small To Be Big and the Bible(KJV).

When I was in college I made a commitment to read 3 pages a day(well sort of...it all averaged out)...one day I think I only managed 1/4 or 1/2 a page...a lot of begots(sp?). It was actually really interesting. There are a lot of great stories(parables) in the bible. My favorite is King Soloman's Wise Ruling(I Kings Ch 3 vs. 16 - 28). Back then I found Genesis & Psalms quite boring. I guess I've become more tolerant w/ age as I don't find them so irritating! I am happy if I read 1 page of the bible a night right now!! I don't read as fast as I used to. Plus, I'm extremely tired. I don't turn down OT or much voluntary OT.

Breaks(brakes)...what's that about? I was told doing rotor brakes was much easier than drum brakes...NOT!! I wound up calling a farmer friend of mine over to help when I attempted them. We proceeded to break the corners of the star bit off and ruin a 3/8 socket rachet. After getting only 3 - 4 bolts loose he concluded I would be better off putting it back together and letting an automechanic work on them...I agreed. However, I was thankful as I suddenly have the opportunity to work all kinds of OT!! I now have paid 2 different automotive shops to fix my brakes. One did the front and another did the back.

ATTmosphere which I believe is a division of Aralast or at least somehow related to them is for all Alpha1 sufferers..not just Baxter/Aralast Patients. Jules from there advocate program was an absolute godsend. She helped push through self- infusion w/ my health insurance provider. I have been so frustrated w/ Homecare. I have had 2 successful self- infusiopns in a row and have been able to have my infusions at a consistent time! Plus, it saves about $8,000/ yr insurance cost. I don't have to worry about procedure not being followed properly..I. E. no Benadine(sp?) used before insertion of needle or no small bore attachment being used or worse yet overall procedure & common sense not being followed/used.

Although, I am not likely to post much for the next 3 - 4 months(busy schedule) life for the most part is going in the right direction.

LIFE IS GOOD!!!