The Top10 Things You Should Do If You Test Positive For Alpha1

  • Have A List Of Questions When You See a Doctor About Your Alpha1(If you try to remember the questions you want to ask you may forget half of them)
  • Learn To Breathe Effectively
  • Limit Or Eliminate Your Alcohol Consumption
  • Don't Be Afraid To Be Proactive About Your Alpha1
  • Get Plenty Of Rest(You will likely have a higher oxygenation level)
  • Avoid Sick People(You have a lower immune system than most people)
  • Drink Plenty Of Water
  • Eat Healthy/Avoid Processed Food(Carbonated beverages)
  • Start A Careful Exercise Program/Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program(Your muscles will become more efficient so they won't use as much oxygen and if you have surgery you will likely recover quicker as well)
  • Stop Smoking

Sunday, December 2, 2007

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.
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