I had the epidural steroid shot in the middle of May as a Hail Mary attempt at healing in time. I was already getting gradually better, but slowly enough that the summer travels still seemed under threat. The injection set me back for a few days, but aside from new vicious pins and needles below the knee, I’ve ended up with every other symptom easing since. Hip is pain free almost all the time, just sometimes dealing with sciatic pain below the knee, and twisting over is still painful in my back, which makes it hard to sleep for a solid night. I also still cannot to even the mildest bridge without tremendous pain.
The best news this week is that I’ve walked at least 4 miles a day for the past 8 days, and 5+ miles twice. Yesterday’s 5.67 walk was especially encouraging. I walked up the slough trail to the powerline trail, which climbs steeply, then continued on to a narrow, rough, up-and-down woodland path, before descending down into town again. I felt much fitter than I expected to be after relatively little exercise since December, and found that my leg is much more comfortable on rough paths and ascents than on smooth and level surfaces. That’s a GREAT sign for the summer trips!
The day before, I did a walk that involved one flight of 219 stairs and another flight of 44. I was certainly puffing at the top of the 219, but recovered fast. I think our longest set of stairs on the SWCP is < 200 (though there are several flights in a single segment.)
Onward and upward!!!