Excitement. Adventure. I found some.
I finally went river rafting!
It was great fun... a wonderful day of splashing through rapids and floating along.
And then, on the last (and largest) rapid... we get stuck in the hole for a moment. As our guide was admirably trying to get us to lean, paddle, and basically not flip the whole raft, somewhere in there I manage to get tossed off. I imediately take a deep breath of water and proceed to be in the dark and choking while they manage to get out of the hole. A few seconds later I pop out, merrily gasping on my lungfull of liquid, so I don't accurately recall much else. Somewhere in there the guide passed me a paddle and pulled me in, and the other raft went by all asking if I was okay...
It was one of those moments where I wasn't okay at all (choking, choking, couldn't breathe, why is there no air, choke choke) But certainly knew I would be fine in a while - for the whole thing I wasn't much scared.
Now looking back I seem INSANE... When the guide was talking to me as soon as I popped up, trying to reasure me that I'd be okay and to not panic, I was actually trying to say "I know, I'm fine". It seemed silly to panic over such a little thing, I knew I was perfectly safe.
But I /should/ have been a little more worried.
One, I was pulled under water. I couldn't see. I didn't know which way was up. I could have smacked against any number of underwater rocks. I could have gotten stuck under for a much longer time. But I just leaned back, because I knew perfectly well that my life jacket would put me upright then, and I would probably go forward. (It felt like I shot 50 feet underwater, but actually I probably was just in the same spot in the fall) Sure enough, I popped out, and there was the boat. I heard someone say "We did loose someone, Erin. There she is."
My thoughts were, That what it's like flipping off a boat and being pulled under. Phew, that was different.
Two, I noticed I still couldn't breathe, even though I wasn't underwater (there was a funny moment where I thought I still was under, and the boat was too - my brain wasn't working so well) Hmm. I think I'm choking. But I saw ben stick out the handle of a paddle and I grabbed it, heard him ask for the one in my hand (yes, I held on to the paddle - we weren't loosing that deposit!!!), and I gave it to him, and suddenly he was holding the top of my vest next to the boat. Back to not breathing. This was starting to get interesting - there was lotsa air around me but none of it was going /in/ me. So I was gasping like a fish, nearly involuntary.
My thoughts were: Well, I need to get into the boat before we get to the next bit of the river. I'll get air soon, lotsa people get water in their lungs and are fine, right?
Aside: At the beginning of the trip, the guides explained how they would pull us into the boat if we went out to swim or fell off. They would count to 3, and on two they would push down so our vests would provide extra bouancy to help the lift up. So we would go underwater for just a moment.
So the only moment I was a little worried is when I feel him grab my vest straps and hear "One....". I wanted to say that I'd probably choke more if I went under again, but for some reason couldn't seem to talk at the time.... but he didn't push under, just pulled me up on three. Phew.
Now everything that they had explained had been taken care of... I was out of the hole, check. I held onto the paddle (not entirely conciously, I admit), check. I had been pulled back into the boat, check. But yet this whole part where I hadn't been breathing for a while was starting to enter the checklist. And no one had explained what to do then. I could have had enough water in my lungs to damage them. I could be without air long enough to damage something like... my brain. Choking actually kills people. About around then the constant reasurances from the guide that I'd be okay started to make sense. But I still felt safe, even gasping and choking on the boat for a while.
My thoughts were: I haven't been without air for too long yet, I'm still concious. And people go unconcious from choking and can be fine afterwards, I'm sure it'll work out.
So I sputtered and burped up water laying there for a few, the guide got us down to the calm stuff where the other boat was, it was all good. Everyone on the other boat asked if I was okay... I still couldn't breathe much, but managed to say "I'm fine" or something like that. Not because I was fine, but because I knew I would be fine.
Now, as I'm still burping even now, I realize my confidence seems unwarrented.
And I think that's what they call faith.
A belief without any shred of proof that I'd make it out just fine.
I had faith in the people I was with, I had a complete faith in the guide to get me out.
I had faith in my own ability to do exactly what I had been told in such a situation. And I had faith that if I did it, it would work.
I even had faith that even if I couldn't breathe, there is no reason to panic, it will work out.
I trust the universe. Even when it goes wrong.
And it's entirely possible that just trusting is what made it all so easy. No panic, no fear, no irrational actions, step by step and we all made it out together.
So it was certainly an adventure, but I made it through. All I can say about choking is that it was different... It felt very odd. I didn't see any reason to worry anyone else about it though, I'd either die or I wouldn't ; ) I just don't reccomend it. It took perhaps an hour before I felt like I was breathing right again. And I'm still burping.... It'll all come out sooner or later.
