How I went to Key West without Lymphedema compression hose for a week.

 My week of vacation without wearing compression hose and how I came home with only minimal swelling.

My husband and I went to Key West, FL for a week June 26-July 3, 2013 and except for wearing my compression hose on the plane, they stayed packed away for a week.  This is the second year that I have given myself a week vacation from my compression hose, and I caution you as you read this to look at the possibilities and see if you are able to build up to this or even go a couple of days without your hose.  I was diagnosised in 2004, and very closely monitor and maintain my full body lymphedema on a daily basis.  This works for me so that I know what I can get away with at times and also so that I know if my LE swelling is maintained.  Closely monitoring your measurements and skin condition, is a must for lifetime management, because you have to know what works and doesn't work for your body, as it is different for all of us.  

Several days before my vacation, no matter if I am riding in a car or flying, I take it easy and do not schedule any appointments or big chores.  I wear my reid sleeves more around the house and keep my legs up.  If I am flying I wear my reid sleeves on the flight.  This year we took a Delta flight instead of Southwest and it was the first time I did not have room to wear my Reid sleeves on my flight and the pain was horrible and almost unbearable, the worst was when the plane was decending.  Extra pain meds did not even help, so from now on I don't care what I need to do, I will wear my Reid Sleeves, because it makes the flight bearable.  When I go by car I keep my legs up on the dash or in the backseat and stop frequently for stretching.

As soon as I got to my room in Key West, FL it was hot and the hose had to come off.  Key West is very humid and the temperatures are in the high 80s or 90s, so humid that we sweated thru everything we had(yuck).  The island is very small--only 2 X4 miles, so we did not rent a car and chose to walk and bike everywhere.  We remained active thru the week, but by closely monitoring my limbs for swelling, taking breaks, and sometimes just not pushing it if my pain became too much.   I was able to be comfortable the majority of the days.  I was in the water a lot and when you are in the water, the water acts as compression, so stay in those swimming pools, lakes, and oceans.  Also, another added benefit is that the salt water is great for killing bacteria on our LE limbs.  I normally take 2 Extended release 40mg Ocoytins a day and take another as needed pain medicine.  During vacation since I know I want to be active and I only allow this once a year, I take extra as needed pain meds, so that I can enjoy my activities.  I normally do not take many as needed pain meds, but my doctor told me long ago, if you need to take them to do an activity you would miss doing otherwise then that is what the pain medicine is there for.  During this week I was able to snorkel 3 times, learn to scuba dive and take 2 one hour scuba dives to the Key West Reef(3rd largest in the world) jet ski, parasail, lay on the beach, swim in the ocean, walk around and sightsee, and bike.  I can honestly say, this was the best vacation of my life and worth sacrifices I made to enjoy myself.  I brought my flexitouch machine and my reid sleeves with me and while I was in the room I wore my reid sleeves and kept up with my daily cycles on my flexitouch machine and was able to come back with only 1/2-1 inch difference in my limbs, which I have been working on since vacation to get them down to where I try to maintain them.  I did have another glitch in this plan because of Delta.  They left my bags with my flexitouch and reid sleeves outside in the rain and they were all soaked when I got home and it took 2 days for them to completly dry out, delaying me working on getting my limbs back down to size, but now that they are dry, my swelling is coming down again.  I will continue to take these yearly 1 week vacations from my hose, as long as I am able to manage this treat, without putting my body in jeopardy. For me, knowing my body and what it needs, allows me to effectively manage my Lymphedema, while still living my life.  I know I need to wear my hose and daily management is very time consuming, it is worth it when I can take a little holiday and get back on track.

Spring afternoon in Urbanna, VA

 

Spent the afternoon in Urbanna recently and wanted to share some great and so/so places we found while we were walking around, enjoying a beautiful spring day.  Of course I had to take a picture of the water, because how could you not when you see the pretty blue water at the marina in town.  

We ate lunch at The Urbanna Oyster House on Virginia Street(the main drag of this small down).  Notice in the name it is a seafood restaurant and what does my husband order...a chili dog..omg of all things, once they said they had that he was a goner and had to order it.  The owner asked for feedback on the chili dog and my husband told them that it had too many beans to go on a hot dog for him, but it was okay.   I can not say anything about my husband ordering chili dogs at a seafood place because anytime I see claim strips, regardless of the type of restaurant I order them.  So for me I ordered claim strips and fries and they were just so/so.  Our 17 year old ordered Fried oysters and claim strips with fries and her order ended up being smaller than mine, but hers cost more.  We felt we had overpaid for the quality and quantity of our lunches.  Based on other reviews, we will not give this place a second chance.

The real reason for our visit to town, was that we fell in love with Taste of Urbanna, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Taste-Gourmet-Foods/228023167208059 last fall and had run out of some of the things we had purchased last fall and needed to restock.  Check out their facebook page, which will show events offered and has a link to their recipe blog.  We love going into the store, because they always have free samples, so you can try before you buy.  My husband's latest find was Wickles, which are spicy pickles.  We also love the Thai Plum Garlic sauce and use it for dipping dumplings or using in stir fries.  We have tried Pecan pie in a jar and omg you could eat it straight from the jar.  The store has furniture as well, which is reasonably priced and not your big box store thrown together stuff.  The pieces are quality made and have a one of the kind look.

We have gone several times to Cross Creek Coffee, across the street from Marshall's Drug store, on Cross Street.  Between last year and this year we have purchased tea, regular coffee, lattes, and a couple of different pastries.  Everything has been wonderful and this place has become a must stop when we come into town.  On this trip we got a Harvest cookie and it was so yummy.  I need to find a copycat recipe for these, because they would be great for a grab on the go breakfast for my family.

Next door to the coffee shop, is a thrift shop, that we cannot recall the name, but it is beside the coffee shop and right next to the road leading down to the marina.  The owner has been there since 1966 and has a wide assortment of things in the house and in the garage that you can look thru.  If you feel like digging you can find some interesting things and she is pretty interesting to talk to as well.

If you continue out of town on Virginia Street about 2 miles, you will see a store on the right called  Something Different Country Store & Deli.  This place is one of those places that once you go once, you will want to go over and over again.  They have smoked brisket and tri tip for you to try and once you do, you will have to order it.  In fact, they let you try whatever you want and seem proud of how they make their food and happy to see you enjoy it.  The more you enjoy, they more they grab something else for you to taste..  We stumbled on this place last year and love the owner and his stories.  Check out the link to see his stories, which are quite entertaining.   We have had the Tri tip, Brisket, and smoked ribs;  servings are large and delicious.  I have had the She-crab soup several times and love it, another must have when we go.  Take home the country sausage with sage, to have for breakfast the next morning.   They have home made ice cream, some of our favorites are White Peach, Cappalottachinomocha, and Buttered Pecan. 

These are just a couple of places in town, it is best to take an afternoon yourself and wander in and out of the places, which have so many different things to offer.