Too Much Time Sitting

 My wife and I just got back from spending 6 days in Destin, Florida and were able to sit in lounge chairs under an umbrella and watch the waters of the Gulf of Mexico crash into our southern borders.

It took 8.5 hours of drive time to reach Destin from our East TN home plus some additional time sitting in the car or moving slow because of construction, traffic, or an accident so each leg of our driving took about 10 hours to get down there and about 10 hours to get back.

About 8 years ago I had foot surgery to remove a melanoma tumor from the bottom of my left foot and in the process, the surgical oncologist also removed 3 lymph nodes from my groin that had tested positive for cancer as a result of a sentinel node biopsy being performed before the surgery.  Consequently, I experience lymphedema in my left leg which under normal circumstances is very manageable and does not require me using a compression stocking even when I spend every other night in the hot tub for 45 minutes.

However, when I drive long distances or fly in an airplane over two hours at a time, my left leg, around the foot and the ankle swell.  I usually remember to wear a compression stocking when flying but forgot to wear one in our drive to and from Destin.

Now that I am back home, my left lower leg is again swollen from our journey in the car and it will take several days for it to return to normal.  My concern is that one day after forgetting to wear a compression stocking my left leg swells and will not return to normal...  once this happens, my entire lifestyle will change.

Once we arrived at Destin, my left leg did return to normal after a couple of days...  so, I am hoping the same thing will happen now that we have returned home.