[Philmont]: How tough

 
Scott wrote:
 
>There is one "small" element of my situation that I purposely left out.
>Maybe I'm trying to block it out. In the beginning of December of last
>year, I had a benign tumor removed from my heart. I have since gotten up to
>one half hour on the treadmill at the gym. My legs had always been real
>strong, but I had never had knee problems. My knee was perfectly fine the
>next day (after the additional weight of the pack was removed). Bad knees
>run in my family. I also have mild asthma, which is very much under
>control. I will check out the "PCI" and get to work. After being a Scout
>and Scouter for 37 years, I really want to finally get to Philmont. I hope
>this summer's trip to Sea Base won't kill me.
 
 
Scott,
 
The information I sent you off-line sounds very consistent with other folks here in how to prepare with bad knees. All I can say regarding any other medical conditions is that you need to have a physical and have the Philmont medical paperwork filled out. You need to go over your medical condition(s) with your doctor and he/she will give you their opinion by approving/not approving you for the trip. I had one adult originally in my crew who discovered a previously unknown heart condition that had resulted from some illness (pneumonia, I think, but not sure) and the doctor advised him not to go (and he didn't). I think you will have to decide, along with your doctor's advice, whether you have a medical condition that will put you more at risk and if it is worth it. When I talked about this with the adult in question, we agreed it was not worth the risk of having his son watch him being put on a stretcher and taken off trail to a hospital. Not to mention what that would do to the rest of the crew who prepared for months for their big adventure. I think these are things one has to consider if there are other underlying health issues. Good luck.
 
Jeff
Former CC Troop 180
Philmont '02

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Received on Thu Jun 2 04:58:44 2005