Egypt not
only wanted to join her sister on her adventures, but it had become clear that Egypt
also shared the same passion for travel, hiking, camping, and wildlife
observations.
As the
year started, I was entertaining the idea of hiking a trail in all 50 states
with both girls during the 2014 calendar year.
I was in
the early planning stages when we went on our semi-traditional hike in the
Okefenokee Swamp on New Years Day. It's interesting how the girls can fight in
the backseat as we're driving down the road, but as soon as we hit the trail,
they are best friends and love each other. Egypt loves to help Kellisa by
pushing her and she even has a great ability to get Kellisa more verbal than
usual and has a knack for teaching her new words. Kellisa really responds to Egypt
in the wilderness and enjoys it when Egypt pushes her. She really cracks up
when they hit a rock or root, I think she thinks it's Egypt doing it on purpose
and she's probably right, at least some of the time.
Our first trip had us visit the northern Gulf of
Mexico states. We hiked in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. The girls also
enjoyed the ferry ride across Mobile Bay.
Top Left- Clark Creek Nature Area, MI Top Right- Audubon
State Historic Site, LA Bottom Left- Bon Secour NWR Bottom Right-
Mobile Bay Ferry
Our next
trip was a weird loop through Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, and
Indiana. The weather was cold and windy, but both girls were troopers and never
complained. I was very proud of them as we hiked a trail in all 5 states we
visited. We even had a snowball fight in Indiana.
Top Left- Land Between the Lakes, KY Top Right- Land
Between the Lakes, TN Bottom Left- Hemlock Cliffs, IN Bottom
Middle- Lake Poinsett State Park, AR Bottom Right- Towosahgy State
Historic Site, MO
On a nice
Saturday afternoon, we headed to one of our "home" hikes-
Julington-Durbin. It would be our longest hike of the year (3.1 miles). I would
learn two valuable lessons on this hike. First, I always kind of assumed that
Kellisa's hiking days would be over when the day comes that I can't push her
anymore. However, Egypt insisted that she push Kellisa for "a little
while". I was impressed as Egypt pushed Kellisa for at least one mile.
Kellisa couldn't stop giggling while Egypt was doing the pushing. Second, I
learned that Egypt's current level of endurance ends at 2.1 miles. Egypt
stopped in the middle of the trail and looked back with a defeated face and
pleaded, "Call the firetruck mens to come and rescue me". I explained
that my cell phone wouldn't work in the forest and that she would have to hike
out herself. Her next idea was to ride on my shoulders. I told Egypt that those
days were long over. After a little more discussion, Egypt sucked it up and
hiked out under her own power. I was very proud of her effort.
March
arrived and we made our annual pilgrimage to New Mexico for the Bataan Memorial
Death March. I was going to attempt it for the third time with Kellisa and for
the second year in a row, our march was over before we could take our first
steps (or wheels). We sleep in a tent near the starting line so we can get
extra sleep. In the middle of the night, Kellisa had a significant (more than 5
minutes) seizure, and I had to administer one of her rescue medications. She
emerged from her seizure and fell back to sleep. When Kellisa has a significant
seizure, she is tired and lethargic for the next 24 hours and there's an
increased risk for follow-up seizures. I couldn't risk taking her out into the
harsh desert.
The trip
wasn't a complete loss; we went hiking and sledding in White Sands National
Monument.
Our next trip was to Texas for Cousin Matt's
wedding. While he was too busy to go for a hike for some reason, we went
to one of our favorite places, Brazos Bend State Park (Right). Even though we
lived in Florida and saw our fair share of alligators, the girls always love
seeing the abundant alligators so close up at Brazos Bend.
Lisa needed another quiet weekend, and we were
happy to make that happen. We spent a couple of days camping, hiking, and
swimming at Juniper Springs (Below) in the Ocala National Forest. We also rode
the Fort Gates Ferry across the St. Johns River on our way home.
We traveled to Hartford, CT to make a
"Kellisa's Path" presentation to an association on a Saturday
morning. Before flying home, we were able to hike in Rhode Island and
Connecticut. We also made it all the way to the top of Rhode Island.
Left- Stratton Brook State Park, CT Middle-
Jerimoth Hill, RI Right- Upper Roaring Brook Accessible Trail
An empty plane. Not unusual since we are the first to board and
last to leave the plane. If Egypt's face doesn't express 1,000 words, continue reading.
I'm not a
pilot or aviation expert, so I have no idea what the actual risk factor is from
our flight, but I know it was more than normal, and I perceived it to be real
along with the flight attendants and every adult on the plane. If perception is
reality, then my fear is real.
It was
our last segment from Baltimore to Jacksonville. We had our usual spot in the
front row, left side as you board. I gave Kellisa her nighttime medication
while the plane was boarded. Both girls listened to their iPods. As with every
other flight, the girls enjoyed the take-off. However, I did notice it felt a
little funny but didn't think too much about it.
