I sat my first exam yesterday! It was an early morning one, which was all fine when i lived in Bristol last year, but this year I've lived at home for health conveniences and so i have to get a train and buses to get to Uni if i need to go.
There was no way i would be able to manage on my own as the connections for the buses when i got off the train were a bit hurried and i just cant do "hurry" right now. Hopefully i will again soon!
So mum came with me and we took the wheelchair that I'm hiring for 6 weeks from the red cross. I didn't initially want to take the wheelchair as i didn't want my friends to see me in one, i know that sounds a bit stupid, but who does want their friends to see them like that really? It just accentuates how different you are from your friends, how different your life is to their "normal" healthy one.
But i thought about it in the days leading up to my exam morning and i realised i wouldn't be able to cope walking so it was really in my best interest to use the wheelchair, i mean what else did we hire it out for if I'm not going to use it! So yesterday we got up at 5am, and the taxi we had booked arrived at 6am as we had to get the first train at 6.40am to be able to get there on time.
Although it only takes 1/2 an hour via train from mine to Bristol we had to get that train so we could make the buses that would get us there on time, if we got a later train we wouldn't get the buses on time as their timetables don't coincide with each other. So we ended up getting to Uni for like 8.10am or something like that and my exam was at 9.30am 'till 11.30am.
Me and mum went to one of the cafes on campus and i had a friend come up and meet me so i had someone to walk over the exam room with, as that wasn't far and was on relatively flat land so would be easier. I bought mum a coffee and a danish cake before i left for my exam and then went back to her after my exam was finished. Its lucky my exam was only two hours and not three like Fridays will be 'coz mum looked pretty bored when i got back ha ha! She couldn't really explore the uni as she had the wheelchair with her.
My exam was okay i suppose, i do think it will be a resit as it was a case of i knew the questions and it was things id revised (which made a nice change) but i couldn't for the life of me clear my head enough to remember stuff from my revision to answer them :( I tried my best and I'm trying to instill that "that's the best anyone and myself can ask for" saying into my head so i don't feel too rotten about it. At least this year i have managed to get some extenuating circumstances for my exams and my previous courseworks so if i do need to resit any exams or coursework then i wont have to pay for it and it wont be capped either! :)
Ive just got Fridays three hour (fun) exam to get out the way with then and its just 2 group presentations then at the end of the month which i think we've all pretty much prepared for and just have a little bit left to do on them which is good! If i do have resits to do, which i am expecting to, not because i don't have confidence in myself this year, but because i had so much interruptions during third year i didn't really "learn" anything properly if that makes sense... then it means i wont be graduating in July i think it was but instead it will happen in November. Which isn't too bad, as long as i graduate at *some* point this year i don't really mind!!
Being in the wheelchair its given me a different perspective on CF and my life in general. Its making me want to walk a bit more so that's good! I am trying to get up to get myself a drink or food instead of asking mum to get me something, unless its something large that needs cooking, i havn't quite gotten there yet. Though i did manage to make scrambled egg on toast the other morning and i'm still alive :D Ive never had much success with cooking eggs myself ha ha!
I said about being on overnight oxygen in a previous blog and i said that its making my chest looser in the mornings, but i wasn't sure if that was due to the oxygen or not. But I'm beginning to think its a combination of that and the bumpy roads we sometimes have to go over in the wheelchair, its shaking up my chest like a fizzy bottle and this morning I'm clearly so much junk its great! Its a bit dark tho which in the past usually signifies that I've got an infection or one brewing at least, so ill have to step things up for a bit and see how things are at next clinic. I'm back at the gym now and told my trainer i want to do some weights as well now along with cardio and so i did a small circuit the other day and I'm back tomorrow morning when well work in some cardio to my weights circuit :) Were starting gentle again as i had a month off for various reasons and coz i don't last for exercise for very long at the moment, but hopefully i can build up my tolerance.
Anyway better get back to my revision :| Ill be glad when its Friday 5pm as that's when my exam finishes and I'm free!! Sort of :p
Showing posts with label gym. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gym. Show all posts
Wednesday, 11 May 2011
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
Feeling pretty rubbish :(
Im feeling so rubbish these past few weeks. I was doing really well months ago, then i got a cold and since then everything has just been pretty crap. And now ive got another cold. Perfect.
Its not as bad as the last one, but its still knocking me for six. Im still doing the gym, im really pushing myself there coz i want all this junk off my chest so i can breath a bit better again! I am doing well at the gym, ive done a bit of everything on my training plan now, a lot of cardio and some weights as well. Which granted im lifting the weight of a feather but that doesnt bother me really as i knew i was pretty weak, plus from all the joint pain i get, ive got lasting effects of it and my wrists are quite weak :| Ah the joys of CF! But its helping me to cough up loads of this crap on my chest, which is good, but its quite bad theres so much down there! :( I feel a round of IV's coming on.
