Walking on Water – April Showers

The latest and greatest from our lovely Youth Editor Emily in her series, “Walking on Water- Living with Hydrocephalus.”

Recently, the weather here has been doing all kinds of crazy things. It’s rainy and cool one day, and then sunny and 75 the next. This has been causing all kinds of problems for me. In addition to my crazy allergies, anytime it rains, my cerebral palsy flares up. Some days, the pain in my hips is so bad I can barely walk. I try to make it work, though, because I know that I am lucky to be alive. I also know that there are plenty of other people out there who have it worse than me and that I am lucky to be as healthy as I am.

I have tried my best to maintain a very healthy lifestyle this first year of college. I try to eat well and walk often (walking to class is usually enough). I also try to sleep as much as I can (which is harder than you may think).

My headaches have gotten a lot better. They are not happening nearly as often, usually just a few times a month. The CP has continually been a struggle, but I am doing my best to enjoy life day by day and not let it bother me. I usually can just manage the pain with over the counter pain medication, but I try to just walk it off. Walking helps and also makes it worse. If I walk enough, I forget about the pain. If I walk too much, the next day I am very sore. It’s a balancing act. I have also found that stretching helps. When I am lying in bed at night, I try to stretch my legs and get some of the pain out of my hips. I try to drink as much water as I can so that my body is properly hydrated and can perform better.

This first year of college has taught me a lot of things about my condition. I know now that when I feel like something isn’t right, I have to go to the doctor and find out for sure. I also know that there are good days and bad days with pain and that’s fine. I can usually just take medicine and go about my day, I’m trying to live my life as best I can and do as much as I can before I have to be out in the “real world” and all of this is just a memory. I know that soon I will be thinking about what job I have to get and how to pay the bills and right now I need to just enjoy life. It’s a good life, and I plan to embrace every second of it.

Follow the series “Walking on Water – Living with Hydrocephalus” on www.mynewusual.com.

Check us out on Facebook, Twitter,Pinterest, You Tube and Instagram.