Italia

Well hello there! Or should I say Ciao! That's right, I am back from Italia!

We had a fantastic time, we stayed in Sorrento which is close to Naples. Its a beautiful place and we would go back again. Even the people are beautiful, I hate them haha! There are lemon and orange trees everywhere, they make a nice alcoholic drink called Lemoncello with the lemons and that's coming from someone not a fan of lemons!

My CF has being very kind to me lately, before our holiday I was going to the gym 2-3 times a week and walking Alfie almost daily and whilst on holiday I have felt good too. My chest always feels better on holiday anyway as I think the heat dries it up so I cough less but it means once I get home there is alot of think mucus to come up! I had an outpatients appointment today and my fev1 is 42% and my weight is 54.5kg, I'm surprised I'm not about 60kg with the food I ate on holiday! I must admit I did get sick of pasta and pizza though and will be eating other types of food for awhile! So I got a thumbs up from the doctor, yeay! I also had a ultrasound this morning to look at my liver, its standard I have a scan every 2 years. I had to fast from last night and the scan took about 20 minutes.

I wasn't very impressed with Thomson with regards to my oxygen, they got really funny about my letter saying I had changed the date on it (which I had to save time and effort, I didn't realise it would be a big deal!), so I had to get another letter signed by my doctor which isn't exactly easy, Pete had to do it by fax at work to get it in time. They then didn't send me anything to confirm the oxygen was arranged so I had to call them, they claim to have emailed me.... When we checked in we couldn't be sat next to each other, we had the aisle between us, turns out needing oxygen gets you no extras or special treatment! When I got on the plane I checked they were aware I needed oxygen and they told me they had been told I 'might' need oxygen! So I got dumped with this stupid tank that required a white mask with a bag on the bottom of it, not the nasal cannula I had been promised when I spoke to the extra needs department! I had to sit straight else the bag kinked and got cut off, I felt like I couldn't breathe with the stupid bag and of course I looked an idiot! Luckily the seats behind me were free so Pete and I were moved to them so my tank could have its own seat, which begs the question why we were not seated there in the first place?!

Anyway I complained to the rep when we arrived and she made sure they knew I needed oxygen for the whole flight on the way home and would like a nasal cannula which thankfully they arranged! Again we had an aisle between us, the seat next to me was free for my tank which was lucky as it's not nice having the tank by your feet. This tank only gave you oxygen when you breathed in through your nose which was slightly annoying but alot better than the mask!

I was really tired in the airport on the way home, how much walking do you have to do in airports?! I'm seriously considering asking for a wheelchair next time so Pete can wheel me around!

We went to look around Herculaneum and Pompeii (both destroyed by Vesuvius in 79AD) the Sunday before we came home which was amazing, you can't believe the house you are stood in or the mosaics you are looking at are nearly 2,000 years old. Pompeii is massive, it was home to 20,000 Romans so we only got to see a small section of it really. I struggled walking around with the heat, dust and uneven floors but it was worth it!

We also hired a car for the day and drove on the Amalfi Coast, we got upgraded to a convertible Fiat for free which was good! Those roads are so scary, Italians are crazy drivers and the roads are narrow and bendy! It's a great drive though and very beautiful.

We spent the rest of the time relaxing by the pool, I of course sit in the shade. The heat makes me feel unwell and I'm very pale which people like to point out to me and make fun of all the time. Yes I don't tan, yes I am pale but I have accepted it, it's how I was born and I am not ashamed of it. I don't know why people have a problem with paleness, everyone is obsessed with getting a tan. I am pale and proud!

I've made a video of photos from the holiday as there are so many, the song is 'Torna a Surriento' (Come back to Sorrento), what other song could I have had?!

The results are in and....

....Pete is not a carrier of the cf gene, there is now less than 1% chance he is a carrier, hurrah! Like I said before, they only test for the most common genes. This means if we have a child there is less than 0.5% chance it will have cf, which is good news! Although clearly people with cf are the best looking around so I guess I would have to put up with an average looking child....hehe.

I did quite alot on Monday and as a result my whole body was aching in the evening, I swear I'm falling apart! I did some cleaning, took Alfie for a short walk, went to see the flower lady about my wedding flowers and went swimming. I really don't like swimming but I know it's good for me so I push myself to go. Its always busy and your constantly dodging people, although when I cough alot people tend to stay away from me which is handy, this is also a technique I use when out shopping to get people out of the way, works a treat :o)

Today I did my voluntary work, I haven't been for ages so it's nice to get back into the swing of it. I then went for my hair cutting as it needed a trim, I can't have my roots done. Apparently I get it done too often and my hair will fall out!

I got a letter form the hospital today, they send my GP and I a summary after each appointment, so this one is from the end of my iv's. It says my lung function was 46%, I couldn't remember what is was as I was too busy picking my arm at the time. I wish my stupid lung function would decide to settle in the 50%'s!!! My CRP levels are 27 which according to the letter is slightly elevated, I think CRP levels are infection levels, I assume you want it to be 0? But I guess mine are never going to be that since I always have infections! I read on the cf forum somewhere that anything below 10 is good. In my 'other notes section' I also have cf liver disease (non cirrosis) and I have osteopenia, this means my bone density is lower than normal but I don't have full blown osteoporosis (I hope!). Just abit of extra information there for you anyway! Always nice to have an update of how rubbish my body is...! :o)

I have also received our units newsletter and there was an article in there about oxygen on flights, so I have called them to book a flight test for my honeymoon in September. It said in the article that they can limit how many people have oxygen on a flight or can make you pay for it, so I want to know early if I will need it or not. I have never needed it before but you never know, especially since it's a long haul flight! I have never needed oxygen my whole life so I'd be pretty freaked out if I did need it.