Oh where has September gone??

Wow, the end of September already....what the heck?!

Since the month decided to get away from me and haven't updated my blog, here's a recap of my September in a nutshell... I'm back to work at the same community college, interpreting and walking around the hot campus (thank goodness its finally cooling down now, lets hope it stays like this!). I went to the Big Island of Hawaii with my folks over the week of Labor Day and LOVED every second of the Aloha environment, warm water and balmy air. It was an awesome time having my body be restored away from the fires in LA and rest, my lungs and soul were grateful (yes, I will post some pics :). Followed that with some sweet surfing time here in Cali before the warm water goes away and ending it with last weekend in Denver, Colorado for a quick 36 hour trip to celebrate with college friends for the wedding of a dear friend, Eddie Kim (congrats, Eddie!!).

Whew! What a month huh? Overall coming off summer its been hard to adjust back to life at work and in the normal routine. I had such an incredible summer with all that happened with Pipeline to a Cure, going to North Carolina and spending sweet time with friends. It feels weird to be back into a fall routine, but I am grateful to have a job and to be back in the swing of things now. Hope your fall has started out well, dear blog readers :)
~Em

Workin' on my speech...

Yep, it's that time again...Pipeline to a Cure, 2009! See previous posts for details about it. I'm just chilling tonight, working on my speech so I thought i'd take a little breather and say hello on my blog :). As I am writing and thinking tonight about the support that is around me as I battle CF, I want to say thank you to everyone that does support me. You all are an incredible gift in my life, thank you- friends, family, and people I don't know for your constant prayers and love that help keep me going through the ups and downs of a life with CF.

Much love to you all! 

Ok...enough distractions, back to my speech! The event is just 3 weeks away!

~Em

A Weekend in Santa Cruz!

Two weekends ago (yes, it's taken me this long to update my blog...sorry folks...prepare yourself for an awesome but long story), I had an incredible opportunity to go to Santa Cruz with the Mauli-Ola Foundation to help put on a surf day for kids with CF in the Monterey/San Francisco/Santa Cruz area. It was an AMAZING weekend- my first weekend away from the hospital.

My dear friend Erin came with me and we enjoyed getting away from LA and the 6-hour drive up central California. We had a great time catching up- talking, and singing to some tunes, it was a really relaxing time. After arriving and meeting up with the other friends from the foundation who had made the trip also, we enjoyed our first evening in Santa Cruz with dinner on the pier (I'll post more pics once I get a copy of hers- I forgot my camera!). Brissa, Steve, Erin and I enjoyed a relaxing seafood (yum!) dinner and then got our sleep before waking up early on Saturday morning for the surf day...

Which was amazing! Our surf day ended up being a dream come true for me and many others who participated. We enjoyed a RARE 90 degree day on Cowell's Beach in Santa Cruz and had also a RARE 6 CF adults and 2 kids join us for the day. For me, it was a day filled with joy. I was able to get to know and spend time with CF adults which is not only rare but just doesn't happen in this day and age of CF. We are not 'supposed' to be around each other, due to infection control- but thanks to the grace of God and our extreme efforts to keep our coughs and germs to ourselves we enjoyed a day of pure blessing- talking, getting to know each other, swapping stories and just relating like none other. One of the best parts of the day (an un-expected gift) was the opportunity to reconnect with 2 dear friends Isa and Ana Stenzel- CF twins who I've known since I was 10 years old (see pics below). Isa and Ana have been such an encouragement and blessing in my life, they were my CF camp counselors back in the 90's and we lost touch shortly after camp. We haven't been able to reconnect until just this year and none of us could ever have dreamed we'd be SURFING together almost 15 years later!! God is so good!

We made some great connections and had a blast at the surf day- followed by lunch with the CF adults (following contact precautions of course) and dinner with the Mauli-Ola Foundation crew at a beautiful home in Santa Cruz! Erin and I drove home Sunday morning rejoicing over the relaxing weekend, fun stories, and rejoicing over the people we spent the weekend with.

I couldn't have asked for a more encouraging weekend. I spent the day with new and old friends- all of which we just knew each other's stories. You know that feeling when you can just be 100% yourself and it's so comfortable? It was just like that with people I just met that day. We had so much in common, it truly like being with family. The twins and I just picked up where we left off- we had so many stories to share, life to catch up on and we literally didn't stop talking for hours. It was so good for my soul to be with them. I am so thankful to have been out of the hospital and able to spend the weekend in Santa Cruz!! The CF community is an incredible group of people- I am blessed and priviledged to be a part of it and to be an adult in the small population of CF adults. I definitely hold the memories from this weekend so close to me and thank God for my new and old friends.
~Em

Isa and I next to a huge pelican on the wharf!

