Until now I’ve used this blog as an outlet. The purpose has really just been to get out those thoughts that have been wandering around aimlessly in my brain. After reading some VERY exciting news about CF research and chatting with my CF team at my last clinic visit, I reminded myself that this blog is not only for venting purposes, it’s also for story telling, experience sharing and information giving. I think it’s so important for people with any chronic illness to be connected to people who are dealing with the same illness so they can share information on what works for them.
So, my plan is to open the gates to anyone out there who may want to share a piece of information that has helped them.
For this entry I wanted to share a few things. At clinic yesterday, my physio and I got talking about CF care in different countries. She told me that in Scandinavia (I think) they focus their therapy around exercise and activity so much that they now rarely recommend postural drainage on kids… and they’ve seen huge success. Not that Canada doesn’t recommend activity and not that you should abandon all traditional physio methods. I just thought is was so interesting to see the difference in care and the success they’ve seen from one country to the next. I think Canada is very good at balancing new therapies with old ones. For me, it’s important to branch out and try new things, while sticking with the old faithful therapies that work best.
As I start gearing up for our trip to Australia (yes, by the way, in case you don’t know, we’ve taken that beautiful gift we received back in December and GOING TO AUSTRALIA!!!! So excited!), this got me thinking. Why don’t I do my own little research project on how things are done outside of Canada. Australia is after all where hypertonic saline first started. So, my plan is to hopefully pop into see the CF clinic in Sidney and get some tips on what they find works well for most of their patients. If I find anything promising or interesting I'll let you all know!
I also wanted to share something VERY exciting in the research front. Here’s an article my Mom emailed me. It’s pretty amazing and it gave me more hope in finding a cure than I think anything has before.
Also, for each blog from now on I hope to add a “Kim's tips” section. Just a little tidbit of information on what I’ve found helpful. So... here's the first one.
Kim's tips:
Today's tip... make a person with CF laugh. I'm not talking just a little giggle. I'm talking LAUGH! Laugh so hard you have to cross your legs. You may be surprised at how much mucous it brings up!
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