A great holiday but................

My OH and I had a great holiday touring Oregon & Washington from Seattle down the coast to the redwoods & then inland to Crater Lake & up into the mountains to see Mt St Helen's & Mt Ranier.

I used to be able to hike up mountains with no problems now I am limited to the lower slopes with hardly any incline. I think my days of hill walking are over which makes me very sad & frustrated

I'm waiting for another knee replacement having had one knee done already, that worked for the pain but still swells up & is sore. So I;m not looking forward to having the other knee done.

My back has been bad as well & giving trouble as well making it hard to walk at times.

It has made me feel rather "down" that I can't do as much as I used to - I've always been so active. I watch people & think that I can't do what they're doing - especially watching waiting staff in restaurants seeing the carry lots of plated balancing them on the wrists - my poor wrists struggle to hold anything these days!

It was an awesome trip but made me realise how limited I am now with my RA & OA.! However it could be worse & I am much better off than so many other people so I WILL count my blessings!

Not sure about this new site though - can't find my way around!!!!

[sylvi]

The new site is ok once you get used to it it is easy to get round it.

Glad you had a lovely time and you were able to get about,I'm sorry you couldn't get about as much as you wanted eg; hill walking, just think how tired you would have been if you had managed to do all that,this way though you were tired, just not so tired that you couldn't enjoy your evenings. xxx

[justlizz]

I know how you feel I was in the Netherlands a few weeks ago after a few days was walking about 2-3 miles a day on the flat feeling great BUT when I got home it was all steroid injection induced back to using my buggy first time since knee replacment but a hint on knee swelling warm seaweed wraps helps remove swelling found they worked great its now 1 yr since op I dont have much swelling the only trouble I have is the bakers cyst

lizz

[cathie]

I find that while holidays are good, they also produce experiences which remind me of my limitations. Hillwalking used to be a central part of our leisure time and I really miss it, so feel for you. My partner now looks out for easier trails for us to try out, and I also look for places to sketch so I get the experience of remoteness. And I've found that I can reclaim bits of my former mobility, the most recent involving trips to the pick your own fruit farm, high on a windy hillside with fantastic views. So things aren't necessarily one way down.