Day 6- Clinic

Clinic days...the days I dread so much!!!

Eve has cf clinic every 3months. She can see one of the doctors at anytime during the year, but her official clinic is every 3 months. Eve's hospital organises clinic days in accordance to what bugs people grow. For example, there are specific clinic days for the kids who grow MRSA, Psuedomonas and Staph, and one for those who have clear cultures. This helps to prevent cross infection in the waiting rooms. Thankfully Eve generally attends the clear culture clinic, or on occasion, the Staph clinic.

Our day starts at about 8am when we get up, get dressed, have breakfast, and make our way to the train station for 9.30am for the hour long trip up to Dublin!

We get into Dublin at around 10.40am and then hop on the Luas for the 30min trip out to Tallaght.

We get to the hospital around 11.15am and head straight for the treatment room where Eve is weighed and measured.

Next up is a PFT (Pulmonary Function Test). After PFT's we usually go straight in to see the CF nurse. We spend about 20mins or so in there chatting about how Eve has been since the last visit, what meds she is on, how they are working out etc.

Eve and her cf nurse Ger!

Then we see Eve's dietician. We usually chat about how Eve's appetite has been, what she eats on a daily basis, how many enzymes she is taking, how her stools are etc. Then we chart her weight and height and see how much she has gained since the last visit and where she is on the chart.

After the dietician we see Eve's physiotherapist who does a few breathing exercises with her. We discuss how Eve's physio is going, how much she is coughing and new ways to improve airway clearance.

Eve and her physiotherapist Fiona

Finally we see the doctor. We actually only spend about 5/10mins with the doctor because he is always in such a hurry. He listens to Eve's chest and hears her cough. Then we discuss any issues that I have and if she needs antibiotics we talk about which ones to put her on.

All that takes about 2 hours...not too long! At our old hospital we would spend at least 4 hours there on clinic days, so im glad it's only 2 now. Sometimes if Eve needs an xray it will take about 30-60mins longer, but thats not too often.

For her annual clinic (which is coming up on the 25th) Eve stays overnight in the hospital as she needs to have full bloodwork done, an xray and sometimes a CT.

After clinic, we head into town to have some fun. We ALWAYS make a stop at Burger King so Eve can get lunch!

and then after that we do some shopping! :)

It always makes the day a bit more enjoyable, so Eve looks forward to her clinic days.

So there you have it....a full day at CF clinic! :)