browser life

Toni Bernhard wrote this a few months ago. Just now getting around to posting it:

8 Things I Miss Most as a Result of Chronic Pain and Illness

I miss the mountains, not just because I no longer live near any, but because I'm not well enough to go visit them on my own even when they are in view. I am trying to plan a weekender to Minneapolis sometime this summer, and it is proving to be an exercise in torture. It is four hours from where I live, no big deal to most people who can just hop in the car, drive right over and then go do something really cool that very same day. But for me, the drive is all I can handle the first 24 hours; any sort of outing must wait for the next day and even then generally has to be three hours or less. I cannot spend too much time out of doors, or away from a restroom, or without medically necessary food and water and medications. Anywhere I go has to be handicap accessible. And because I can no longer work and most of my disability benefits go to my medical care, we have the financial limitations to deal with too.