Ferguson

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

It's amazing to me how sometimes the body has a way of healing itself.... if you just give it some time. Almost like a cactus in a way. A good 6 years ago, Hunter(my fiance), bought the perfect gift for me while I was on I.V. antibiotics at the hospital. Hunter had given me something unexpected and it was perfect. He arrived to the hospital with a cactus in hand. When my mom had asked him why a cactus and not flowers, he had responded that flowers die, a cactus won't. It was the most beautiful and thoughtful gift ever and we gave the cactus a name, Ferguson. Ferguson later became our love cactus and has been with us for a long time.

This past August, when we had moved, the Comcast guy had knocked him over and he had broke in half. I was in shock! Poor Ferguson! We needed to toothpick him, save him, glue him back together, or something. Comcast guy's attempt to kill Ferguson:
We continued to water Ferguson, watch him, and give him proper sunlight and he started to heal himself. He is still our amazing love cactus. He has grown more character from what he has been through and I think became stronger in a way, with his mickey mouse ears and all haha.


Ferguson healed! He just needed some time. :)

New Year's Eve(December 31st 2010), I started to go down hill. And after 2 and a half weeks of fighting a virus, I'm alive! Like Ferguson, I have healed! I had never experienced flu symptoms that severe in my whole life. During these past 2 and a half weeks, I had spent everyday running high grade fevers, having the chills, night sweats, not being able to keep down my food, not being able to go out and walk around, a whole bunch of mucus in my lung/sinus, and a constant cough(more then what I'm typically used to). The combination of my regular CF symptoms and having a virus was so intense it was as though someone had put a bag over my head and told me to lay down in ice water.

I knew I.V. antibiotics wouldn't help, that I had to just let the virus run it's course. At the same time I was worried because I needed to rest to fight the flu but I had to keep up with my daily health regimen and make sure that I didn't rest too much because I had to do respiratory therapy plus breathing machines to get the mucus out in order to prevent a severe lung infection. The virus and Cystic Fibrosis combination was so uncomfortable, I never thought that the feeling was going to end. I couldn't make it to Miami to see my doctors and it got so bad that my mom took me to a walk in clinic. I thought that I had mono I was so weak, sick, and exhausted. Luckily, I did not have mono and the doctor at the clinic diagnosed me with a bad virus. I started taking Tamiflu(1 pill, twice a day) and Cipro 750 mg(twice a day for 10 days). I also had on hand airborne tablets, iron 27 mg tablet, cf source vitamins, vitamin C 1000mg tablet, halls defense vitamin C drops, Nyquil cough syrup, Azithromycin 500 mg(M,W,F) and Tylenol extra strength because of the constant fevers. The constant song in my head during those days were, "If you're going through hell, keep on going don't slow down, if you're scared don't show it, you might get out before the devil even knows you're there." by Rodney Atkins. I'm just so glad I made it through the long haul, and the best part is I don't have to get I.V. antibiotics. Yay!