By Victoria Reed, PNN Columnist

The end of summer is approaching. While it’s been a busy one for me, with a move to a new city and lots of gardening and camping, I realized that there was one thing that I had yet to do. I wanted to go to an amusement park.

Every summer as a child, my parents took me and my siblings to Cedar Point in Ohio, where we would ride the kiddy rides, play games for cheap prizes and eat the worst possible amusement park food! It was a time when there seemed to be less things to worry about, and the days seemed to stretch on forever. Those trips were always the highlight of my summer! 

Then as an older teen and young adult, I would return to Cedar Point with my sisters, friends or boyfriends to ride the newer and bigger roller coasters. I had no problems navigating the park on foot. We would walk for hours and spend a fair amount of time standing in long lines to ride the latest thrill rides. Sure, my feet were a little sore by end of the night, but it was well worth it, considering the fun I had.

Recently, as I was fondly remembering those days of my youth, I made a suggestion to my husband that we go back. We had never gone to an amusement park together and figured it would be a nice ending to an otherwise great summer. He agreed, so I went online to reserve our tickets for a day that we figured would be a slow one. It was a school day, so we presumed that the crowds would be smaller. In addition, the weather forecast called for sunshine and warm temperatures.

Once I secured our tickets, my body reminded me that I am no longer a “spring chicken” and that maybe I should reconsider how I expected to walk all day with sore joints, muscle aches and terrible fatigue. My fibromyalgia and RA weren’t going to make this as easy as it had been in the past.

Over the next few days, I tossed around the idea that I might need some assistance to be able to enjoy our day at Cedar Point. On the park’s website, I had seen that wheelchairs were available for daily rental. At the time, I disregarded that information, preferring to pretend that I wouldn’t need anything such as that. After all, I had run on my high school track team and was one of the best sprinters. Why would I need a wheelchair to enjoy an amusement park?

When I look in the mirror, I still see that 18-year-old athlete who is at the peak of her physical shape...

Eventually, I came to my senses and went back online to reserve an electric wheelchair “just in case.” I figured I would just park it, and if I got too tired, it would be there for me to use. It was then that I realized that I must accept my limitations.

Did I want to be seen in a wheelchair? Absolutely not! Having to use a wheelchair does things to your pride and your ego. No one wants to have to use assistive devices, but sometimes we have to and accept the fact that we aren’t as able-bodied as we used to be. It’s not a shameful thing, and we shouldn’t be embarrassed by our needs.

It turned out that renting that wheelchair was a good decision, because it allowed me to enjoy the park a whole lot more than if I had to walk the entire day. My husband’s Fitbit recorded over eight miles of walking that day! There was no way I could have done that amount of walking on what turned out to be a very hot and crowded day. If I had tried, there’s no doubt that it would’ve put me in a bad flare.

Unfortunately, as you get older, your body becomes limited in what it can tolerate. Living with chronic pain and fatigue will increase your limits even more. It’s important to recognize that and make changes accordingly. Accepting our limitations, instead of fighting them, will make our lives easier and more enjoyable.

Victoria Reed lives in northeast Ohio. She suffers from endometriosis, fibromyalgia, degenerative disc disease and rheumatoid arthritis. 

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