Im so knackered! Im doing gym, and coursework and the occaisional day at Uni, which im usually pretty shattered for by the time i get there as i have to get up quite early, get a train, and then wait in the freezing cold until the bus decides to turn up. So im quite shocked i manage to just about stay awake in the lectures i do manage to get to! Granted gym, coursework and Uni doesnt sound like much to be doing, but when thats all im doing day in day out, it gets tedious and knackering after a while. Especially when you cant switch off at night to sleep properly :(
Coursework at the moment is a total joke. Ive got my digital media project going on which is basically my dissertation, then ive got a consultany project with a real client outside of the Uni with a group of other people. Another assignment that i have to have done for the 9th and ive got NO idea what the hell im doing for it, and another one due in on the 16th which is a series of mini projects ive been doing since like October or something. But the specifications we get for these assignments are made over techinical when theres absolutely no need for that, and then the tutors get all grumpy when so many students ask questions about everything! If they actually put things we needed to know in the spec we wouldnt have to clearly bother them with our queries.
Tomorrow im supposed to be handing in a 3000 word research report and also doing a presentation showing off a prototype of my media project so far. This im not looking forward to, and at this rate im not going to be able to do the presentation, 'coz ive got really bad chest pains and it hurts to breathe, move, cough, sneeze, hiccup, you name it and im practically crying with the pain at some points! It started at the weekend and then went away on tuesday so i was able to do the gym, and today its come back with vengance :( Not happy.
At least ive got hospital on friday, which is good and bad. Last time i went my lung function was down to 45% because of that annoying cold i had gotten last time. Then i think i had gotten some lung function back but now ive got another stupid cold my chest sounds like a car engine that wont start.Whether that has killed my lung function i thought i had gained i dont know, guess well find out on friday! Hopefully i will have gained weight tho, ive been eating mum out of house and home haha! I have noticed my energy has picked up a little bit, which usually only happens with weight gain for me more than a gain in lung function. Though i still dont want to get out of bed in the mornings, but thats only more because its freezing!! haha!
On a more happy note, ive had my hair cut :) It was getting really long which is what i wanted but it was getting unmanagable to wash it and comb it and general care of my hair. So i had it cut to just below my shoulders and styled a bit as well. I'll put a picture up soon, as well as a pic of my new tatt :D I had it done weeks ago, but its not long finished healing so it looks better for a picture now. I always find the smaller tattoos take longer to heal than the large ones ive had done. Weird.
Right better get on with this coursework :|
Its not as bad as the last one, but its still knocking me for six. Im still doing the gym, im really pushing myself there coz i want all this junk off my chest so i can breath a bit better again! I am doing well at the gym, ive done a bit of everything on my training plan now, a lot of cardio and some weights as well. Which granted im lifting the weight of a feather but that doesnt bother me really as i knew i was pretty weak, plus from all the joint pain i get, ive got lasting effects of it and my wrists are quite weak :| Ah the joys of CF! But its helping me to cough up loads of this crap on my chest, which is good, but its quite bad theres so much down there! :( I feel a round of IV's coming on.
Im so knackered! Im doing gym, and coursework and the occaisional day at Uni, which im usually pretty shattered for by the time i get there as i have to get up quite early, get a train, and then wait in the freezing cold until the bus decides to turn up. So im quite shocked i manage to just about stay awake in the lectures i do manage to get to! Granted gym, coursework and Uni doesnt sound like much to be doing, but when thats all im doing day in day out, it gets tedious and knackering after a while. Especially when you cant switch off at night to sleep properly :(
Coursework at the moment is a total joke. Ive got my digital media project going on which is basically my dissertation, then ive got a consultany project with a real client outside of the Uni with a group of other people. Another assignment that i have to have done for the 9th and ive got NO idea what the hell im doing for it, and another one due in on the 16th which is a series of mini projects ive been doing since like October or something. But the specifications we get for these assignments are made over techinical when theres absolutely no need for that, and then the tutors get all grumpy when so many students ask questions about everything! If they actually put things we needed to know in the spec we wouldnt have to clearly bother them with our queries.
Tomorrow im supposed to be handing in a 3000 word research report and also doing a presentation showing off a prototype of my media project so far. This im not looking forward to, and at this rate im not going to be able to do the presentation, 'coz ive got really bad chest pains and it hurts to breathe, move, cough, sneeze, hiccup, you name it and im practically crying with the pain at some points! It started at the weekend and then went away on tuesday so i was able to do the gym, and today its come back with vengance :( Not happy.