My dear friends Ana and Isa, we reunited after 15 years. This was their first day surfing!!

Getting ready to surf...

Lunch with my new friends :)

Home is where my comfortable bed is

That's right, I'm HOME!!! After 3 weeks exactly, I was finally released from the hospital and arrived home Monday afternoon :). It is such a surreal feeling to all of a sudden be done with the 

'hospital life'. Nobody is telling me what time to eat, or walking in my room in the middle of a nap, taking me order for dinner, taking my blood at odd hours of the night or asking me to get on a scale while I've visiting with friends! It's like I no longer am focused solely on my body but I have the freedom now to decide what to focus on, it's kinda overwhelming yet wonderful!

Monday, I arrived home and ate some lovely homemade tacos made by my sister, took a long shower (in my own shower!!) and ended up napping for a good 2+ hours...it felt great! I slept in my quiet room with the birds chirping outside (not machines beeping in the hallway)!!

Thank you, Lord, that I am home. I am overly thankful for the incredible care I received in the hospital, for my doctor who genuinely cares about me, and for the many people who sacrificed their time, gas money, and energy to come keep me company and bless me with their encouraging hugs and smiles. As that long 3 weeks comes to a close and I begin to regain my stamina and adjust back to life, I am just very thankful :)

~Em

~Em

Team Emily is AMAZING!!

On Saturday, dear friends and family gathered at Dana Point Harbor to walk in support of me and the many around the US with Cystic Fibrosis. Team Emily ROCKED!! We had over 40 people come out for my team alone, wear our sweet green shirts (thanks Mike, everyone still loves them!), and raise awareness and funds for research. I don't have the final total yet, but we approximately raised close to $9,000 and considering our economy that's amazing! I'll post the final numbers when I get them :).

Thank you, dear team- far and near. Thank you to those who donated to our team, and to those who participated. I felt an incredible sense of love and blessing as I wasn't able to attend. Sitting in the hospital, knowing that the people I love were cheering me on, giving up their time and energy to walk in my honor was the best gift of encouragement I could have received. I was blessed beyond words, and from the looks of the pictures and stories I heard, sounds like everyone had a blast! Here are some pics from the day...look at that awesome team :)

Love you, Team Emily!

~Em

The Getty

I love Fridays!
Because we had the day off and wanted to do something fun, my friends Dannah, Jonathan and Mark and went on a Friday adventure to the Getty and then to Westwood for dinner! It was a beautiful day we could see over all the city and the ocean down by Santa Monica...what a wonderful way to spend a sunny day in So Cal. Good times and good friends!
~Em

February Birthday Fun

February is my favorite month...why? It happens to be the month where I get to celebrate so many friends and family's birthdays (as well as my own)! I get to celebrate both my sister and dad, as well as many friends along the way...February is a great month :).
Happy Birthday to dear friends and family, it was a blast celebrating with you this month! Here are a few pics from just one of the celebrations I was able to be a part of!
~Em

Celebrating Mariel's 30th! Thanks Denise for hosting a great breakfast for the girls :)

January Fun

YAY for Road Trips! Especially random ones through random states...
I spent Presidents Day weekend in the Midwest! It was a little spontaneous trip that turned out to be a blast. I headed first to Indiana where Bethany and I met up with Judy, stayed there one night and then we hit the road...here are some highlights :).
It was -16 degrees when we left Fort Wayne, Indiana...check out the snow-covered Indiana as we drove...

We lasted about 10 minutes playing in the snow the night we arrived...we were determined to make a snowman, but alas, the snow was too powdery...
On the road, one of our BIG goals was to see the GIANT BASKET! That's right in Newark, Ohio, the Longaberger Basket Company has a 7-story office shaped like a basket!
AWESOME...
We stopped for lunch in Zanesville, Ohio to visit with my grandparents and aunt. It was a blessing to see them, I love them so much...