The plane
leveled out almost immediately. I could tell that we were low. I told myself
that the pilots were just flying around some weather. "We just passed
10,000ft. and it's safe to use your electronic devices", announcement was
never made on this flight.
The plane
made a right turn and leveled off for a few minutes before making another right
turn. I watched the same sights pass below us as we circled Baltimore. As this
continued, I could tell that the flight attendants were starting to get a
little nervous. I think most of the people on board just thought we were on our
way to Jacksonville.
I really
started to get nervous when we flew over water for a considerable distance. I
knew we were dumping fuel. After our flight over water, we returned to our
circles above Baltimore. After almost 90 minutes into a flight that was
supposed to be 2 hours, the captain came on with his first and only update on
the situation.
He
explained that one of the flaps was stuck in the wrong position which was
creating significant drag. He went on to say that it prevented the plane from
reaching its cruising altitude and that it wasn't safe to fly to Jacksonville.
He announced that we would be returning to Baltimore.
Kellisa
was sleeping by this point (it was 9:30pm) and I had my arms protectively
wrapped around both girls. I know it wouldn't do much, but it made me feel
better. The plane was completely silent as I'm sure most of the passengers
started praying and reflecting. Except for Egypt, who was still rocking out to
her iPod.
We were
told to make sure our seat belts were tight and secure. I checked all three of
ours. I wasn't too afraid of the worst happening. Except for the fear leading
up to it which I was already starting to live, it would be fast and painless.
Losing both parents to cancer and watching Everett and Kirsten, I knew there
was worse, a lot worse.
For a few
moments, my thoughts went to Lisa who was at home. She trusted the girls care
to me and had no idea what was going on in the skies above Maryland.
Then I
had an even more horrifying thought. What if we needed to do an emergency
evacuation from the plane? I was alone with both girls. The best idea I could
think of was to make sure Egypt got off the plane and then I would tell her to
run as fast and far away as possible while she stayed close to everyone else
while not worrying about me and Kellisa. I would then be free to throw Kellisa
over my shoulder as we slid off the plane before running away ourselves.
We were
coming in for the landing faster and a little rougher than usual. I was looking
out the window and thought for sure we were going to crash into the trees. When
a plane lands, you can see the runway and its lights for a few seconds before
the wheels touch down. This did not happen during this landing. We touched down
before I ever saw a light or the concrete of the runway. Then I could see
dozens of fire and rescue vehicles and ambulances out the window. I looked out
the other side and saw a similar line of emergency response vehicles.
Shortly
after the wheels touched the concrete, the plane quickly slows down on routine
landings. This was not the case for our landing. We kept racing down the
runway. Again, I'm not a pilot, so I can only describe what the stopping felt
like. It seemed like the pilot was "tapping" the brakes or possibly
alternating the flaps from one side to the other as we jerked down the runway.
It got to the point where I was worried the plane would run out of space on the
runway.
The plane
finally came to a stop and everyone on board started clapping and cheering.
There were some tears of relief shed as well. As the plane made the turn to the
terminal, I could see out our window that we were at the very end of the
runway.
When we
got to the gate, the captain made another announcement that he troubleshooted
the problem as long as he could without finding a resolution. He went on to say
he needed to dump as much fuel as possible because he knew we would come down
fast and that it would be difficult to stop the plane. He explained that he
needed the plane to be as light as possible.
The pilot
ended the message with, "the plane was always under control, and you were
never in any danger".
"That's
easy to say now", was my first thought followed by, "it would have
been nice to have that reassurance while we were in the air".
The gate
agent in Baltimore boarded the plane and told us to proceed to B4 where another
plane was waiting for us. This whole process took another 90 minutes. I had
thought about getting to a hotel and driving home the next day or booking a
flight for later the following day. In the end, I decided that we would take
the flight B4 and get home as soon as possible.
Egypt
fell asleep shortly after our 2nd take off from Baltimore, but Kellisa fought
sleep for the entire flight. 2 hours later we landed in Jacksonville, and the
same pilots received another round of cheers. Another hour later and we were
home, it was after 2am.
I don't
know and may never know how much danger we were actually in, but it was a very
intense and scary 90 minutes in the air. I've been trying to think about it, and
I would guess I’ve flown at least 1,500 flights and this was only the 7th
time I was really scared. It was the 2nd time I was scared with Kellisa and 1st
with Egypt.
Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky
Mountain National Park has an accessible trail around Sprague Lake along with a
spur trail to an accessible backcountry camping site. The idea of using this
benefit was rattling around my head for a while when I finally called the park
with a few questions. By the time I was done on the phone, I had secured two
nights for an upcoming weekend. We were off to Colorado.
As we were driving to the park, Egypt got
excited when she first saw the big mountains. She asked if we were going to
hike to the highest mountain top? She was very disappointed when I told her
that we couldn't and one of the reasons was there was no way to get Kellisa to
the top. Egypt was very upset and didn’t expect any excuses for her sister and
took matters into her own hands, literally. She wrote the following letter to
President Obama.
