Summer, summer, summertime

Summer is the best. I know some people are really into skiing and hot chocolate and all that jazz but give me the sunshine any day! It’s been a different sort of summer for us. Betsy’s stint on IV antibiotics was unexpected and required us to change some of our plans, but nevertheless we have had a great summer so far. We’ve spent lots of time outside and in the garden and at the pool. Here are some other things we’ve been up to over the last couple months!

Breathing Easier

Betsy has been PICC line free for almost two weeks now and has been feeling pretty good overall. She was back to see her pulmonary specialist last Friday and her FEV1 was holding strong at 38 so that was very encouraging! It’s an understatement to say that Betsy has felt liberated. She is not one to take things lying down and she certainly prefers not to be bound by the strict regiments that IV antibiotics require. Since the 4th of July, Betsy has been free to resume her normal life. She goes to bed when she wants (usually after only one or two friendly reminders from yours truly), she wakes up when she wants, she exercises when she wants. Ah, freedom!

It’s a lot easier to play soccer with your 5 year old son without a PICC line in your arm.

 

Thank You

Even though it’s been a couple of months, I wanted to say a belated thank you to everyone who participated in the Great Strides Walk this year. We are grateful for everyone who walked with Betsy. It’s a small gesture but it’s a very meaningful one. In a lot of ways, Betsy walks the CF path alone and so it is encouraging for her to look up and see that there are people walking along side her. Thanks, too, to everyone who contributed to our fundraising efforts. As a team, we raised over $4000 that will go toward research being done by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This important work is bringing new treatments to CF patients. It’s very encouraging and every dollar brings us closer to finding a cure. Finally, we wanted to thank to our dear friends Ross and Deb who have organized Team #Breathe4Betsy for two years in a row. Coordinating the team is a labor of love and we really appreciate their efforts that have made the last two Great Strides Walks possible.

Team #Breathe4Betsy 2017

And I Would Walk 500 Miles…

Speaking of walking. Back in January of 2016, Betsy got a Fitbit. Last December she had a streak of 100 straight days of achieving the target of 10,000 steps per day. On July 17, Betsy completed 365 consecutive days of logging a minimum of 10,000 steps. One whole year. That’s not 500 miles. That’s approximately 2200 miles. Crazy weather conditions, being sick, dealing with back issues, a PICC line stuck in her arm – nothing has prevented her from getting out and staying active. Physical activity is so important to her overall health and being physically fit is what allows her to do so much in spite of her compromised lung function. I’m really proud of her. Long live the Fitbit streak!

July 17, 2016. The last day Betsy didn’t walk 10,000 steps.

Detroit City F.C.

My borderline insane affection for soccer is well documented. In 2012, I started following a 4th division soccer team here in Detroit. Detroit City F.C. may technically have amateur status but you’d never know by going to the games. When I was a kid I would watch games from Europe on TV and dream of having a local team of my own to support. Now I do. The last couple of summers, though, Lucas has gotten on to the bandwagon as well. I took him to a game two summers ago and we barely made it to halftime before he was ready to leave. Fast forward to 2017 and he is almost as obsessed with the team as I am. He knows the players and pretends to be them when we play soccer in the backyard or in the kitchen (yes, we do that). A couple weeks ago we were at a game and decided to hang around for a little while afterwards. Lucas got to meet several of the players. He was over the moon!

Lucas with some of his favorite Detroit City F.C. players!

Silver Holloware

On July 14, Betsy and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary. In case you were wondering, the traditional gift for one’s 16th wedding anniversary is silver holloware. In case you were wondering, holloware is stuff like sugar bowls and tea pots. Having exactly zero need for a silver soup tureen, we decided to skip the gifts. Instead, we got take out and had a picnic at one of our favorite parks. It was a low key evening, but it was fun to reminisce about the last sixteen years and think about the next sixteen (assuming Betsy doesn’t kick me to the curb before that!).

The day I won the lottery.

Eventually school will resume and leaves will start to change color. But there is still a lot of summer (glorious summer!) left. In a couple weeks, Lucas and I are taking a road trip to see his other favorite soccer team, Manchester United, play in Washington D.C. Lucas’s 6th birthday is coming up at the beginning of August. And we have a long weekend at Lake Michigan penciled in for later that month. I suspect Betsy may be sizing up one or two more projects around the house as well. We are having a huge pine tree removed from our yard and if I’m not mistaken, Betsy will be eyeing that plot to expand her garden. Being married for 16 years gives you a 6th sense for that sort of thing. 😉