Welcoem to posts!!
in the future - u will be able to do some more stuff here,,,!! like pat catgirl- i mean um yeah... for now u can only see others's posts :c
Thanks so much for your patience. I will upload the final episode for the Appalachian Trail today 🙏
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Sad to say I will not be getting back on the Appalachian Trail this year. I continued hiking after the last video (while taking an antiobiotic for Lyme) only to then also come down with a really bad case of shingles on my shoulder/neck/chest. I have spent the past couple of weeks recovering and while I fully expected to get back out there and complete the trail, the recovery from shingles is complicated. Which means I am nowhere near being ready for the demands of the AT and my visa is also coming to an end. Thanks so much for your support and I will try to have the last episode uploaded in the coming days. I suppose I’ll just have to come back to America next year 🙏
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Not better but getting better. Today was the last day of both my antiviral and antibiotics medication. I’m also wearing a tshirt etc again because the blisters are beginning to scab over and the past two days have felt so much better than all of last week. Thanks so much for all the kind words on my last video. Not phased by any of whats happened and so it’s not the last time I’ll go for a long walk 🙏
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American hospitality: As I stand here next to the lake and my home for the coming weeks, I get that old familiar feeling that “I am exactly where I am supposed to be”. It is just perfect - the lake, the cabin, everything. When a lady from New Hampshire found out that I was suffering with lyme and shingles, she drove for 8 hours just to bring me to a lakeside cabin in the woods which she has gifted to me until I recover. I am blessed to be on the receiving end of so much kindness 🇺🇸 🇮🇪
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One of YOU has gifted me with my own cabin by a lake in the woods where I can recover for the next few weeks. This marvellous lady (one of you lovely people following my journeys) is also giving me an electric bike in case I want to reach the nearest town but I will pick up groceries tonight as there are no stores within walking distance. The cabin is maybe a few hours drive from where I am now but tomorrow I will be collected and taken to this hidden oasis in the woods. My American dream is far from over…maybe it’s finally time I read Walden by Henry David Thoreau 🇺🇸 ps. This is a photo of the actual lake but I do not wish to give out the location 🙏
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This is the medication I am taking for shingles and lyme. Valacyclovir antiviral for shingles, doxycycline antibiotic and probiotic for lyme, advil painkiller, lidocaine patches for anaesthetic and then vitamin C, vitamin B12 and omega 3 fish oils to help boost the immune system. I thought day 2 and 3 were bad but day 4 and 5 of the shingles is probably the worst pain I have ever experienced. This is probably due to the extent of the rashes/blisters but the lidocaine patches acted as an anaesthetic yesterday which allowed me to finally get some sleep and I’ve surprised myself with cosmic humour and being able to meditate on the pain when it really kicked in. I have received a lot of advice from doctors and very grateful for the medication which seems to be doing its job. I’ll be okay and just need to be patient 🙏
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I did not think for a second this might actually be the end of my thru-hike and fully intended to carry on when the lyme had cleared up. However, things have gone from bad to worse these past 48 hours and I ended up going to another medical centre for a second evaluation. The second doctor examined clusters of rashes and blisters on my neck/shoulders and gave me a prescription for shingles. She apologised for having to give me this news and the pain that followed is probably the reason for that. I did show these rashes to the first doctor but he put them down to bug bites and perhaps heat rash. But after some serious pain over the next 48 hours, I decided to get a second opinion. This means I am now taking an antibiotic for lyme and antiviral medication for shingles. It’s likely too late for the antiviral meds to work, but I am optimistic they can still help in some way.
In case you might be asking yourself why/how this happened, here’s what I know:
Like most children, I had chicken pox as a child. Afterward the virus remains dormant in the body and in recent weeks, my body was overextended and stressed by the extreme humidity, terrain and long distances. This stress reactivated the virus and my drastically weakened immune system could no longer suppress the shingles virus which then spread to my neck and shoulder area. Shingles is rather easy to identify due to the appearance of the blisters and the fact that it only appears on one side of the body (the spread literally stops halfway). The pain is also an indication as I am experiencing deep nerve pain almost the entire day/night - it feels like an electric shock through my arm, neck and shoulders every 10-20 seconds. This pain is so much that I no longer notice any of the other symptoms that were giving me trouble! With medications, i am told that full recovery can take between three weeks and several months and even then, it will not be a good idea to rush back to hiking, sweating etc or intensive exercise. In other words, it might be straightforward getting back on trail after lyme but that cannot be said for shingles…
The pain has been so debilitating these past 24 hours that it’s only important I alleviate this pain and try to avoid any long term problems that can follow. I am currently exploring options in terms of how/where to recover. If I decide to stay in America, I have been kindly offered a beautiful cabin in the woods in which to recover and this is my first option. But I’m unsure whether or not i will want to stay in America as the cost of living is high and the chances of continuing the walk is very low. Either way, it’s too early to make that decision but I expect my condition over the coming days will help decide the matter.
Thank you for all your understanding and support these past weeks and months. Everything will be okay and I will keep you updated 🙏
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Today I am enjoying a day off and I have now walked more than 1,250 miles (2,000km) on the Appalachian Trail since leaving Georgia. This means I will reach New Jersey and New York within the next week and everything is still good - head, body, feet and heart. As you may know, the AT is more than 2,190 miles long and the completion rate for thruhikers is low so it’s a really good feeling to be still out here and still moving toward the finish line on top of Mount Katadyn in Maine 🇺🇸 🗽
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It’s been a wild week with a lot of change and lots of things happening on trail but I’m doing okay. Unfortunately, Lee had to leave the trail with a virus and Bennet is having a lot of knee trouble. I have continued to walk by myself these past days and will try to piece the next episode together in the coming days🙏
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Mile 700!! Apologies my signal is not strong enough to upload the next episode. See you in a couple of days 🙏
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Hey, I'm Derek from Ireland. See you in the comment section!