At least ive got hospital on friday, which is good and bad. Last time i went my lung function was down to 45% because of that annoying cold i had gotten last time. Then i think i had gotten some lung function back but now ive got another stupid cold my chest sounds like a car engine that wont start.Whether that has killed my lung function i thought i had gained i dont know, guess well find out on friday! Hopefully i will have gained weight tho, ive been eating mum out of house and home haha! I have noticed my energy has picked up a little bit, which usually only happens with weight gain for me more than a gain in lung function. Though i still dont want to get out of bed in the mornings, but thats only more because its freezing!! haha!
On a more happy note, ive had my hair cut :) It was getting really long which is what i wanted but it was getting unmanagable to wash it and comb it and general care of my hair. So i had it cut to just below my shoulders and styled a bit as well. I'll put a picture up soon, as well as a pic of my new tatt :D I had it done weeks ago, but its not long finished healing so it looks better for a picture now. I always find the smaller tattoos take longer to heal than the large ones ive had done. Weird.
Right better get on with this coursework :|
Monday, 22 November 2010
Gym
I'm not sure if I've mentioned this already but I've been able to start at my local gym! After months of going between different people to get it organised, its all sorted nearly and I've started :)
In fact I've just got back about 1/2 an hour ago from a session there. I impressed my trainer to no end and shocked myself as well because i managed half an hour of exercise today :D Usually i get to ten mins and I'm huffing and puffing for breath and just cant do any more!
I'm not saying it wasn't easy as pie, far from it in fact. I had a massive coughing fit and had to try not to throw up like usually happens at home. Thankfully i managed to control it and was able to get on with more exercise.
My dehydration levels go through the roof more than they normally do, and i think i got through one and a half bottles of water in just half an hour. Drinking more as well now I'm home, so trying to manage that while exercising it proving a small challenge as i forget I've got water there to drink haha!
I managed 6 mins on two different cardio machines, and did two reps of ten on the two different weight machines. So all in all pretty amazed at myself really :)
I'm booked in for twice next week as i really want to get more into this and start feeling the benefits!
Ive got my next appointment on the 3rd December, and so if my lung function has gone up ill be extremely happy!! Its 45% at the mo, and i would love to gain even just 5% back and take it in small steps like that. But then if i get back over 5% that's just a bonus!!
Time shall only tell...
In fact I've just got back about 1/2 an hour ago from a session there. I impressed my trainer to no end and shocked myself as well because i managed half an hour of exercise today :D Usually i get to ten mins and I'm huffing and puffing for breath and just cant do any more!
I'm not saying it wasn't easy as pie, far from it in fact. I had a massive coughing fit and had to try not to throw up like usually happens at home. Thankfully i managed to control it and was able to get on with more exercise.
My dehydration levels go through the roof more than they normally do, and i think i got through one and a half bottles of water in just half an hour. Drinking more as well now I'm home, so trying to manage that while exercising it proving a small challenge as i forget I've got water there to drink haha!
I managed 6 mins on two different cardio machines, and did two reps of ten on the two different weight machines. So all in all pretty amazed at myself really :)
I'm booked in for twice next week as i really want to get more into this and start feeling the benefits!
Ive got my next appointment on the 3rd December, and so if my lung function has gone up ill be extremely happy!! Its 45% at the mo, and i would love to gain even just 5% back and take it in small steps like that. But then if i get back over 5% that's just a bonus!!
Time shall only tell...
Thursday, 11 November 2010
Feeling Good :D
I'm feeling pretty good these past few days, so im taking the opportunity to write a blog about and make it a bit happier for a change :p
Ive finally been able to start at the gym near me!! Ive only done two work outs there so far and as my personal trainer is off for 5 days now im not back until the 16th. But those two days already have given me the chance to feel like my old self again!! Ive had energy that ive not known what to do with, granted im not waking up and jumping out of bed yet, but its a tiny step towards that! Though not being a morning person i doubt ill ever be bounding out of bed with energy haha! :)
My personal trainer is so nice! I had a consultation with him and explained about having CF and he wrote pretty much everything down that i said, and we filled out some questionnaire thing together to find out more about my condition and for their records as well. I was for once in my life, honest about how CF affects me and what it is and everything like that. I usually try to dull it all down as "just a bit of a manic cough" i think more to stop myself gettin all moppy about my reality, but i thought this is my reality. Im 21, its time i start accepting things properly and pulling my finger out my arse! So thats what im doing :) Im still struggling to get back into my old nebs routine, but im really getting there. Dave (my personal trainer) went away from the consultation meeting and did lots of research about CF and all the meds that im on and everything, so hes properly clued up! This really settled me. Im usually like most CFers i think pretty embarressed about the whole coughing up lovely looking mucus and things like that, but hes always on hand for tissues, making sure im getting it out like im meant to, making sure im hydrated and not pushing myself too much, but just enough to get things working.
