Best walk so far!

I have had a wonderful day and am feeling incredibly positive, not only have I managed to escape home several times in the last couple of days but today I had my most successful training session so far. I walked all the way down the entire length of the ward without stopping (first time since this huge episode) and I really began to think I might actually be able to walk this last bit across the finish line.

I know with the excitement of the day and the difference of being outdoors not in a controlled environment it will be harder, but I think that I can walk a distance that I will be proud of, and even if I dont do as well on the day as I wanted to I can be proud in the knowledge that I have trained and worked to the best of my ability.

6 weeks ago exactly my lung collapsed, 2 days later I was intensive care. When I left intensive care I was unable to get out of bed without becoming frantically out of breath, and today I was striding along a corridor practically dragging the physio along (well slight exaduration but it felt like it!)

Bring on Sunday, I am determined to enjoy every minute of it, because I am very lucky to be here with the possibility of participating and because many many wonderful people are coming together to help me raise as much as I can for the CF Trust.

These shoes were made for walking....

On my other blog (see the menu on the right) I have waffled on and on about shoe selection so I shall try and keep most of this to exercise!

I have increased my training sessions from 1X daily to 2Xdaily as of today, and the first attempt went really well. I was obviously having a good day too, as my heartrate didn't rocket or anything, although this may have been due to me talking a bit less and concentrating on breathing a bit more.

We still haven't worked out the length of the ward (attempting to discuss it today with two physios who are incidentally also female was most amusing as we came to the conclusion after much serious debate that actually none of us had the faintest idea) but I do know that I am increasing in stamina a tiny bit from little signs, such as heartrate and speed of walking. I need to sit down at about 30 yard intervals I think, but seeing as I will have the wheelchair right next to me this shouldn't be a problem.

Only 11 days to go now and I am getting excited but also a tad nervous. I am not quite sure how well my body will cope with all the excitement (I am not very good at sitting still and being quiet, ask anyone who has ever met me) but we have now raised over £6500 which is a staggering amount and all the more inspiring to get there and get across that line!

www.justgiving.com/emilysangels

Highs and Lows

As I knew all along, my training regime is definitely not a stable nor ordinary one! One day I will be able to do the entire length of the ward in a comical manner (with high knee kicks and all sorts) and the next I will be breathless after 1/4 of the distance. But still variety is the spice of life, and of course that does mean if I have a bad training day, I know there is every possibility the next day will be far more successful. I had quite a painful drain in from Friday to Saturday which I thought would interrupt training somewhat, but then to my surprise on Friday afternoon I managed the entire length of the ward again, after only managing 1/2 the day before! This was fantastic as it helped me accept the pain more because the drain was obviously doing its job and allowing the lung to inflate more fully.

Sadly my lung decided that it didn't want that drain in thank you very much, and quite literally pushed it out yesterday. So today I am back to feeling that dull pressure on my lung, which isn't painful, it just makes me breathless a lot quicker, so I have done less exercise today. I marched (my idea of marching may vary from yours both in speed and height of leg raising!) on the spot for 2 mins this afternoon, and will hopefully do another walk later. Every little bit helps though, and I am staying positive that on the day of the challenge it will be a good day and I will be able to walk my furthest distance yet!

Training again!

Today was a fantastic boost for my morale as I walked the entire length of the ward with the phsyio! I am thrilled as it makes September 3rd seem all the more achievable. As always I wrote more detail in my other blog but thought I should update this one as it is training!

My physio is being really encouraging, and we are trying to work out a way to measure my progress, perhaps by secretly sticking stars at various intervals along the corridor or something so I can track how far I am walking each time.

YAY for training, come on September 3rd!

Rehabilitation.

After a very up and down few weeks, where I have gone as low as it is possible to go and still survive, and then shot upwards improving at an astonishing rate, I moved out of the High Dependancy Unit (for the second time!) and back to the CF ward yesterday. The chest drain is out (woohoo!) and things are definitely looking more stable (she says touching all the wood in the vicinity) and so I have been talking to the doctors and physios about setting up a programme to help me get my strength back.

Essentially my poor little lung muscles are exhausted, similar to how ones leg muscles must feel after completing a marathon or something I suspect, when they just seize up and refuse to function nicely. Plus being tied to the bed because of the suction pump and chest drain has resulted in significant muscle loss in my legs, which were really rather scrawny anyway! So the physio is coming back this afternoon to help me work out a plan of exercises to do, which I intend to get cracking on straight away, so I can start working my way back to some sort of normal strength.

I am determined to be there on September 3rd, but obviously it would be even nicer if I could actually walk some of the distance as well. I had worked so hard and managed to get myself up to quite a good distance, but need to start again now as at present moving from the bed to the chair leaves me breathless.

The fantastic thing is that this challenge really gives me something to aim towards and so I will hopefully attack my rehabilitation and exercise with more gusto (does anyone say gusto anymore?!). I always work better with a target in sight, and the thought of getting across that finish line with all those wonderful Angels who have given up their time and energy to be there, not to mention the hundreds of people who have sponored us, is more than enough inspiration!

Minor setback

Well perhaps not so minor, but am determined that it will only be minor in the long run! On Wednesday the 19th I suffered a pneumothorax (collapsed lung) on the right side, and then a further two in the following 24 hours, putting me in a critical state in intensive care for a short period. My rather small body has yet again proven to be stronger than anyone could have hoped and I am now fighting back hard, and was back on the exercise bike 24 hours after moving out of intensive care.

I have no reserve capacity on my lungs, so I know how vital it is that I cherish each and every bit I have by exercising and medicating them as much as I can to preserve my lung function. I still have a chest drain in as my lung hasn't mended yet, but we are taking each day as it comes and each day there is notable progress, with my amazing family and my hospital giving 100% support. A much more full account of my escapades can be seen on my other blog, by clicking here.

On a much more bright note, we now have over £4300 worth of sponsorship so a huge THANK YOU to every single person who has donated. I have also been named fundraiser of the month by Justgiving, which is a lovely gesture, so a big well done and hurah to the whole team, come on Emily's Angels, we are going to do this and raise loads of money and I am going to walk over that damn finish line chest drain or no chest drain!