I managed vacation....a few photos.

Well I 'survived' vacation.  It was wonderful.  And I did WAY WAY more than I usually do.  I had some 'deconditioning' issues, I pulled muscles both in my lower back and both quads (thighs)....but it could have been worse....they are healing up already.  And what did I expect going from mostly home bound/laying down most the day for a year to being active (in sickie terms) for 7 days!

Not that there wasn't an awful lot of laying around, there sure was.  I did my (hopefully annual) laying on various surfaces such as cobble beaches and sand beaches and big granite slabs of rocks.  I saw loons and eagles and sand pipers and heard and saw lots of birds I couldn't identify.

I journaled and read (2 1/2 books) and drew and took photos and lay in the tent an awful lot listening to the waves lap on the beach and rocks and the wind in the trees and a few times the rain patter on the tent (but mostly it was sunny or just cloudy).  I also spent an entire day laying on the beach feeding a small fire and looking out over the expanse of Lake Superior.

And I canoed some which is very ambitious given how ill I am/have been.  And I felt less ill camping this time than I did when I went last year, despite the fact that prior to camping this year I was sicker/iller than last year?  Which is so hard to figure out.  How am I supposed to make sense of this body when the rules are always changing?  Often, going on a 1/2 hour errand can crash me sometimes for two or three days, then how did I manage a week of camping including some canoeing without a major crash (yet)?

Does this mean I should push myself more at home? Try part-time work even? Or does it just mean I had a decent week and got lucky?  Pushing myself in most cases has led to crashes and relapses....although, I'm thinking I need to wait a few more days before believing I really got away with this.  It's not that I don't feel sick and tired, just no worse than before I went.

The OI was pretty bad and I almost passed out more than a few times...which would have been a bit scary all alone.  Although, all the times I have passed out/fainted in the past I have been alone at home anyways.

So I guess 'pulling off' this vacation means I really am (at least for now) back into the mild moderate M.E./CFS zone or even the severe end of mild? having been more severe moderate on the scale for the last couple years....which is great.

Explanation: I consider severe M.E. to be completely bed-bound and often in a darkened room, sometimes in a care facility (when I saw an M.E. specialist for years, this was the situation for her severely affected patients).  I see moderate as disabled, unable to work and anywhere from often bed-bound, to being able to do some short outings now and again.  Mildly affected are those who are still clearly sick, but can work or attend school full or part-time and are able to do most ADL (activities of daily living) which include self care such as bathing, shopping, laundry etc.

As for the vacation, I have a tan and 'look' healthy, and I met some new very nice people and reacquainted with a family I used to know which is huge given how isolated and alone I am much of the time due to being homebound and too sick to socialize.

canoeing down the river

sunset over the lake

a day on the beach by the fire

enjoying a fire

I layed on this rock for a day and 1/2 (beside the cabin)

friend's cabin 

I spent some of the time 'camped' at one of these family's cabins....which was remote and absolutely gorgeous.  I also had rides/drives both ways and I didn't actually have to carry any gear to or from a vehicle.  I did have to set up my tent of course and cook my meals (or eat snacks) and that type of thing.  Also, the few nights I spent 'out' I had to pack and unpack my bags which is why I say I was so much more active than I normally am in a day.

So far my conclusion is that it was a great and nourishing vacation.