Should I get a 2nd opinion?

When we go to the doctor or hospital and get test results or a diagnosis saying that something bad is wrong with us, the first thing that comes to mind is, "Should I get a second opinion?"

That's what happened to me last week. About five years ago I had a heart valve replaced with a pig valve. I had been experiencing getting out of breath if I did much hard work, or if I hiked very fast up a mountain.

I thought it could be because I was getting older, or I was camped at 4,000 feet, or the fact that I had not been doing much hiking or exercise for the last six months or so.

I went to see my heart doctor for my five-year checkup, and I told her about getting out of breath easily, and as expected, she ordered a stress test and an echocardiogram. After the tests, I was told that the doctor would call me in one or two days with the results.

Waiting for test results

After a week had gone by and the doctor had not called, I was beginning to wonder if the tests had found something bad. Finally, on Monday I got a call, and she told me that everything was normal. She said that there were no restrictions on any type of exercise I wanted to do.

She also said that I needed to get more exercise and get in better shape and I wouldn't get out of breath as easily.

Should I get a second opinion?

Maybe I need to get a second opinion. If she had told me that I should take it easy, not do any hard work, and not do any strenuous exercise, that would mean that I could be lazy and not feel guilty about it.

I wonder why doctors go around saying hateful things, like, "You need to get more exercise." At least, she didn't say that if I lost 20 pounds, that would help too.

What does this have to do with living in an RV?

You might be wondering what all of this has to do with RVing and why I'm telling you this. I'm telling you this because when you're RVing it can sometimes be easy to skip doing much exercise.

On the other hand, when you're RVing, you can find that it's easy to get a lot of exercise. There's so much to see, and so many interesting trails to hike.

So whether you want to get out and hike and do things or you want to sit in a chair and read or watch TV while you're RVing, it's easy to find a good reason to justify whatever it is you want to do.

Bottom line: I think we all would benefit from more exercise. Some people say, "Exercise is so boring." My thought is, "If you think exercise is boring, try a nursing home."