Modern medicine

I have spent the past three days in a campsite just north of the Middle Of Nowhere, Cornwall. Of course, I am in reality only nine miles away from the nearest large town and only a short walk from a small town nearby, but with only one serviceable leg the distance doesn’t matter – you aren’t going anywhere. There was a hint of foreshadowing in my previous update, but I have been dealing with somewhat severe tendinitis in my right knee since (stupidly) deciding to push through it the day before making it here. One of several lessons here is that there are certain things you can push through, and certain things you really shouldn’t.

Regardless of the reason, I’m stuck here, or at least I have been for the past few days. And these days have been miserable. I sleep in a tent on the ground at night, it has been raining on and off every day, I am never warm, and on top of everything, I’ve finally come down with a cold I must have picked up on the airplane. Even worse is the feeling of utter helplessness. I want nothing more than to continue putting the miles behind me, but even my body has betrayed me. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, but such are my days here.

I have subsisted primarily on a steady diet of ibuprofen and pasties bought from the nearest possible butcher shop (these are the only bright side of the whole affair.) The campsite is, in truth, one of the most beautiful campsites I have ever seen, complete with a stone hall dating back to the 1600s, a massive and very impressive garden, perfectly manicured lawns, and even a library from which I am currently posting. I wish I could upload a picture, but the upload on my wireless card seems utterly useless, so suffice it to say I expect to be attacked by a ghost at any second. It’s that kind of library.

One of the reasons it has been so long since my last update is because I had hoped to keep the rather depressing details of my convalescence to myself until I had healed up completely, but it’s becoming more and more clear that this isn’t a recovery break so much as an important juncture in the journey. Though I don’t suspect the weight of my pack was the original cause of the injury, I am pretty sure it is the one obstacle standing between myself and the ability to resume my walk (more of a hobble at this point) and to move my recovery out of the campsite and onto the road. I have realized that up to this point I’ve been carrying a variety of (mostly) unnecessary items, and if I want to continue without wasting too much time I’ll have to ditch them. As such, I have resolved to become a sleeker, more sophisticated walking machine by ditching my backpack completely, if possible, and only traveling with absolute necessities. This means I’ll only be able to update the blog from public libraries, of which there are plenty, but apart from that the impact to you, dear reader, should be minimal. In fact, you’re likely to have a good deal more to read about as a result.

To accompany my new mindset I have invested in the latest in walking technology. Take, for example, my knee brace. Obviously three days is not nearly enough time to recover from inflamed connective tissue (maybe that’s not obvious, so I’ll just say it: that’s not enough time) so I have fashioned for myself a medical breakthrough. Medically speaking, it is a device to move the insertion point of my illotibial band farther up my knee so it no longer rubs on the bone. Practically speaking, it’s an ace bandage with a sock shoved in the side. It works – more or less- and allows me to walk without pain and hopefully will give the tendon itself time to recover as I press on. The only caveat is that it really can’t support much weight so, again, I need to shed a lot.

Tomorrow I am making my last walk with a backpack, to the post office in town, and mailing it to my parents’ house east of here. We may be reunited at some point in the trip, as I move into the less populated regions of Scotland, but for now the most sensible approach is to do whatever it takes to keep going.
Until the next library, then!