I have problems with not knowing my limits, and then if i do know my limits with something i ignore them and push on anyway. It gets me into problems a lot. But hes keeping me in check! Making sure i start off small bits and working my way up to longer exercise routines. I managed 10mins in my first session and then 15 mins in my second session. I felt a bit pathetic after that first session for only having been able to manage just a meger 10mins of exercise, but he said that its 10mins of exercise i didnt do yesterday and so thats something to be pleased of! I was still a bit annoyed at myself, but i think that it was just my stubborness of not recognising my limits showing through, as after i finished the 15mins session i was really pleased that i had managed to go for 5 mins longer than before! Im aiming for 20mins next time.
We've set a target of 55% lung function to be reached by my next hospital appointment, which is in December on the 3rd. Im 45% at the mo, so a 10% gain is a realistic goal that i feel i can reach! Im so happy :)
Im also feeling inspired lately, which is helping me with my Uni work! Im doing a lot more sketches of random layouts for sites, and i just dug all my old art and crafts stuff out my cupboard and feeling even more inspired to get back into my creative self.
I honestly hadn't realised how much i had changed lately and just seemed to stop bothering with anything that made me happy, as i guess i didnt see the point for some reason. But last night i was feeling the happiest ive felt in a long time, and i was making mum laugh by being the idiot that i am :) and she said that it was good to see me getting back to my old self. Apparently i had been really moody and sad a lot lately and i hadn't noticed.
Its amazing what a bit of exercise can do for you! Can't wait to get back to the gym next week!
Now all i need is for the weather to clear up so i can get out and take some pretty pics with my new camera!!
Ive finally been able to start at the gym near me!! Ive only done two work outs there so far and as my personal trainer is off for 5 days now im not back until the 16th. But those two days already have given me the chance to feel like my old self again!! Ive had energy that ive not known what to do with, granted im not waking up and jumping out of bed yet, but its a tiny step towards that! Though not being a morning person i doubt ill ever be bounding out of bed with energy haha! :)
My personal trainer is so nice! I had a consultation with him and explained about having CF and he wrote pretty much everything down that i said, and we filled out some questionnaire thing together to find out more about my condition and for their records as well. I was for once in my life, honest about how CF affects me and what it is and everything like that. I usually try to dull it all down as "just a bit of a manic cough" i think more to stop myself gettin all moppy about my reality, but i thought this is my reality. Im 21, its time i start accepting things properly and pulling my finger out my arse! So thats what im doing :) Im still struggling to get back into my old nebs routine, but im really getting there. Dave (my personal trainer) went away from the consultation meeting and did lots of research about CF and all the meds that im on and everything, so hes properly clued up! This really settled me. Im usually like most CFers i think pretty embarressed about the whole coughing up lovely looking mucus and things like that, but hes always on hand for tissues, making sure im getting it out like im meant to, making sure im hydrated and not pushing myself too much, but just enough to get things working.
I have problems with not knowing my limits, and then if i do know my limits with something i ignore them and push on anyway. It gets me into problems a lot. But hes keeping me in check! Making sure i start off small bits and working my way up to longer exercise routines. I managed 10mins in my first session and then 15 mins in my second session. I felt a bit pathetic after that first session for only having been able to manage just a meger 10mins of exercise, but he said that its 10mins of exercise i didnt do yesterday and so thats something to be pleased of! I was still a bit annoyed at myself, but i think that it was just my stubborness of not recognising my limits showing through, as after i finished the 15mins session i was really pleased that i had managed to go for 5 mins longer than before! Im aiming for 20mins next time.
We've set a target of 55% lung function to be reached by my next hospital appointment, which is in December on the 3rd. Im 45% at the mo, so a 10% gain is a realistic goal that i feel i can reach! Im so happy :)
Im also feeling inspired lately, which is helping me with my Uni work! Im doing a lot more sketches of random layouts for sites, and i just dug all my old art and crafts stuff out my cupboard and feeling even more inspired to get back into my creative self.
I honestly hadn't realised how much i had changed lately and just seemed to stop bothering with anything that made me happy, as i guess i didnt see the point for some reason. But last night i was feeling the happiest ive felt in a long time, and i was making mum laugh by being the idiot that i am :) and she said that it was good to see me getting back to my old self. Apparently i had been really moody and sad a lot lately and i hadn't noticed.
Its amazing what a bit of exercise can do for you! Can't wait to get back to the gym next week!
Now all i need is for the weather to clear up so i can get out and take some pretty pics with my new camera!!
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