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Friday, 17 October 2014

Plunging my Poundage (Summer Camp Was Never Like This!)

By Janet Thompson

Having ridden a scooter to the top of the hill with others on crutches and in wheelchairs, surprised, I saw a hospital bed. What was the relation between the zip-line and a hospital bed? Shouldn't the hospital bed be at the end of the ride?

I recently attended a Body Mind and Spirit Retreat sponsored by Colorado Post-Polio at the Easter Seals Rocky Mountain Village in Empire, Colorado.

Since 1999, disabled campers were rigged up for the zip line on a pad laid on the ground. Just this year, the camp received the donated hospital bed, making rigging up easier.

Heavy-duty mesh formed an angular-shaped pad with a round, semi-solid piece at the area of my derriere.

A sturdy strap crossed my chest, two corners wrapping my sides joined with a heavy-duty, o-shaped carabiner clamp. A longer v-shaped side drawn between my legs attached to another clamp and the two were joined.

A rectangular-shaped portion and a u-shaped pillow supported my helmeted head at the top of the rigging. (It seems these days that a helmet is essential for any physical exploits except sex).

Four red ropes hung from the tower top. My package was ready for lift-off. A husky, handsome young fellow tugged on a black rope hoisting me to the top while a chic young woman guided a separate red rope, making sure I didn't hit the tower supports.

Another cute woman (also about my great-granddaughter’s age) met me at the top where she quickly and safely connected me to another line and disconnected me from the first. On her walkie-talkie, she announced, “Brake-check 1.”

I heard the same answer coming from the other end of the line.

After brake-check 2 and its response, I found myself flying. Heading downhill, gravity took me about half the distance up an opposite hill then back to the lowest point between the two. There, I found my package snagged and dragged and deposited into a scooter. (Some more-able others were pulled to a scissor-lift).

WHAT A KICK FOR AN 85TH BIRTHDAY!

One side of the tower is built ladder-like and another is studded with rocks. There’s also a pole. Equally, but differently rigged, some of the other campers climbed the tower to take off on the zip line. A cheerful staff-companion climbed alongside them if they wanted. Seeing these folks’ feats, I realized I had taken the coward’s way out.

Of 53 Campers, 40 percent came from out of state. Nine had been born outside the U.S. Other sessions and events at the retreat gifted me with much vital post-polio knowledge. Being with others and sharing their care and understanding was a rare treat.

I wasn't the only one who cherishes new experiences I thought I'd never be able to have!

Googling “zip lines for the disabled,” I found only a few in this country. Leahy and Associates (a special camp friend) designed and built the tower in 2002. Tom Picton, a talented camp staffer, figured out how to add the angled climbing walls.

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Posted by Ronni Bennett at 05:30 AM | Permalink | Email this post

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