Baby Steps -- Literally!

Lately, my walking (and I use that term loosely) has begun to really deteriorate. I know it’s the heat, and I know I’ve been hit like this before, but I seem to panic each time it happens. On Sunday, the temperature rose to 94° with heavy humidity. I didn’t need to stay outside for any length of time, but even in small doses, that kind of heat can sap me. The small walk from the house to the car left me shaky, but I revived on the drive to church. Then I used the wheelchair, but I was still in the heat, so trying to just take a few small steps was nearly impossible. Leave church, go a few miles to my mother’s nursing home, and again the heat did a number on me. By the time I left the home and arrived back here, I could barely make it into the house. For the rest of the day, I tried to stay off the poor little legs inside the nicely cooled house, but there were times I still had to walk. By nighttime, they were pretty well shot, and all through the night, I could see how weak I had become.

Yesterday, the heat continued and so did my lethargy and poor walking. I swear, even if I had been offered $1M, I still would not have been able to take more than ten steps, and those would be wobbly. As the day wore on and evening arrived, I thought I looked like the elderly when they shuffle along. Then I thought of my little guy when he first learned to walk. He would lean to one side, then grab something for balance, move another step and reel around, then sort of dive into waiting arms. Well, I had no one waiting for me to plummet, but I did fall ungracefully into my chair.

The climb upstairs last night was brutal! I had to stop on every step to balance myself and drag on. The long walk down the hall was only accomplished by hanging onto every doorway and wall. I couldn’t even get my legs into bed comfortably – they just sort of flopped. I slept well, but had that walking hangover again this morning. Now the temps are dropping and it’s raining. I think I’ll get through the day. It’s at times like this, though, that I recognize what ‘chronic, progressive’ really means!

There will be days like these throughout the summer, then I’ll have my autumn reprieve before I launch into the really difficult days of cold winter. I know there are cooling vests, and cooling scarves, and other ways to stay cool, but I’m so clumsy that I’m not even able to don these devices! For me, it’s better to stay in the air-conditioned house, car, store, and only do brief stints in the heat. Then I’ll laugh (or try to) when I end up taking those baby steps!

A brief note: I will be away tomorrow, visiting my little guy, and I won’t be writing. Then on Thursday, I have to attend that funeral, so no writing. I’ll be back with fragments on Friday. I just didn’t want to alarm anyone or have the FBI and RCMP contacted to hunt me down. [wink-wink]

Peace,

Muff