Rx: Laughing

I was at the clinic today, follow up for my long vacation at the lovely place I call the Spa. Somehow even giving it a fancy name doesn't make the place any more tolerable. Since my transplant I haven't had too much trouble going into the hospital. Sometimes it is actually okay but there is a difference going to stay when you have  minor things wrong that require only a couple days versus a thoracotomy that requires a month long visit.

By the time I left I was ready to climb the walls, between that no sleeping and crappy eating and or nausea it was in no way shape or form fun. Add to that a medication that makes my tongue numb, my skin itch and my kidneys do backflips and it gets even worse. So needless to say even though I am still on the evil drug from hell until Friday I am happy to be here.

Today at the clinic I had my CF nurse visiting with me. Since transplant I don't get to see her very often unless I am in the hospital and she makes a point to come visit, which she is good at doing. Or once a year, about, when we deal with my CF stuff that still exists even though the lungs are no longer CF lungs.

So in this room was my CF nurse (of 17 years), the new CF nurse, my Doctor who has not only been my CF doctor for the last 12 + years but also my transplant doctor, and the troublemaker my Dad. When the good Dr. walked in he said I looked better and had more color in my face, but also said the fact that I chose to wear peach was a nice play on my part to give me more color in my cheeks and my dad says well that and she's been tanning. One thing about transplant, the sun is evil and should be avoided as cancer is a very serious risk. So I turned to my dad and told him he should not tell such lies as I will get a serious talking too. Anyway, it was so funny how it went down that all of us were laughing, including me.

My CF nurse said how great it was that I could sit there and laugh, and how she wished she had a video of me before transplant laughing and now so that I could tell the difference. I proceeded to tell them all that the one things I remember post transplant was laughing and how that was the best feeling ever.  I remember all to well how I would avoid laughing and just smile, or say 'that's funny' so that I wouldn't laugh and lose my breath with my old lungs. With Cf lungs the mucus takes over and chokes you, thus causing you to fall in a heave of coughing fits shortly after the first laugh comes out.

Even today with my shortness of breath I love laughing and my husband tells me how much he loves to hear me laugh. It may seem small to some but laughing is such a great reliever and so good for the body and mind.

Have you laughed today? If not go find something that usually does. For me even watching a small child giggle is all I need.