10 years, NEW LUNGS, Stress, and TONS of LOVE!

This post may be a little scattered because, well, my mind is. I've been meaning to post a blog for awhile now and tonight I felt extra inspired to do so. So, where to start.

10 years:
March 27th, 2015. My 26th birthday. 10 years since I lost my very first friend to Cystic Fibrosis. 10 years that I've been working to raise awareness and money. She is the reason I am, who I am. For my 10th year doing the GreatStrides walk for Cystic Fibrosis I raised roughly $1200!

NEW LUNGS:
Now for the big news! As many of you know, my best friend, "Mebsie" received her double lung transplant. On 5/28/15 (surgery went into the wee hours of the next day) It was exactly one week ago (minus 1hr) that she was wheeled into the OR. It has been a CRAZY emotional ride, and it's just the beginning. Mebsie has made tremendous progress, and I couldn't be more proud of her. She hasn't even had these lungs for a full week and she's already been sitting, standing and walking. She's already had 2 chest tubes removed. She's got color in her cheeks and power behind her voice. She is still very sleepy and in quite a bit of pain, she's still unable to eat, she's still feeling pretty miserable; but this time, it's not because of Cystic Fibrosis, but because she's healing. And soon, she'll be doing things she never could before. Soon, she'll be living the life she deserves. I'm honored to be her friend.
Mebsie will have a massive amount of bills that go along with this new life, if you wish to donate, Click Here! And don't forget to sign the guest book!

Stress:
In about 12hrs it will be one week since I "moved in" to the hospital to be with her. One week of sleeping (or not sleeping) on uncomfortable pull out chairs, one week of extremely overpriced ($10-20 per meal) and mostly unhealthy food, one week of not being able to properly elevate my swollen feet, one week of stress, anxiety and crazy nerves, one week of a single small shower shared by ALL caregivers, and one week of unrelenting back pain. Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change it for the world. I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat. My desire to be here for my best friend trumps all these minor inconveniences.

Tons of Love:
Due to the everything listed in the "stress" section, I did finally have a slight breakdown yesterday, and reached out to my friends (and a caregivers support group) for support. But in the hours following I was met with an unexpected outpouring of love that literally brought me to tears. I had friends send me money, to help me pay for food. I have a friend bringing me some extra clothes tomorrow. I had a perfect stranger, bring me Dunkin Donuts coffee and munchkins this morning. She had been following my updates on Mebsie in the transplant support group and was here visiting her husband, so she brought me breakfast. I had another friend pay for my dinner and have it delivered to the hospital. (it was delicious btw) I have 2 other friends assembling care packages. Another one bringing home cooked food. And yet another offering me a bed for a few nights. I have never in my life felt more loved and appreciated. I honestly couldn't (and still can't) comprehend it. So thank you all, from the bottom of my heart.

 CF walk day. (5/17/15)

2.5 days post op. (6/1/15)

Be Bigger Than Yourself! (and an update)

So, it has been a long, LONG time since I did a blog.
A ton has happened, most of which I'm not really going to get into because it's old news.
Short version: got referred to another hospital for my cardiac issues, found new heart problems, started new meds, increased those meds twice, if I increase again I'll be on the max dosage and then will be looking at surgery because my problems will continue to increase over time. I am officially on disability after over a year of fighting for it. I want to move out but realistically can't afford it, not if I want to stay in NJ (which I do). I stopped my mood stablizers due to side effects. Without them I seem to have zero motivation for anything and it's starting to bum me out. I haven't been able to travel due to my dog's health. He is 14+ years old and his health seems to go downhill if I leave. My last trip was in July, I went to the Transplant Games of America in Texas with a good friend. It was a great experience but my dog didn't handle it well. So I'm stuck home until I'm forced to go to Florida in November. (or until he dies *sadness*)


Now for the fun stuff!:

I am now an official intern for the More Than Just Me Foundation! 
Why? Well because the MTJMe foundation developed something called the Saltwater Challenge. (inspired by the Ice bucket challenge) and yours truly not only participated in it but also recruited the marketing team at the global medical supply company BD to participate as well.  Okay, I can't take all the credit, my mom works at BD.  Anyway, roughly $600 was raised. My mom also applied for company gift matching, and it was approved. So all in all around $1100-1200 was raised. I was contacted by the founder of MTJMe with the opportunity to become an intern for them, and of course, I jumped right on that! We all know I bleed CF awareness. MTJMe focuses on raising awareness for multiple causes including helping the homeless and Cystic Fibrosis. I'm super proud to be a part of the awesomeness that is MTJMe!


Things to check out!:

My Saltwater Challenge video!

The BD Marketing Team doing the challenge!