Traveling with a big illness

We're all going to die. Some of us are going to die sooner than others.

It's an awkward reality.

Incurable diseases hit some of us and change our lives forever. But that's all right! Living is about...well...living.

Having perhaps a little less time on this planet is a huge motivator to prioritize. While long-lived people are waffling and procrastinating, other people are saying, "This is the place I most want to visit. This is second. This is third. It needs to happen now."

So what do you do if you have a big illness and big goals?

You get busy, that's what.

Your first step, of course, is to talk with your doctor about your goals to agree on what's realistic.

Your second step is to match your goals with your reality. Maybe your lifelong dream is to hike through Italy's Dolomites, but now you have balance problems that make walking a challenge. Hiking up a mountain means falling off a mountain.

That may sound like a glorious way to "exit," but realistically medical care is so advanced that it might not be fatal in any noble way. It might just mean more pain, and you probably have enough of that already.

So hiking through part of the Dolomites is out. But can you still go to the Dolomites? Can you hike through part of the foothills?

Probably.

What do you need to make it happen? Trekking poles? An upgraded wheelchair? Proximity to medical experts?

You can make all these things happen, too, and now you don't have a dream; you have a plan, which is where the fun starts. Everyday travel is for people with no challenges. You can travel even with challenges.

Go, you!

(No, seriously -- go! You!)