We arrived in Pennsylvania after a memorable trip across Indiana, Ohio & a little bip into West Virginia...good times, random sights and good laughs. We arrived and stayed the rest of our long weekend with dear college friends, Kimi and Mike who live just outside of Lancaster, PA. This is the whole group :).
We played as the snow fell...
It was a beautiful, cold, snowy weekend...we visited all over Amish country, downtown Lancaster, and Hershey, PA.
Celebrated Kimi's Birthday!
Visited Hershey's CHOCOLATE WORLD...that's right...a free ride of how chocolate is made with a free sample at the end? And then a giant gift shop with every Hershey candy known to man? Good times indeed...


It was a great weekend to catch up with family and friends. Thank you, Kimi and Mike for hosting us, I am so thankful for your friendship. Can't wait for us all to be together again!
Thus ends my little excursion in January...the end :)
~Em

Where did December go?

As I promised, I'm back with a little update to catch ya'll up to speed on what's up with Emily :).

December flew by, as I headed to Hawaii for 6 days (see this post). It was a fabulous trip!

 

6 days later (about the time I fell off the blog world) I headed to the hospital at USC for a 'tune-up' in clearing out infection in my lungs and also to get sinus surgery for the first time ever...Thus, the reality of CF caught up with me and though I felt great in Hawaii, I couldn't avoid the need for some IV meds and clearing the infection festering in my lungs. Both the tune-up and surgery went extremely well and though I endured 10 days of being admitted in the hospital (it was rough during the Christmas season), I was blessed by friends and family during that time. God provided many to help keep my spirits up :).

Here's a pic of a little Christmas party some friends threw in my hospital room:

I ended up being there 10 days when finally, by God's grace I was able to go home Christmas Eve, and though I was a little drugged up on pain medication from my surgery on the 22nd, it was a blessing to be home with my family for Christmas day. We had a great time (sorry no pics, I wasn't totally aware so no pics were taken)- good food, good family time and a long nap made my Christmas one of the most relaxing times ever.

It took 4 weeks or so for me to really start feeling well after IV's and surgery- the surgery recovery was more of a process than I had anticipated. I am NOW glad to have done it but during those first 2 weeks afterwards, man- it was rough...snot, blood, drainage, you name it (I won't get too graphic...and I didn't take pics knowing that it might gross you out). All that is to say, I had excellent care both from Docs, nursing staff and at home, nurse Mom and Dad. Thanks to God for providing all I needed and helping me recover well!

~Em

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall

In the words of Dashboard Confessional, who sing it so well,
"So long sweet summer- I stumbled upon you and gratefully basked in your rays.
So long sweet summer- I fell into you, Now you're gracefully falling away..."

Today is the official first day of Autumn, so I bid summer of 2008 goodbye with a a few favorite memories from an incredible, life changing summer.


Fabulous family time...
Memories with friends (this pic is just one example of the many memories shared and the blessings I received from so many)...
A TON of beach/surf time on both East and West Coasts...
And sharing my story at the innagural Pipeline to a Cure Gala, thus changing me forever...
It was a sweet, sweet summer indeed...
~Em

Hollywood Bowl

Last weekend, I had the privilege of going to the Hollywood Bowl, an LA classic :). My best friend, Kim, was given tickets to sit down in the front row of box-seats! So, thanks to my mom, she packed us a gourmet dinner and we enjoyed hearing the LA Philharmonic play classic Warner Brothers movie scores...it was a fabulous outing to get me out of the house :). It was such a treat to sit down in front to see the orchestra and enjoy a relaxing evening. Thanks, Kim for sharing your awesome tickets!
~Em

I'm HOME!!

That's right...after 7 days in the hospital, I was given the 'yes' to go home today! I am so happy to be here, I just arrived and it feels great to be out of the hospital... I can't wait to sleep in my own bed tonight :)

How am I feeling, you may ask? Well, I am definitely feeling tons better than when I was admitted last Friday... However, I'm not fully better and I have another few weeks ahead of infection fighting and strength-gaining recovery to do. My lung function is still down, and my breathing is still short off and on. I am digesting my food better, praise the Lord, and I am no longer coughing out blood (sorry if that is too graphic for ya'll). So since I started to make some progress, and the docs know that I will take very good care of myself at home...they let me come home to enjoy the comforts of home plus home IV medications and treatments.

What's the plan? I will spend the next week completely at home, I've been instructed not to work or expend too much energy (I promised my doc as he graciously wrote the orders for me to leave, haha). The goal is to take care of myself as they did for me in the hospital which means I will still work do 4-5 breathing treatments a day to keep clearing my lungs, 3 antibiotics (2 through an IV) and maintain little bits of exercise and eating well to keep my body strong (that won't be hard because the food at home is a million times better ;).

