I set off from dads with my liquid oxygen today so no hissing just heavy breathing, the weather was warm but looking unpredictable so I took a brolly just in case. I headed up the lane and was soon into the familiar pattern of huffing, puffing, coughing and spluttering, stopping resting, and then pushing on, it kind of makes you wonder why I find these walks so enjoyable but lucky for me I do.
It was all going well, spotted some swallows and a pair of gold finches but then two cars came from opposite directions traveling to fast for the narrow lane. They met on a corner right where I was walking making me jump up a steep bank to avoid being hit, I tottered and almost fell back down as the one car flashed by inches from me with a blonde passenger looking up at me through an open window with a shocked look on her face. It seems even on a quiet country walk it pays not to relax to much as that was pretty close to curing my breathing problems .
Anyway I carried on up the lane when a taxi came towards me, again going to fast, I thought he would see me and slow a little as the lane was quite narrow at this point but no he kept coming and got very close to hitting me as I was hugging the hedge. Whew the normally quiet lane was more like a race track this day and it reminded me having dodgy lungs wasn't the only way to depart this world.
Luckily I made it up to the highest point of my walk without anymore close shaves with the reaper and sat down on the memorial seat to get my breath and take in the sights and sounds all around.
From here on the walk becomes more enjoyable as I am not fighting gravity anymore, its either downhill or level ground so on my zig zag off road return to dads I rolled the film and took a few pics to share. There's a few sheep, a pond, a house with a Ha Ha, a bridge crossing a stream and a very manicured orchard the very opposite of dads.
Back at dads there's the upside down bird (nuthatch) pics of his back garden and stray cat (not for much longer)
If you can't get out today and take a walk yourself then enjoy a virtual walk with me in the safety of your own home. .
Its normally very quiet on the lane but I found out later there was a diversion and people who weren't used to using it were coming this way. You could really tell the difference!
I did enjoy that walk young Tony,showed the Grandkids that is country England!
I can see why you enjoy those walks so much,& good on you,for getting out of your comfort zone at times,as I'm sure you must do at times!
Once you have those new lungs,I'm sure you will be walking the length & breadth of England. I'll look forward to that!
Hi Wendells, great to hear from you, hope you and your family are having a better time of it now.
I'm glad you enjoyed and made use of my vids/pics and hope the grandkids enjoyed seeing a tiny piece of middle England in summer time.
My walks are as hard as I make them and yes sometimes I'm well out of my comfort zone but then I choose to do it so I can't complain can I . Its good exercise for my lungs and helps charge my psychological batteries at the same time. .
As you say there is hope of one day walking further afield but for now I'm happy doing what I do .
Sharon the child bride is well as the rest of the family thanks.
Thanks Marie, my aim is to get people out and walking themselves to a fitter and better place. Hopefully these vids of mine will tempt a few out into the countryside and we'll get a few more pics coming in. x
Hi superwoman, enjoyed reading your last post about the car, the range rover and the 3 years since joining the walking miracles club. Its 5 years since I got in and were both still walking thanks to our oxygen and a few props eh.
We showed them so called experts didn't we .
Whats with the muscle growth proteins?, are you planning on looking like Lara Croft (tomb raider) or is it to help you carry the larger emergency type oxygen cylinders around on your back .
Keep that exercise going DD so you can sort out those crazy car drivers for me, I could do without any more Hospital visits.
Note to all car drivers:- Watch out, watch out, there could be a Tony about!
Silly people driving like that - disgusting!
Glad you are ok though Tony and what amazing photos and video. Such a beautiful area you live in. Not sure about the house with the Ha Ha?! but daresay you will explain. Also, why will the cat not be a stray for much longer? Is someone taking the pretty cat in? I do hope so.
Carry on walking Tony - you are an inspiration. xxxx
A ha-ha (or ha-ha wall) is a recessed landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier while preserving views.
Hope that explains it .
The cat turned up at dads a few months back now and is gradually moving in with him. His dog Bron isn't to keen though and will have to be persuaded when the weather changes.
Yes' Malvern is a great place to live which gives me plenty of photo opportunity's as you can see, with a little help from my dads garden and his new cat. . xxxx
Thanks for the explanation Tony and yes, it did make things clearer. Glad you liked my message to the car drivers and I think a flashing sign is a great idea.
The cat is really lovely and hope he/she likes living with your dad. Such a lovely garden to run around in too. The cat, not your dad!
Keep on walking Tony and taking the wonderful photos. Wishing you well and take care.....especially in narrow lanes!
Hi Fern, 'Countryfile' has got some competition yeh'. There's no doubt walking in the country is the best way of getting your daily exercise, its a shame I can only do it for the spring/summer or when the weather allows.
Dads garden is looking pretty good again this year isn't it, so much better than mine but I do have a very good excuse. Well my wife doesn't know how to use a spade or a fork. Ha Ha.
Its about time we organised the Hills walk with the others.
A quick response to your inspirational post Tony....yesterday in need fixing a sluggish body I made it up to the hill fort on top of Leckhampton Hill, a roos the top and on to Charlton Kings Common before descending back to the car park (2hrs walking so far) missed the path back to car park and ended up doing 3 hrs in total !
Thanks for that. I'm still fighting my infection and all about I can manage is going downstairs and back twice a day so I really appreciate your vids and pics.
On another note. What level of oxygen are you on at rest and how much do you increase it to when you are going for one of those walks ?
I'm on half a litre and was told to increase it to 1 litre if I'm active. I'm wondering if that is enough as I still have to rest often. That's when I'm at my healthiest best.
I should be able to work out the percentage increase I may need from your numbers.
Hi Puff, These dam infections can knock us for six can't they, keep up that fight until you've kicked it into touch and you can jog up and down them stairs.
As for the oxygen, I,m on 1 1/2 liters overnight, 2 liters sat at home and 4 to 8 liters when out walking according to whether I'm on a steep hill or the level.
As you can see I adjust it to how much I'm burning and my nurses are happy for me to do that.
My sats can vary from 96 to 60s very quickly when under load. I did a 6 minute walk test recently and my sats dropped from 93 to an all time low of 61 off oxygen but I managed 425 meters so that's where I'm at at the moment.
It does sound as though you could increase your level of oxygen but it would pay to have a chat with your oxygen nurse first in case your a retainer of carbon dioxide. Then to much oxygen can be dangerous.
I'm not a retainer but I'm aware of the effects. They like me to be at 93% as the highest. Oddly enough I haven't tested myself when I'm walking hard or doing other stuff. I'll do some tests. Maybe I need to increase the flow a bit more. Thanks for the info.
I'm not a retainer but I'm aware of the effects. They like me to be at 93% as the highest. Oddly enough I haven't tested myself when I'm walking hard or doing other stuff. I'll do some tests. Maybe I need to increase the flow a bit more. Thanks for the info.
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