Help & ideas needed for disabled person

[Anthon62]

Dear everybody,
Since a while I have the strong will, and urge, for doing the Camino Frances ..... it feels like a 'call' .... but ... I'm looking for some alternative ways to make it possible.
Some history first : february 2014 I got a TIA ( transient ischemic attack = heart rhythm problems/atrial fibrillation)
Mai 2017 a pacemaker/defibrillator was inplanted due to heart issues .
December 2017, the same year, I was told by the specialists 'they weren't able to do any more'.
Just medication and hope .... pray .... accept the situation and 'get used to it'.
Anyway .... my condition nowadays ?..... I'm not able to 'walk' the camino, that's no question about it.
A bike is not an option for me, nor on a horse/carriage, ...... a 'scooter-option' isn't a good one .... noise, pollution, .... and I want to 'walk' the camino as close as possible as it should be experienced. So to speak.

Has anybody have ideas or propositions for me ...... I'm out of ideas .... sometimes someone else has an ( complete) other clear view on a situation.
Looking at it from another angle ..... maybe.
Great to hear from you people .
E-hugs from Belgium
Anthon

 

[Tincatinker]

Hi @Anthon62, welcome to the forum.

Though you have not provided us with your full medical diagnosis, and why would you, I'm surprised from what you have said that you think you cannot walk Camino.

I have ischemic heart disease; a partial occlusion of the anterior artery; a +/-1cm displacement of the sacroiliac, and emphysema. None of which have stopped me walking camino: its just meant I have had to plan carefully and manage my conditions.

Many members of this forum and many, many more who will never grace these pages, overcome significant challenges to walk their caminos.

As the little sign at the top of the Cresta Run used to say "Are you sure this is what you want to do with the rest of your life?"

 

[Delphinoula]

In Germany the law about handicap has been changed to: it is not your condition which makes you disabled but your environment that does not change to your abilities so you can lead a life like everybody else.
I am challened too, but it never stopped me to do what I wanted or needed to do.
Maybe we need more carefully prepare and listen to our bodies more but if you don’t go now, when?
For my first one I picked one Camino that was not so challenging distance and. height profil vice. You do not need to walk 20 km with increments of 5 km you will arrive as well. I started my Camino from home with 5 minutes walked, then 10 min. Boy how proud I felt after my first time 3 km and within a year I completed my first Camino with my last day walking 30 km.
Anthon corragio . Let me know if you decide to do it.

 

[Anthon62]

Dear Tinca ..... thanks for your uplifting words .
My condition mentally is very good .... always has .... though physically is another story.
I have to listen to my body first.
Going up the stairs ..... have to do this in two times with a break.
Can walk 2-2.5 km/ hour for a while, but not for hours.
I'm the last one to be couch potato ..... I accept the situation but I will not be hold down to live my life to the fullest, if there is any possible way .... you know.
I'm living in the Belgian Ardennes near Bastogne since 10 years. Beautifull surrounding, nice people and ..... very nice hickes and walking tracks ..... but I'm not able to do even the lightest anymore. I have tried though ..... going down = no problem, the slightest way up is ..... well uh ..... very tough.

 

[Tincatinker]

@Anthon62 I wish you well amigo; I wish you hope to match your aspiration.

And if you can walk a some Km a day for a some days perhaps you can walk camino. Perhaps from Sarria, perhaps from Tui. Perhaps one of the kind brethren here can suggest the flattest route to Santiago.

Buen camino

 

[Delphinoula]

Another plus you have in the Ardennes. If I recall it right you have great air there unpoluted.
I walked the Portuguese along the coast it’s really flat and then when turning inland you can find an alternative for those more challenging hilly areas . It’s your Camino.
You may consider a back pack transport from Albergue to Albergue, just look around in the forum thread

5-10km/day pilgrims

 

[MinaKamina]

Hello Anthon62, welcome to the forum.
If you are living in Bastogne, you are almost on one of the Caminos to Santiago, namely the Via Arduina.

Map of the Belgian Caminos:

As you can see, you have a lot of Caminos nearby for training. The flattest Camino in Belgium is probably the Via Brugensis near the coast.

The good thing about walking to Santiago from home in Europe is that any distance a day will get you nearer to Santiago. If you walk 5 kms a day, it will take you roughly 400 days to reach the Obraidoro from where you live. The problem is that there is probably no accomodation every 5 kms.

By all means go for it, but not on your own. Have a support system so you can focus on what really matters to you: walking the Camino.

A campervan would be ideal. It would solve the problems of travel, luggage, rest and a place for the night. You would of course need someone to drive the van. And perhaps someone to walk with you. It will take some planning to skip the parts of the Camino that are too much for you. Skip the Pyrenees, start in Pamplona. You will find out how it goes as you walk. You may still sleep in albergues, if that is what you want.

If I remember well, I read about this in the book that Hape Kerkeling wrote about his Camino. On the Way, he met an American woman who walked what she could, and that really wasn't much, and her husband was nearby with a campervan to pick her up and assist her when necessary. The year was 2001.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Perhaps one of the kind brethren here can suggest the flattest route to Santiago.

In general the meseta along the Camino Frances is flat; flatter than the rest anyway. It extends from Burgos to Leon or Astorga. Brierley's guide, using Astorga as the end point, suggests 10 days to 230 km. This would get one onto a part of the camino that many find fascinating without as much hill climbing exertion found elsewhere.

 

[t2andreo]

Where there is a will... there is a way. Consult with your heart doctor and explain what you want to do. Discuss it, ask for the right medications, training exercises, diet, etc.

Pick the route with the FLATTEST elevation profile for the final 100 km into Santiago. This might be the Camino Portugues from Tui to Santiago. But, on the route from Sarria to Santiago there are more places to stay and eat along the way, as well as more pilgrims around you. Others will offer their opinions.

TAKE IT SLOW. If you can only walk 5 - 8 km daily, so what. It is YOUR camino.

I wish you succes! and bon chance! Let us know how it went after you accomplish this.

Hope this helps.

 

[williamlittig]

Hi @Anthon62, welcome to the forum.

Though you have not provided us with your full medical diagnosis, and why would you, I'm surprised from what you have said that you think you cannot walk Camino.

I have ischemic heart disease; a partial occlusion of the anterior artery; a +/-1cm displacement of the sacroiliac, and emphysema. None of which have stopped me walking camino: its just meant I have had to plan carefully and manage my conditions.

Many members of this forum and many, many more who will never grace these pages, overcome significant challenges to walk their caminos.

As the little sign at the top of the Cresta Run used to say "Are you sure this is what you want to do with the rest of your life?"

I am part of the same club that Tincatinker, is having had open-heart surgery, a couple of heart attacks, a pacemaker to assist the hearts function where 1/3 has been lost. Take your time, stop when you need to, smell the roses. Live life now, who knows what tomorrow will bring. This is your life not your disability.