Some thoughts/prayers for the next few weeks...
I wish that I could say that I'm back to normal, 100%, but that's not the case and it's going to take some patience as my body continues to fight this infection. I ask for your prayers once again, as this is almost a more difficult battle being more on my own. Being in the hospital is hard, but is a huge help because a whole staff is there to take care of me and help me when I'm not feeling well. Being home, I am more independent and it takes energy to remember my meds every 6 hours, do my breathing treatments every 4 and somehow fit the eating and sleeping in :). I've done this before, and my parents are awesome, and will be graciously helping me...but I ask for your prayers to pray that my body will heal and continue to gain strength as the infection continues to go away...I've made LOTS of progress so here's to another great week of getting me back on my feet.

You are loved...yes, YOU!
I don't know how to thank EACH of you for the incredible support you gave me. As I lied in bed each night in the hospital it could have been so easy to feel alone, the hospital is a difficult place...But each time I felt that, I knew that there was love and support pouring out from friends and family, and I knew that I had a community of people and my loving God to walk through this beside me. Living a life with CF is not easy, but having people to "live" it with you makes a world of difference. Thank you all for being with me when I am full of energy and feeling great, and when i'm battling the reality and severities that CF brings, I am incredibly lucky and joyful to have each of you a part of my life :).

I'll keep updating the blog as I progress, but for now, I am just glad to be home to eat dinner that my wonderful mom cooked! Hope you all have a WONDERFUL Labor Day weekend...leave a comment to tell me the fun things you did, if you want...i'll post here and there :)
Thank you for being with me throughout the week at the hospital, I am so blessed.
~Em

Update

Today was a great day! I met with my doctors and the entire CF team, (see this post for previous info). They talked with me about how I'm doing and also we discussed a 'plan' to hopefully get me home soon :)...

Health Update: I have been here for 5 days and this is about when the medications should start to work. I am not feeling any better, really, I am still pretty short of breath, coughing a ton and mostly exhausted because my body is working so hard to fight this infection. I am also, unfortunately, having a lot of digestive problems and my food hasn't exactly been feeling too good in the tummy (enough said). All that is to say, I still have a few weeks ahead of IV meds to kick this infection and get back to my normal stamina, breathing, and living an active life. But, I think I'm starting to see little improvements along the way and being here has really helped me to rest as I allow others to take care of me.

Some Good News: If I start to make some improvements in the next few days and I will do some more tests to make sure my stomach and digestion are all working ok, my doctor is willing to let me go home and continue treatment there, maybe by the end of the week :)...yay! We will see, I will let you all know.

Prayer/Support: For now, I ask for prayers that my body will start to fight the infection with the help of the meds, that I can get lots of rest. Pray that the meds will work hard to kill the bacteria, and that I can have minimal side effects to them. Also, pray the issues with my stomach will get worked out, it's no fun :(.

After seeing my docs today, I feel encouraged that being here to immerse myself in health care for my body is really helping! This hospital and my doctors are incredible, they have done a great job taking care of me and still trying allowing me to live a semi-normal life (going outside, walking, little exercising, eating, resting). I am so encouraged as dear friends and family have surrounded me with love, phone calls (even if I don't return them know you are loved), emails, and prayer...My spirits are up as I know I'm not fighting this battle alone. Both God and people are walking with me in this, I feel so overwhelmed with family of support around me, I cannot thank everyone enough.
Love to all,
~Em

ok...so granted this isn't the most flattering picture, but I wanted to say hello with my face, not just words on a blog :)

Love to Kimi and Mike

Tonight I had to say goodbye to Kimi and Mike as they drove away and moved to Pennsylvania. Kimi and I have known each other since our first day at Biola University, and we became instant friends. That friendship grew and we were roommates our Junior year, had lots of fun memories and after we all graduated together, God kept that friendship growing. I have been so blessed by Kimi and Mike and am so thankful that we have continued to stay friends post-graduation and throughout the many years we've know each other.

I stood with them at their wedding, and will continue to stay in touch and treasure the friendship we have as they move onto a new stage in life in Lancaster, Pennsylvania...I love them both so much and I can't wait to see all that God has in store as they go into this new chapter in life. I love them so much and am praying for safe travels as they drive across the US to their new home :).
Love you, Kimu!
~Em

Ps. Here are a few pics...this is 'the fam' (minus Judy) hanging at last year's CF walk and the one below is Kimi and I. I am so thankful for these wonderful friends :)