Pagosa Springs Trip Day#5

Today started out rough, but got better and better as the day went on. Alex was still sick with fever and coughing much of the night, so I got very little sleep. I told my physician back in Texas what was going on, so he prescribed a steroid and antibiotic for Alex, and it made a WORLD OF DIFFERENCE! He was able to hike about 6-8 miles and it did not suck the life out of him. We did the Fourmile Falls hike and Brenden only made it about 1.3 miles into the hike. It was a struggle even getting him to go that far. I think he has not fully recovered from the same illness that Alex has. So, the kids, my mother-in-law, and myself had to hike back to the trailhead, while Alex and his dad hiked the rest of the way to the waterfall (I have attached his photo).

I missed out on the waterfall, which is my favorite thing to see on trips, BUT I would rather spend that time with the kids. We actually had a great time taking it slow back to the trailhead. We were surrounded by beautiful mountains, some still snowcapped. We walked through a beautiful field of flowers and had to balance like an acrobat across a couple of streams. It was a nice warm day without overcast. We were surrounded by pine trees most of the time with small sections of shade for us to take breaks.

Back at the resort, my in-laws made brisket with all the fixings! It was delicious meal and went well with a couple glasses of wine! I have been able to do dishes on this trip without worsening back or hip pain, which is improvement in my chronic pains.

How am I doing with chronic pain?

It was another good day. During the night when Alex was coughing his head off, I went out into the hallway at 2am and did an hour of physical therapy. I need to keep squeezing in these pelvic floor exercises. Once again, I was able to avoid pain medication…which is my ultimate goal.