How I’m handling the beach

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We are at the beach today and I thought I’d share how I’m handling it.

I’m not swimming so my experience probably sucks for those who plan to swim. I am wearing a MegaMax, garywear pul pants and swim trunks and a T-shirt. I cut off coffee drinks 2 hours before I got here and am only drinking crystal light. I brought my backpack with changing supplies and anything else I might need. So far it’s perfect

 

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Where did you travel to if I can ask?
I have not visited a beach in a long time. I remember one time visiting a hot tub with someone and having a HUGE bladder leak but luckily for me they knew about my incontinence issue and I warned them before getting back in. I imagine it would be really fun to swim again but that is something I just can't picture doing at this juncture.

 

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Last month I went to the beach! I wore my pull up diaper under my swimsuit. It did swell up a little bit, but all in sll it held up very well.

 

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@ICGamer I’m in Martha’s Vineyard. I’m an amputee and my prosthetic leg isn’t waterproof and I’m not talented enough to swim in the ocean with one leg. So I am staying on shore.

 

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It sounds like you planned it well and are prepared for anything. I hope the weather is perfect and that you're enjoying the scenery!

 

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@billliveshere thanks I am!

 

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I am!

 

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Thank you for sharing the scenery. I have been away from the ocean and beaches for so long I almost forgot what they looked like. I hope some day I will be more adventurous.

 

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And a thank you from me as well!!! I can just about hear the waves lapping on the shore and the seagulls screaming!! And the weather looks gorgeous!!!
It's been so long since I've been to the coast, any coast, but the New England coast always holds plenty of good memories!

 

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@ICGamer it takes time. My accident was in 2015 (that’s what caused my incontinence) and I’ve been on one other vacation. I went to Florida but didn’t dare go to the beach or go swimming. My family went and I hung out at a coffee shop. I had my diapers shipped to a Walgreens that time and rarely ventured out. This time was different. I still had my leg when I went to Florida but the bladder issues kept me from living. This time though I wore what I needed to wear and just went all in. My family knows of my incontinence but I kept everything private yet still took in all that Martha’s Vineyard had to offer. I have a bunch to take back which will be difficult but I’m pretty good at shoving things in my bag and making them fit. Hahah

 

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It is so good to hear that your trip worked out well in the end. I'm glad you got to the beach. I think we can all benefit from knowing that with a bit of confidence and good planning it is possible to travel and live a full life.
Thanks for sharing.

 

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Hi @Justej, very well said and if someone needed some reassurance as to whether or not they can go on vacation somewhere they just need to read all of what you wrote about your experience in Martha's Vineyard. You said how it was for you before when you went to Florida and contrasted it with how it is for you now in Martha's Vineyard.
You planned ahead and were confident in its workability and then went on to enjoy a great vacation spot!!
This whole journey thing with incontinence is not one where you have all of the answers overnight but it's a gradual process where you find out what works and what doesn't and then one fine day you realize that you're where you want to be and learned what it took to get your there!

 

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Hey EJ! So glad you got out there and lived! That’s why you are here, to live life, love & be loved…. Only after I got my head out of my rear and wrapped around all the changes to my life and body did a number of friends and family members come forward and tell me how much they missed me! I know speaking for myself, the last thing on my mind was anybody missing ME? All I could conjure up in those dark days were a million forms of rejection I faced as I tried to rebuild my life.
At one point a good friend finally asked me if it was true? My mind immediately turned to the diapers and I blasted back, CAN’T you see them for yourself? Yes I now have to wear diapers, and that’s not going to change! He blasted me right back, not those you idiot! AIDS! Apparently the rumor mill had it that I really had AIDS and was hiding out getting treatment in Mexico! I couldn’t believe my ears. Yes, I had lost about 60lbs of muscle while laying there pinned together in traction for months, but AIDS?
This forced me to wake up! At that time AIDS was a death sentence, and I volunteered with a group from the hospital delivering meals to those poor HUMANS completely ostracized from society, many dying alone in those HELLISH Hotels. It only occurred to me later how relatively worthless I was at carrying trays etc. etc., but my therapists wanted me to see there were a lot worse things going on, and that I still had value even if it was to just talk with someone, hold the hand of someone aching for human touch, someone who had nobody, and had really lost everything….
That’s a whole different story, but it sure was a wake-up call. I think this weekend with 9/11 has stirred up a lot of memories good & bad. I really hate to say this, and hope I don’t hurt or offend anyone, but needing to wear diapers, protection whatever, just reminds me I’m a very, very lucky survivor! They are my UNDERWEAR!! Yeah they’re a pain in the ass sometimes, but except for my ankles, elbows & wrists almost every other major joint in my body has been repaired, reattached, trussed etc., but I just hiked over 5 miles with my 2nd staunchest supporter to my Wife, my Husky Blue!
I hope you all begin by loving yourselves, it makes it so much easier for others to do the same!

 

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That was great @Sprung87! You've been through hell and back and are coming back stronger than ever!! After all hiking five miles is something that may flummox even someone who has never had any health issues to speak of, but doing that all came from deep within you. You have the strength and resolve to set a goal and do what you can to reach that!
And there definitely no offense taken in saying that having to wear diapers is a reminder of what you have gone through and that you are extremely lucky to have fought and survived. After all it is only underwear and that in no way defines who you are!
What defines you is you are married to a very supportive wife and you hiked more than five miles with your dog, Blue! That's what people really see! And they would probably like to join you!!