River Royalty

It was a long ride to Buckley’s Mountainside Canoe. While I was excited about floating the river, all that kept coming to mind were the “what if” questions: “What if I can’t get in the river?” “What if I have to go to the bathroom?” “What if I get stuck on a rock?” “What if I flip over?” “What if Dan and I get separated?” And, God forbid, “What if I drown?”

Just as that last one really sunk in, Peggy jumped into our van.

“Hi, are you ready,” she asked.

Well, no I thought. I can’t fully use my legs and left arm (damn MS) and you only need 4 inches of water to drown. So no, I thought, I’m not ready. Isn’t it funny? Sometimes you think MS has made your life so crummy, but you soon find yourself realizing you sure would hate to lose your so-called crummy life?

“Ready as I’ll ever be!” I told her confidently. I knew that these wonderful friends of mine put a great deal of effort into planning the perfect trip down the river, which was exactly what I wanted. So I put my faith in them (and God). I let it go. I trusted them all.

We left Buckley’s after getting our group together and drove to the perfect spot where I could transfer from my wheelchair onto the tube and then into the river. This spot was a private residence Sue had staked out.

We all were impressed, “Gee Sue how’d you get this perfect spot? I mean, what did you have to do to get permission to get on the river here?”

“Oh, I just asked.” she said with a smile.

Dan stood me up from my wheelchair. A nice employee from Buckley’s put the tube behind my back and together he and Dan, with some help from the group gathered there gently plopped me in the tube.

I was giddy! I couldn’t stop giggling and kicking my feet. “Oh my goodness, I’m really going to do this!”

One strong, deliberate push down a little embankment andSPLASH, I’m in the river. The water felt a little cold, brisk and so refreshing. Sue used a rope to tie my tube to her kayak; she was towing me down the river. The rest of our bunch got into their kayaks. I was the only one being towed and getting to float. Pretty nice, huh? And now, do you understand why I felt like royalty?

And I floated.

It was beautiful! Calm, cool water. Warm sun shining down on me. And strong healthy, vibrant green trees lining the shore. And it was so peaceful, gloriously quiet and peaceful. A feeling of just me and nature. Of course, I was with my friends and Dan but in those few quiet moments when I wasn’t shrieking, “I’m doing it! I’m really on the river,” it was me and Mother Nature. It was so comforting.

For those 45 minutes that I floated the Chippewa River, I was normal. My having Multiple Sclerosis played almost no part in my floating fun. For that glorious sunny Sunday afternoon, I was on a level playing field, so to speak. My disability wasn’t apparent. There wasn’t a wheelchair in the water letting people in on the fact that I no longer walk. I appeared to be just as able-bodied as anyone else; I had sort of forgotten what it’s like to kind of blend in. Well as blendable as a woman shouting “I’m floating, oh wow, I’m floating!!” can be.

That afternoon was the highlight of my summer and no matter how many “thank yous” I say, they’ll never be enough to thank Buckley’s and my church family – The Can-Do Bunch (Sue, Gary, Peggy, Charlie, Sue, Dave and Dan) – enough!

And it really was one of the last nice days of the summer  🙂