Hey you.

Things are good here. Isaac is on some extra oral antibiotics (his lovely Cipro, which makes him so sun-sensitive he has a cute glow even in autumn) while we try and eek out some extra time before his next IVs. His lung function at clinic last week had dropped, but when we scrutinised the figures more, while his predicted % had decreased, his volume had increased, and it was only when we realised he had grown a whole 2cm in two months (!) that we figured out why (predicted lung volume/force is based on a number of factors; gender, age, height, weight). 

He is changing before our eyes, from our cute curly boy to our handsome man. And with these physical changes, come surprising mental ones too; I have found that my usual routine is becoming somewhat void of the levels of nagging previously required (um, wow!).... I make up his nebulisers, get out his tablets, prep his bi-pap and aerobika, he wonders down sleepy eyed, and now... he just kind of... DOES IT. There is still the occasional prompt (Deep breaths! Huffs! Neb!!!) but nothing on the scale of the last few years, and when I do prompt, it doesn’t result in a barrage of angry denials and arguments. In other words, he is getting on with his treatments and my life is feeling inexplicably easier, as feeling like a nag is a necessary but really quite shitty part of the role that we play. 

Honestly, however long this lasts, it’s like the best early Christmas present ever. When we holiday with friends and they saw his previous unlimited levels of procrastination, they would always ask us, why doesn’t he just get it done so he can get on with his day? And we would say, hell only knows! But finally, he seems to be getting this. So, CF friends, know that it can and does get better (at least at times). 

Some pictures from our recent happy adventures with some very lovely family. Love you so much guys x 

Feeling fortunate right now ourselves, but sending my love to so many friends who are having a much shittier time ❤️

Vaccines and herd immunity.

Vaccinations against life-threatening diseases are one of the greatest public health achievements in history. No shit, literally millions of premature deaths have been prevented, and yet while I am actively seeking out any kind of vaccine Isaac is eligible for (with CF, he can have more) I’m still reading crazy anti-vaccine rubbish in the media. 

The wonderful herd immunity that we have gotten used to in the developed world is now breaking down in some areas, because of these inaccurate stories of associated side effects. In reality you are ten times more likely to be struck by lightening than you are to have any kind of adverse affect from a vaccine that a doctor would actually diagnose it as such. 

If you are turning down childhood vaccines for your children based on these crackpot theories, rather than trusting the hundreds of thousands of expert doctors and scientists that endorse them? Then I’m not sure what more I can say to you. Sorry. 

Not quite on the same scale as rejecting the MMR for your baby, but you also meet the odd person who doesn’t just not worry about the flu jab, but who is actually against it, stating they have no need, or that it’s another cost the NHS doesn’t need. Yes, it’s the less well in our community, the diseased, the young, the elderly who are more likely to die from flu. But if you still think flu is a few days in bed watching Hallmark movies with a box of tissues, think again. Flu can be pretty random in who it kills. Getting vaccinated, if you can, will not only protect you, but helps provide herd immunity for those less well around you. And no, you cannot catch the flu from a jab, and yes, vaccine programmes cost, but not nearly as much as anti-virals or admissions for flu do.

Of course, I’m pro choice and all that. I mean, look how well Brexit is turning out for us, right?