My First Time Traveling Since Becoming Homebound

A little over a year ago I wanted to surprise my fiancé with something big for our 3 year anniversary--a trip to Las Vegas for an Emo Festival. I snagged the tickets and surprised him with the news on our anniversary. All we had to do was wait! Well fast forward to a week ago: the time had come. And this is how it went.

I had anxiety before we even left

Because this was my first time traveling both since COVID and my health took a huge turn, I had a lot of anxiety going into it. Of course I was excited and wanted to go, or else I wouldn't had planned it in the first place. But there were a lot of things to consider now as I hadn't been to a festival, let alone a concert, in years.

First and foremost I was worried about catching COVID, but on top of that I was worried about how my body would react to the flight, all the walking, sleeping in a different bed, and the day of the festival. My body had become so accustomed to sitting at home in my comfortable little bubble--my safe place. There was only so much I could control. This is why I decided to bring my walker with us.

I still struggled--but my walker saved me from feeling even worse

It was an incredibly long week. It started out pretty stressful as the airport lost our luggage, but thankfully I brought my walker onto the flight with me so immediately after landing I was given it back and it hadn't been lost. I was miserable about my luggage (and no, they never found it) but having my walker was of utmost importance.

For the rest of the week, there wasn't a moment I didn't have it with me. I was still absolutely exhausted at the end of every day, weak and in pain, but my walker made our outings so much more manageable and I was able to rest as much as I felt I needed to get me through. Although my fatigue had decided to flare up the day of the festival, my aid still came to save the day and the festival itself had accessibility seating areas as well. My body still paid the price, but I survived and I even had fun and got to dance a bit.

The ball dropped and we got COVID

Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, both my partner and I ended up contracting COVID. Exactly what I had been so nervous about. I am currently still trying to fight it off, but thankfully I had my booster and I am doing okay all things considered. It hasn't been easy in the slightest. With that, on top of my body already being so worn down from the trip, it is taking a long time for me to recover. Had I not gotten these vaccines I believe it would have turned out much different. It's been a week and I'm still struggling with some symptoms and overall feeling really ill.

It was stressful but I'm proud of myself for making it through

Of course, I wish I didn't get COVID or lose my luggage. And yes, the trip was incredibly hard on my body, but I am so proud of myself because I LEFT MY HOUSE. And for me, that is a very big deal and huge milestone. I proved to myself that if necessary, I can push myself a bit so that I can go out there and enjoy life again. It's also taught me that at the end of the day, my body will continue to be unpredictable especially on vacation, but that I just need to pay attention and listen to it the best I can and try to work with it so that I can enjoy myself despite the struggle.