I guess having an older body is like having an older MH. Each trip I make something breaks or malfunctions and I fix it thinking everything is good until the next time something else breaks. I think I am relatively healthy for being here 67 years but it is the unexpected heath issues and Dr visits that have kept me from camping. Last month a small scaly spot turned into cancer and a 6 in scar from Mohs surgery on my back. I was all set to leave weeks later and my tooth cracked in half which required multiple visits and finally oral surgery to remove the tooth. In May Xrays showed no cavities. That was last week this week I got all packed up for a weeks trip up to the White Mts in NH with my wife's family I stopped at a rest stop and ran to the bathroom and all of a sudden there was an excruciating pain in my left knee. Had to be helped back to the MH. Thinking the knee would be better by the time it got up to NH I continued on only to go to the emergency room in VT. Xrays and an exam showed no structural damage but drove back home with 3 other vehicles. Now I am not complaining about my problems as a matter of fact I was just thankful it happened in the rest area and not on top of a mountain on on some trail deep in the woods with my Mtn Bike. But as I lay here in bed I was just wondering how many of you have these kind of issues that keep you from using the MH? Just fixed the HWH, replaced the burner tube in refer and switch in HWH jacks everything now works in my old MH. Hope to get knee diagnosed and fixed for trip to RI the following week.

Yep...been there and am still there. My hypochondriac sister-in-law told me my body would begin falling apart at 50...mine waited until 55. Since then lots of aches and pains until I get moving.

Join the club... Sounds like you already have.

Welcome to the "Golden Years" Yes our bodies do tend to fall apart with age for most of us. We have missed a few outings including two winters of going south. Working on the RV becomes harder and harder at least for me. My old legs hate ladders these days. But everyday above ground IMHO is better than being in a box under ground.As for the spot that turned out to be cancer. After you have spend 7 years off and on chemo and seen some of the folks young and old in the cancer center worst than I, I feel lucky anyway.

Boy, do I know where you are coming from, After a 3 hour drive not sure whether I will be able to get out of the truck.Don

I think mine has JUST started at age 59 and 1/2. Had plans for a 5 night week-end this coming week-end. Last Thursday, walking across the yard, POP! There went my knee. I just returned from the surgeon's office, and I'm scheduled for knee surgery this Thursday, same day we were heading out. So canceled the trip, campground, and everything. I'll need all 5 days to recover!Turns out I tore the cartridge in my right knee. I can't even drive right now! I asked (both) doctors what caused this since it was not the result of a fall or an accident, just walking. They both said in a very diplomatic way (independent of each other) ... "Old Age"... Things just begin to fall apart! Cartlidge in the knee deterioriates (kind of like rubber .. it's soft and flexible when new, becomes hard and brittle when it's old). Oh Joy! I have SO much to look forward to in my future now! What body part is next?

Issues preventing camping. | Good Sam Community

emzee
Explorer
Sep 23, 2014
Oh boy, do I know where you are coming from too!!! If it isn't one thing it's another. All the best to a month at least of nothing!!!!

The alternative to not having anymore aches and pains is not good, right!!!
Gjac
Explorer III
Sep 22, 2014
Dave your post was inspirational. Rockhillmanor, how did you fix the steps.
D_E_Bishop
Explorer
Sep 22, 2014
Okay, I'll join in. 74 and still here on top of the hill rather than under it. Just a couple of things, new hip, two new knees, and advanced arthritis, heart is sound, back is shot, one lumbar joint is bone on bone, eyes now require two sets of glasses, foot and toe fungus finally corrected, prostate cancer in remission, muscle tone like limp spaghetti and my DW and DGD have prohibited me from using ladders and getting on roof to recaulk everything.

But you know what/, I have a DW, two DDs, DGD, DGS who are helping where I need it and a huge extended family who have just realized that of all the old folks in the family that the DW and I hardly miss a wedding or visiting a new baby wherever the family resides or sending a gift for graduations and who now consider us(and we're not the oldest) the family matriarch and patriarch. Some even know that the phone rings on both ends.

Life is great and the view from the flexsteel drivers chair is beautiful.
rockhillmanor
Explorer
Sep 22, 2014
I think everyone overlooks those darn steps on a MH.

I started out full timing with 2 good knees. Within 6 months my knees looked like footballs and I could barely get in and out of the MH.
Thinking old age was going to get me first before I could even get started on RV'ing.

Pulled off the road for a death in my family to help settle their estate. Surprisingly without really thinking about it my knee pain went totally away. Fast forward got back on the road and the pain and swelling came right back. No brainer for me that it had to be something to do with the MH.

