Doing Hard Things – Part 3

When Things Get REALLY Hard

Read Part 1 HERE.
Read Part 2 HERE.

As we were going down the biggest rapids of our trip, I got off balance and fell backward out of the raft. I tried to grab on to the boat, but I was ripped away from it. Water gushed up my nose, and I fought to breathe. The cold hit me and took all the energy out of me. The current slammed me into rocks, and the raft with my family was floating away from me.

But I had my life vest (PFD), so I came up for air occasionally. My helmet was protecting my head. I was holding onto the paddle for dear life because I remembered something our guide had told us in the safety meeting before we started: if you fall out, you can hold your paddle out so that someone can grab it and pull you to safety. And then I remembered more.

Get your feet out in front of you. You can bounce off the rocks that way, instead of being slammed into them. It was much harder to do than I thought. The current was trying to drag me down and didn’t want to let me lift my legs. I kept getting a mouth full of water with each wave.

I remembered something else our guide told us. Breathe in the down spots rather than at the top of the wave. I could do that. I got some air in my lungs rather than water.
As I was trying to get my feet up, I felt the bottom of the river. The thought came to me to try and stand up. But I remembered something else she told us: don’t try and stand up unless you are sitting on the bottom. So I pulled my legs up and didn’t listen to the temptation not to follow directions.

I looked ahead, and my boat had slowed and was waiting for me. People on the river’s edge were getting ready to throw me a rope, but that wouldn’t get me where I needed to be. I’m not sure how but I got to the boat’s side and handed them my paddle and grabbed onto the straps on the side. I was totally out of breath and so cold I could hardly move. To get me into the raft, my husband was supposed to dunk me to use the momentum from submerging my life vest to help get me back in the raft. At that point, I didn’t think I could take it.

He pushed me down and pulled me up but couldn’t get me all the way into the boat. I remember our guide saying something about how I needed to get in because some rocks were coming up. And then she and my husband pulled me in the rest of the way, and I laid sprawled in the bottom of the boat.

So much for those great photos!

As I was lying there trying to breathe, trying to feel my body again, trying to get enough energy to move into a slightly more dignified position, all those thoughts tried to come at me. All my doubts about coming on the trip wanted to attack when I was weakest. But I wouldn’t let them. I sat back up, took a breath, found my paddle, and started paddling when our guide told us.

I knew why I decided to go rafting. I was determined to go and make it a positive adventure. I also knew that while I didn’t have a lot of experience or personal fitness to rely on as a resource, I did have the information I was given. I took action given those resources and was grateful for the help I received.

We still had about an hour left of our trip and several rapids to go through. I paddled through each one but was definitely more inclined to lean into the boat rather than out of it! One time I ended up sitting on the floor again. But I kept following directions, and we got safely to our destination.

When we finally got out, I could barely stand. I had banged my knee pretty good. My husband helped me with my equipment, and we got on the bus for the bumpy ride home. I was cold and couldn’t stop shivering. I was tired, and I hurt all over, but I felt good because I knew I had accomplished something. I had done a hard thing.

At that point, I wasn’t even thinking about those photos …

Read Part 4 HERE.