My mom and I recently completed a 9 day Caribbean cruise. It could not have been any better. Prior to departure, my mom decided walk a little more every day at home. She was "training" for the increase in walking she would do during the trip.
Actually, the amount of walking she did on the ship was far more than even her home training had prepared her for. She was walking a minimum of 6,000 steps a day, which is quite a lot for anyone, much less a 98 year old woman.
Mom had had a nagging hip pain for a long time. She had tried cortisone injections and lots of physical therapy. Still, nighttime pain remained, where she was waking up 2-3 times a night in pain. Well, two days into the trip, mom wakes up and tells me she had NO pain at all the night before! This continued for the duration of the cruise. No pain EVER!!!
The only variable that had changed on the ship was the amount of walking she did each day. At home she was walking 1,000 steps a day. On the ship she was walking 6,000 steps a day. Walking obviously made her hip better. A simple solution to a problem that had been plaguing her for many months.
Now her challenge is to keep up the walking now that she's home. It's hard, but when the results are so significant and obvious, it's hard not to continue. My guess is she will be taking two walks a day and keeping her hip pain in check. Bravo, mom.
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