Articles
Lupus by Jessica
posted on 18-Apr-2006
I have a very rare disease. Its name is Lupus Disease. Many people wonder what it's all about. Well here it is. Its a disease that destroys my good cells because my immune system thinks they are bad cells. I was recently put into the hospital because i was loosing blood, and Lupus was why. I get real weak, pale in the face, and I'm always tired. I also get sores on the tip on my fingers and toes. I have many experiences with this disease so if you have any questions please let me know. ooddlesoffun at yahoo dot com
Caching as a Recovery Tool by Robert
posted on 19-Oct-2004
About 2 years ago I blew out my left ankle. During that time i was confined to crutches. I did not realize how much I took for granted the ability to walk without assistance. After 3 months on crutches and six months of PT I said to myself I wanted to walk as much as possible.
I still have problems from time to time but I keep moving forward. You would not believe how many times my wife gets on me about hiking trails to go caching. Sometimes I come home and leg hurts really bad but it makes me stronger to look back at what I took for granted. My leg will never be 100% and for safetys sake I always let someone know where im going and carry a cell phone.
I still have problems from time to time but I keep moving forward. You would not believe how many times my wife gets on me about hiking trails to go caching. Sometimes I come home and leg hurts really bad but it makes me stronger to look back at what I took for granted. My leg will never be 100% and for safetys sake I always let someone know where im going and carry a cell phone.
Personal Experience by Lynn
posted on 05-Aug-2004
When we started geocaching 6 months ago, I could barely walk .05 of a mile due to arthritis in the hips and osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia (arthritis of the muscles is easiest way to explain). After going after some easier caches (but still strenuous to me) I wound up in the hospital with a severe angina attack. (I was totally unaware of the condition prior to this) To have had some idea of what I was up against before I got to the cache site might have helped. I do download maps and check out sites to the best of my ability but there are some that just say 1/2 mile easy walk....if you are a mountain climber maybe.....LOL
Since I had the attack, I now go prepared with appropriate prescribed medication which has been needed on some of these easy walks. I have worked very hard over the last 4 months to up my abilities on these caches and am very proud to say that I have had a lot of successes. To climb a hill is easy for a lot of people, not so easy for some and impossible for others. There was a particular one that comes to mind that I did finish (I never thought I would) on my hands and knees and several shots of the GTN spray. It was not rated as extremely hard but now that I know I can rate it as such, I surely will.
Determination has played an extremely hard part in all the caches I have done. I am now proud to say that a 1 mile walk to a cahe is within my limits but 1 mile up hill requires the support of both a caching partner (usually my hubby) and lots of rests to recuperate. The only good part, is knowing that the 1 mile back is downhill :D I should mention that hubby works away for 2-3 weeks at a time so I often cache alone.
I can on a good day do several caches averaging 6 miles over the course of several caches. Not bad considering what I could do 6 months ago. It does howecer help before I start the day to know what I am up against.
I would strongly urge all cachers to use this system to let others know what they are up against and whether or not it is within their limits.
6 months ago I considered getting a blue badge...yesterday my hubby and I completed our 100th cache. We probably could have done it sooner had I /we known what some caches were like (drive 40 miles to find out it was unobtainable).
I have mentioned this hobby to my cardiac rehab nurses and have offered to explain it in more detail and give short courses in the walking aspects with a goal at the other end (that makes a big difference) to encourage more slightly disabled people to join in this great hobby. But I certainly would not want to be responsible for a heart attack half way up a hill that a physically fit person rated an easy walk.
Not all physically disabled people are in a wheelchair. Please take this into consideration when rating caches and use the rating that is now available
Since I had the attack, I now go prepared with appropriate prescribed medication which has been needed on some of these easy walks. I have worked very hard over the last 4 months to up my abilities on these caches and am very proud to say that I have had a lot of successes. To climb a hill is easy for a lot of people, not so easy for some and impossible for others. There was a particular one that comes to mind that I did finish (I never thought I would) on my hands and knees and several shots of the GTN spray. It was not rated as extremely hard but now that I know I can rate it as such, I surely will.
Determination has played an extremely hard part in all the caches I have done. I am now proud to say that a 1 mile walk to a cahe is within my limits but 1 mile up hill requires the support of both a caching partner (usually my hubby) and lots of rests to recuperate. The only good part, is knowing that the 1 mile back is downhill :D I should mention that hubby works away for 2-3 weeks at a time so I often cache alone.
I can on a good day do several caches averaging 6 miles over the course of several caches. Not bad considering what I could do 6 months ago. It does howecer help before I start the day to know what I am up against.
I would strongly urge all cachers to use this system to let others know what they are up against and whether or not it is within their limits.
6 months ago I considered getting a blue badge...yesterday my hubby and I completed our 100th cache. We probably could have done it sooner had I /we known what some caches were like (drive 40 miles to find out it was unobtainable).
I have mentioned this hobby to my cardiac rehab nurses and have offered to explain it in more detail and give short courses in the walking aspects with a goal at the other end (that makes a big difference) to encourage more slightly disabled people to join in this great hobby. But I certainly would not want to be responsible for a heart attack half way up a hill that a physically fit person rated an easy walk.
Not all physically disabled people are in a wheelchair. Please take this into consideration when rating caches and use the rating that is now available
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