Sprague Lake Accessible Trail and Backcountry
Campsite
Top- Euro Bungee in Estes Park, CO Bottom
Left- Lily Lake Trail Bottom Right- Big Bear Trail
We headed
west to California for Lisa's final two weeks of grad school. Our first
adventure was a stop at Lassen Volcanic National Park. We camped at a Walk-in
site which is a combination of backpacking and car camping. You carry
everything to your site, but it's a short distance. We enjoyed our two nights
in a tent.
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Spending
so much time traveling with the girls revealed how close they are as sisters. I
knew they loved each other deeply and Egypt was always looking to help and
watch out for her older sister while Kellisa wouldn’t go to bed without a bear
hug and kisses from Egypt. But something was different on the road and trails.
They didn’t fight in the backseat as they often do at home. They played nicely
together making up games as we traveled. Egypt wanted to make sure Kellisa was
equally included in everything.
Egypt
started holding Kellisa in hotel swimming pools while encouraging her to kick
her legs as a form of therapy. To my amazement, Kellisa responded by
enthusiastically following Egypt’s directions. Nothing prepared me for what
happened on our long drive through the mountains from Redding to the rugged northern
coast of California.
Egypt
started saying a word and then asking Kellisa to repeat it. Kellisa immediately
responded and Egypt started clapping, cheering and telling her what a great job
she was doing and how proud she was of her talking. This made Kellisa very
proud of herself. It was hard to keep the van on the narrow mountain roads as I
was beaming with pride while listening to my girls in the back seat. Kellisa
would pay Egypt for her therapy with endless kisses and hugs which Egypt gladly
accepts.
Egypt
insisted on pushing Kellisa on some of our hikes. I was amazed at some of the
trails Egypt navigated without ever complaining or giving up. She was
incredibly responsible and careful.
One time,
at a visitor center planning our next hike, a lady bumped into Kellisa’s
wheelchair. Egypt promptly notified the lady, “Hey, that’s my sister Kellisa!
You need to watch where you’re going!
Say
you’re sorry to Kellisa.” Egypt naturally becomes Kellisa’s biggest cheerleader
and advocates without any pressure from her parents. If anything, we try and
keep that kind of expectation away from Egypt, but she is actively seeking it
out.
I
realized for the first time that Kellisa would be OK without her parents, as
long as she had Egypt with her.
We would
spend the next 10 days exploring the redwood forests of Northern California and
Southern Oregon.
Left- Avenue of the Giants Middle Top-
Fleishmann's Grove Middle Bottom- Shrine Auto Park Top Right- Del
Norte Coast Redwoods Bottom Right- Crescent City Beach
Rockefeller Loop Trail
Top- Rockefeller Loop Trail Bottom Left-
Prairie Creek Trail Bottom Right- Burlington Campground
The railroad was NOT accessible. I made it "Kellisa
accessible" by carrying Kellisa up the stairs to the train.
Lisa
completed her master’s degree, and we drove down to southeast Florida for her
graduation. We cheered proudly as she walked across the stage after two years
of hard work. We celebrated the accomplishment with family. We took a couple of
extra vacation days without a real plan. Even though it was Florida in August,
we found a couple nice and short boardwalk trails and explored a nature center.
Left- Cathy Burdett Nature Trail Center- Daggerwing Nature
Center Right- Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge
Three of
the four original Wiggles retired at the end of 2012, and we felt very
fortunate to see their last concert tour twice. The Wiggles continued on with
three new Wiggles. In September, this new version of The Wiggles was playing a
concert in Jacksonville. Kellisa still loved The Wiggles and had a couple new DVDs
with the "new" Wiggles and seemed to enjoy them. Egypt was just
starting to grow out of The Wiggles a little but was still excited to see them
in concert.
After the
show, we met Captain Feathersword on the street, and he immediately remembered Egypt
by name. It had been almost 2 years since they first met in Sault Ste. Marie.
We also met Simon, who also remembered us as soon as he saw us. We realize that
our family has a "unique look", but we were still blown away that
they remembered us.
We spent
Thanksgiving at home and went on some of our favorite local hikes in
southeastern Georgia. We never get tired of going to the Okefenokee Swamp and
we took Egypt to Jekyll Island for the first time for a hike at Clam Creek and
the beautiful Driftwood Beach.
Large & Top Right- Okefenokee Swamp
Bottom Right- Clam Creek Trail
Driftwood Beach
Christmas in December- Florida Style
Kellisa is getting ready to create wheelchair art
Our last
trip for 2014 was a weekend drive to Crowders Mountain for a hike in North
Carolina. We stopped at Congaree National Park to hike our favorite boardwalk
trail. It rained during both of our hikes, but thankfully it wasn't too cold,
and we were able to finish both trails.
Left- Crowders Mountain State Park, NC
Right- Congaree National Park
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