RV steps are narrower than our feet which without really thinking about it we twist our legs and body ever so slightly as we exit the RV to fit on the step. Over time if you do it enough puts stress on the knees.

I went on a mission of trying to find a way to replace the RV steps with something that supported my legs to be able to walk 'straight' out of the MH. And be portable enough to use.

Once I changed how I exited the RV all my knee pain disappeared.

You will be surprised that by simply replacing those narrow RV steps how quickly your leg and back health will return to normal.
Gjac
Explorer III
Sep 22, 2014
After reading all these posts about problems that others are dealing with I feel blessed even though it was a tough month for me. Talked to the knee surgeon last week he told me that I had a torn quadricep tendon as well as a torn meniscus but at my age due to other degeneration in the knee there were no guarantees that surgery would help. So he said wait a few more weeks if and if the pain stays away leave it alone. In the mean time I passed a kidney stone so what I thought was a diverticulitis attack may have been the stone passing. So I am ready to go camping again, suppose to be sunny for the next 6 days and the trout should be biting.
emzee
Explorer
Sep 14, 2014
I am right there with you all. I had a total knee replacement 9 weeks ago. I have 2 fake knees now. I have a lot of pain with my SI joint too. Not sure which route to take with it. Doc said try the shots first, so we'll see. He did say if the shots don't work that they can do this titanium rod thing, said it was an easy operation....scary though. All the best to everyone!!!
Nutinelse2do
Explorer
Sep 13, 2014
We would be happy to be starting to fall apart in our 60's or 70's.

DH had spinal surgery 14 years ago on his lumbar that turned out pretty well. That's when he was 40. But now, he will be having c3-6 fused the beginning of next year. Neurosurgeon told him if all of a sudden he pees himself, get to the ER right away

I destroyed my left SI joint 3 years ago. I let it go for 2 years, now at 47, I am looking at a rod through my hip and a cage on my spine.

So, we will begin full timing with these ailments next year. Figure we better leave asap, or we might never be able to!

Best of luck with your knee.
Chock_Full_o__N
Explorer
Sep 13, 2014
You know, we have a saying in our family: "It's not a vacation until somebody goes to the ER." We've had everything from burst eardrums and corneal abrasions to pneumonia, skull fracture and seizures. We have a whole collection of pictures taken at ERs we've visited around the country.

My DH has been suffering from severe lung disease for about 10 years. He's just 57. This year he got progressively sicker and sicker with his heart. It got so bad that we have had to stop towing. Our camper is set up in the North Georgia mountains now and while we do love it up there, it limits us to just that campground.

In June DH suddenly began to tank. He had open heart surgery and was hospitalized for a week. Went home for 4 days and had to be re-hospitalized--diagnosis: kidney failure. Yikes! Thankfully he is recovering well now but we have not been able to camp since March because of his health issues. But I see the writing on the wall. The heart surgery fixed the heart but nothing will fix the lungs, short of a lung transplant. So we'll just keep rocking along for now and try to go up to the mountains sometime in Oct or Nov.

My 80 yr old mom says "People tell me these are the Golden Years. The only gold I have is in my teeth."
Gjac
Explorer III
Sep 12, 2014
Finally got my knee diagnosis, a torn meniscus,bruising and a few other issues that require arthroscopic surgery. Found out insurance companies don't like to authorize MRI's on older patients without trying other things first. Did get to go camping for a week in RI and had an attack of diverticulitis while there but the MH is running great with every system working. Hopefully this old body will work better after the surgery.
Gjac
Explorer III
Aug 23, 2014
sigman wrote:
Got a lot of metal in me and was doing just great with right hip replaced twice, left once, and right knee once. Also had C-5 replaced in the neck as a result of a bad parachute landing fall back in 1978. Even with these dings I was able to haul the 5er whenever we wanted to hit the road. But after asking a neurosurgeon in March of 2013 if I should be worried about a cyst on my lower spine and receiving the answer of no, things changed. In February of 14 my right foot quit working and had to have emergency spinal surgery on L2-L5. Cyst was also removed, but after six months the sciatic nerve has not kicked back in and the right foot/ankle remains dead. Have put the 5er on a permanent site near the coast and that is where I sit now. At 71, things could be a lot worse and I'm grateful they are not. Can't drive the 3500, but do fine in my VW diesel. Keeping the truck in the hope that the foot will eventually regenerate and I can drive it again.
I know what you mean by a lot of metal, I have 4 Ti bolts in each shoulder due to rotator cuff repairs and Ti staples in colon when 18 in was removed due to diverticulitis. So I keep convincing myself with each repair I'm better than new. I guess after knee problem is fixed the next problem is the sciatic nerve preventing me from driving more than an hr before pain sets in.

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