How I started as a Digital Nomad
Debi's illness led me to embrace remote work and living life as a digital nomad.
As Debi's illness progressed I started telecommuting. In 2005 her migraines progressed to a more severe form called hemiplegic migraine. These migraines cause severe weakness on one side of the body. During this time I had to start working from home fulltime because these episodes would strike with no warning and often leave her bedridden for several days or even weeks at a time.
By the end of 2005 we had found a combination of treatments that improved the migraines. However it weakened her immune system. She really hated staying at home and, as she would say, "looking at the same four walls". Prior to this we would go out to a restaurant or to the mall. We would get her out of the house at least a couple of times a week. But since she could easily catch illnesses we had to be more and more careful about going out among crowds.
Debi saw an announcement about an RV and camping show. When we were first married we often went tent camping. We found it a good way to save on hotel expenses when traveling. She could no longer handle tent camping. As we explored the camping show we found a travel trailer that or Jeep Grand Cherokee could easily tow. Now, we could take her bed wherever we go. This opened a whole new opportunity to learn and try some new things.
By this time, my job had changed. My entire team was in India. So I regularly worked late at night. I arranged to work afternoons and nights, so that I would have mornings to schedule doctor appointments and run errands. Having mornings free also gave us time to take the camper out. We spent much of that year exploring Colorado.
Blessings in hardship
During a time when her illness was getting worse, we found much joy in exploring Colorado. Traveling was hard on her. So a typical day trip was no longer possible. Since we took her bed with us we could travel one morning. She could rest a day or two. Then after recovering from the travel day, we would explore some of the sites in the area.
Within 2 years her eyesight started getting worse and she became legally blind. We were grateful that she had been able to see so much of Colorado's beauty before losing her eyesight. We had made Estes Park our second home so she got to experience Rocky Mountain National Park painted with the golden yellow of Aspens in the Fall and the newly fallen snow of winter.