It was great fun... a wonderful day of splashing through rapids and floating along.
And then, on the last (and largest) rapid... we get stuck in the hole for a moment. As our guide was admirably trying to get us to lean, paddle, and basically not flip the whole raft, somewhere in there I manage to get tossed off. I imediately take a deep breath of water and proceed to be in the dark and choking while they manage to get out of the hole. A few seconds later I pop out, merrily gasping on my lungfull of liquid, so I don't accurately recall much else. Somewhere in there the guide passed me a paddle and pulled me in, and the other raft went by all asking if I was okay...
It was one of those moments where I wasn't okay at all (choking, choking, couldn't breathe, why is there no air, choke choke) But certainly knew I would be fine in a while - for the whole thing I wasn't much scared.
Now looking back I seem INSANE... When the guide was talking to me as soon as I popped up, trying to reasure me that I'd be okay and to not panic, I was actually trying to say "I know, I'm fine". It seemed silly to panic over such a little thing, I knew I was perfectly safe.
But I /should/ have been a little more worried.
One, I was pulled under water. I couldn't see. I didn't know which way was up. I could have smacked against any number of underwater rocks. I could have gotten stuck under for a much longer time. But I just leaned back, because I knew perfectly well that my life jacket would put me upright then, and I would probably go forward. (It felt like I shot 50 feet underwater, but actually I probably was just in the same spot in the fall) Sure enough, I popped out, and there was the boat. I heard someone say "We did loose someone, Erin. There she is."
My thoughts were, That what it's like flipping off a boat and being pulled under. Phew, that was different.
Two, I noticed I still couldn't breathe, even though I wasn't underwater (there was a funny moment where I thought I still was under, and the boat was too - my brain wasn't working so well) Hmm. I think I'm choking. But I saw ben stick out the handle of a paddle and I grabbed it, heard him ask for the one in my hand (yes, I held on to the paddle - we weren't loosing that deposit!!!), and I gave it to him, and suddenly he was holding the top of my vest next to the boat. Back to not breathing. This was starting to get interesting - there was lotsa air around me but none of it was going /in/ me. So I was gasping like a fish, nearly involuntary.
My thoughts were: Well, I need to get into the boat before we get to the next bit of the river. I'll get air soon, lotsa people get water in their lungs and are fine, right?
Aside: At the beginning of the trip, the guides explained how they would pull us into the boat if we went out to swim or fell off. They would count to 3, and on two they would push down so our vests would provide extra bouancy to help the lift up. So we would go underwater for just a moment.
So the only moment I was a little worried is when I feel him grab my vest straps and hear "One....". I wanted to say that I'd probably choke more if I went under again, but for some reason couldn't seem to talk at the time.... but he didn't push under, just pulled me up on three. Phew.
Now everything that they had explained had been taken care of... I was out of the hole, check. I held onto the paddle (not entirely conciously, I admit), check. I had been pulled back into the boat, check. But yet this whole part where I hadn't been breathing for a while was starting to enter the checklist. And no one had explained what to do then. I could have had enough water in my lungs to damage them. I could be without air long enough to damage something like... my brain. Choking actually kills people. About around then the constant reasurances from the guide that I'd be okay started to make sense. But I still felt safe, even gasping and choking on the boat for a while.
My thoughts were: I haven't been without air for too long yet, I'm still concious. And people go unconcious from choking and can be fine afterwards, I'm sure it'll work out.
So I sputtered and burped up water laying there for a few, the guide got us down to the calm stuff where the other boat was, it was all good. Everyone on the other boat asked if I was okay... I still couldn't breathe much, but managed to say "I'm fine" or something like that. Not because I was fine, but because I knew I would be fine.
Now, as I'm still burping even now, I realize my confidence seems unwarrented.
And I think that's what they call faith.
A belief without any shred of proof that I'd make it out just fine.
I had faith in the people I was with, I had a complete faith in the guide to get me out.
I had faith in my own ability to do exactly what I had been told in such a situation. And I had faith that if I did it, it would work.
I even had faith that even if I couldn't breathe, there is no reason to panic, it will work out.
I trust the universe. Even when it goes wrong.
And it's entirely possible that just trusting is what made it all so easy. No panic, no fear, no irrational actions, step by step and we all made it out together.
So it was certainly an adventure, but I made it through. All I can say about choking is that it was different... It felt very odd. I didn't see any reason to worry anyone else about it though, I'd either die or I wouldn't ; ) I just don't reccomend it. It took perhaps an hour before I felt like I was breathing right again. And I'm still burping.... It'll all come out sooner or later.