Starting to walk distances was an enormous challenge. The discovery that I had an inconvenient number of food allergies made my new Wahls Protocol diet a challenge too but that’s another story that I might bore you with later. My first and major desire was to be able to walk my dogs in a local field. I reached this goal by means of completing a series of stages.
I started by shuffling around the garden with my crutches. Then, after about 2 weeks I felt the need to move on. We have a short yet steep driveway and at the top is a small block of little bungalows. I estimate that a person will have to walk 100 yards to get around them. It was a nice, workable starting distance. In Britain the road signs are low down and great for leaning and sitting if I needed to rest. At first it was a tremendous effort just to walk to the first corner. I leaned on a road sign to rest. I made it to the second corner where there is nothing to lean or sit on. Standing rests were never welcomed in those early days but they had to be endured. The third corner was a road sign rest and then I was on the home straight.
I can’t express the feelings of emotion when completing it. It was an exhausting task emotionally and physically. I had done it! My body ached and my lungs strained to suck in enough oxygen but it was over. Now, to do the same walk every day? It had to be done. After about a month of this I identified another circuit walk that was about a quarter of a mile. Once I’d overcome that distance I then moved on to another and then another and changed from crutches to walking sticks. Progress is slow on the Wahls Protocol so be prepared to take your time. For the past year I’ve been walking the dogs in local farmers fields so that goal was reached. That was satisfying.
I was pissed off with the snail pace at first but knew this was a Bell Curve. Things happen much faster and easier two years on and I have a mammoth walk planned for this Summer. My muddy, hilly route will be interesting and challenging taking in old pubs, a country manor, fields of sheep, a couple of roads and wheat fields. I used to take my dogs on the same walk and I plan to again.
Onwards!