Hey everyone, just wanted to post to let everyone know that I'm officially running WAY behind here. I have soooooo many open MedHelp tabs on my browser of posts and PMs that I really, really am planning on answering. I have (happily) had a very busy past two days enjoying the holiday weekend with family and friends, but as I'm not accustomed to being out and about (especially not in this weather), it has taken more out of me than just the actual hours that I was away from home. I will do my best to get back on track ASAP. I did respond to one thing tonight because I promised Dennis I would get that to him before Tuesday (okay, technically it's after midnight, but we're a second shift household ... so it's still "Monday night" in our minds) and I don't like to break promises if I don't have to, but I'm hoping everyone can be patient with me as I slowly crawl my way through everything else throughout this week.
On the bright side, I'm happy to report that I was successful in spending time OUTDOORS in 89 degree weather on Sunday for a bit. This is MONUMENTAL for me, and the biggest change was that this summer I have the reclining wheelchair. We put it at full 180 degrees (with legs and back fully parallel to the ground), which of course eliminates any orthostatic stress, and between that in keeping up a very high rate of fluid intake while I was outside, I was able to keep my HR down in a tolerable range. That would have been unheard of for me last year, so I'm very excited. I was still very fatigued afterward, but not horridly ill or anything; I was even able to leave the house again on Monday and spend more time with family. Again, I used my wheelchair to cope with the outdoors; the temperatures were cooler so it was even easier. I highly recommend the recliner wheelchair to anyone who has the opportunity to get one; I found mine used on ebay for MUCH cheaper than they sell new, so don't be scared off by the price.
I hope everyone else enjoyed the long weekend!! Anyone else have little successes from this weekend to celebrate here in this thread? I'd love to hear about them!!