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I got cleared yesterday for “normal” activities.  No heavy lifting or hard efforts, no bicycle riding, and I still can’t drive.  But I could go about my business and finally move around without that crazy bag attached at the bladder.  YAY!

So the plan today was to walk.  The PLAN was to walk for about an hour then come home to rest up for another walk a little later in the day.  Oh, how WRONG could I be??

I slipped on my walking shoes for the first time since May 19th, and they felt goooood.  Adjust the tongue, tighten the laces, and I am SO outta here.  The door closes behind me and it is one foot in front of the other….for about 20 yards.  That’s when I noticed a little hitch in my get-along.

“Ah, it’ll work itself out” I think.  And it does.  Or does it?

Clouds are piled high in the sky and I’m thinking the weather-guessers are going to earn their pay for today’s forecast.  Rain in the afternoon might actually come true.  Good for them.

The road stretches out in front of me and I am well on my way past the first ten minutes of walking.  Man, this feels great!  I’m off work, getting healthy, and going for a walk.  It couldn’t get better than this, could it?

Nope, it gets worse….almost immediately.

I’m taking an antibiotic called Cipro.  That’s short for Ciprofloxacin.  In spite of it being an awesome, top-of-the-chart antibiotic, it has a myriad of side effects.  As far as I am concerned the worst of the side effects is: diarrhea.  Ugh.  Miserable.

So I’m walking like a man recently freed from prison, stepping out like the cares of my world have been lifted, and I am seriously enjoying the outdoor life, and the stomach cramp hits me like a punch in the gut.  Knowing it takes a few minutes to become all-encompassing, I look around and note I am exactly half-way from home.  The walk has taken me twelve minutes to get where I am right now, and I have maybe five minutes before the dreaded Cipro side-effect reaches critical mass.  5 minutes before I crap my pants!

Now I am walking like a man with a mission.  A guy with someplace to go.  The pace has lifted.  Each step is now a challenge to go bigger, go faster, and do not stop.  I’m making great progress and now tighten up the backend for the finish.  Almost home.  Keys are in hand.  Jacket is off.

And I made it….hooray!  You didn’t actually think I was going to entertain you with a story about me crapping my pants, did you?  Not this time!

Since the Cipro tablet of this morning was the final pill in the bottle, I am done with it and this serious side effect.

Oh sure, I’ll walk again sometime real soon.  It will most certainly last about an hour and I will thoroughly enjoy it.  Can’t wait.