What the Doctor Ordered

Trey Smith

For years, doctors have told me that, if I only would walk more often, I would be surprised how much better my ailing left hip will feel. Well, since moving to Ocean Shores, I have been walking far more than I have since my 20s. Most days, Jaz and I go out for a 20 - 40 minute walk twice per day. We walk on the beach. We tromp through the dunes near the beach. Intermittently, we go to one of the three state parks nearby and walk through the forests just off of the dunes and beach.

While I think these walks are good for my overall health -- certainly benefits my cardiovascular system -- I can't say that my hip feels significantly better. It still hurts at about the same rate as before. In fact, there are many days in which the act of walking is a struggle in and of itself. I often must lift my left leg with my hands and arms to get it back into the car once the walk is done. And I still lay in bed at night trying to get to sleep with throbbing pain in my hip and knee.

But hey, it is what it is. It is better to walk with pain than not to be able to walk at all. And so, every morning I get up to take Jaz out and...we walk.