In May, it felt like I got all the vaccines known to man: Yellow Fever, Japanese Encephalitis, Typhoid Fever, Polio Booster, Tetanus Booster, and Hepatitis A. Of course that's not even close to everything out there, but it was a lot and my arms were not thrilled.
I used a great resource, Passport Health, which is a chain of travel clinics that help educate and supply vaccines required and suggested for each unique trip. I highly recommend this company for future Racers and anyone traveling out of the country, especially the Myrtle Beach location where I met the best nurse ever, Mrs. Cindy. She helped me decide and administered what vaccines were best for me and my up coming adventure! Not only that, she also educated me on all the Embassy’s for each location I will be going to, gave me advice and tips on traveling (like keeping my toothbrush attached to a water bottle so I don’t ingest the water if it's not safe), and recommended several products to help keep me safe for the year. I can’t wait to see her again to snag the last bit of joys: Malaria medicine and antibiotics for travelers diarrhea [YIKES!].
Maybe it's common knowledge for some, but I didn’t realize that vaccines required for travel are not typically covered by insurance. So I was careful to choose which ones to get because they are not cheap. However, if you know me at all, you know my biggest fear on this trip are the mosquitoes. They LOVE me! And I don’t love the possible diseases they carry, so I got every vaccine that was related to mosquito transmission just to be on the safe side. I also will be loading up on Ranger Ready bug repellent (recommended by Mrs. Cindy) which has seemed to work for me this summer in the trial phase here in South Carolina where the mosquitoes are the size of birds.
The next thing on my list was gear. For this, I traveled home to Charlotte, NC and ventured into an REI for the first time in my life. With my parents in stow, we walked around in awe holding my list of seemingly endless items I need for this adventure. Jake (not from State Farm) was the lucky employee that saw the wide eyed look on my face and stepped in with his infinite knowledge and began to fit me for a backpack.
Once we found the glass slipper of backpacks, then the task of figuring out what to put inside was upon me. With much deliberation and trying things out, I got my tent, sleeping bag, sleeping bag liner, sleeping pad, compressible pillow (although I have been given some inside scoop from a current Racer to bring a full size one, so stay tuned for which I decide to pack), compression sacks, travel cubes (soft bags to compartmentalize while packing, not clear hard bins like you see on The Home Edit show on Netflix, just clarifying for a friend), a rainproof jacket, an airporter so I can check my pack when we fly, and the headlamp that I will rock for the extent of my journey! The first haul was overwhelming, but the essentials are acquired and I can sleep a little better now.
I have to be honest, now that I have the backpack in my possession, I am even more convinced that I will not be able to pack everything that I will need for a whole year inside. But those who have gone ahead say it is possible, so I will trust and believe. I am an overpacker by nature, in fact on a family vacation this summer I couldn’t even pack for a week in one large duffel bag. So I will report back with how this turns out and what ends up in my lovely bag which I should name cause we are going to be besties!
Now for the plot twist. On the aforementioned family vacation, I may or may not have ventured to a water park. During this adventure I met my match, The Maui Pipeline Slide. The website describes it like this: “Feel the rush of ‘free fall’ from the Maui Pipeline slides. These three slides are definitely for thrill seekers, taking you up to high speeds and bringing you to an exciting wet stop.” I learned a few things that day, apparently I am no longer a thrill seeker, and there was NOTHING exciting about that stop. The minute I hit the water I knew I had messed up my knees. The throbbing pain felt like my knee caps were not in the correct location any longer.
I was able to hobble along the rest of the trip, but when I got home I immediately went to Urgent Care, where, luckily, X-rays showed no injury or fractures to the bones. I did end up going to an orthopedic specialist and after my first ever MRI, it was confirmed that I had no internal tears to any of the ligaments (God is good!!). I have, however, sprained both of my MCLs (more severely on my right side). So a slow process of icing, bath soaks and painful stretches will continue up until August. I have to make sure I heal these bad boys before they take me around the world. I think it's safe to say, in the body of Christ that I am trying to find my place in, I am NOT the knees.
So in conclusion, I am as vaxed as I can get, I have a backpack I have to learn to pack, and my old knees have not cost me this trip. And for that I am beyond thankful! The countdown is on, T minus 50 days!!
