Zipline Entry posted by Pearls August 7, 2016 1,830 views Share More sharing options... Followers 0 My son says I'm too old, too fat and too disabled. I am trying so hard to pull myself out of this stroke suvivor rut. I need support.
swilkinson Posted August 7, 2016 Pearls none of us are "too" anything, we are just US. It is easy for the young to see us as past our prime but we don't have to take that on. I am worthwhile, you are worthwhile, we are all useful in some ways and helpless in others. Our abilities are many and varied and while we all have the ability to love life then life is good. Massive (((Hugs))) Pearls from Sue Down Under. Quote Link to comment
scottm Posted August 7, 2016 FWIW, the wife has a gal friend who is 76 and disabled who went zip lining last year. Now tell the kid to get off the lawn. LOL Quote Link to comment
Pearls Posted August 7, 2016 Thank you Sue and Scott. I just want to be like normal folk. Maybe some people think this is frivilous, it is not. I am not a thrill seeker. I am afraid of heights and speed but I know I need a good challenge, a good smack in the head so to speak. For me this works. I need to go out there and be courageous, be brave. Everyone is different. I need to do this for myself and for others. I need to take my life back. The hardest thing will be getting to the zipline and getting up on the platform but I have that all worked out with the owner of the Zipline who is very accomodating. He has worked with a couple of paraplegics and a quadraplegic before. There are a lot of things I can't do but I think this is something I can do. And I think it will help me physically and psychologically. I've done a lot of scary things before like taking my first step, going up stairs the first time, going out in public alone, getting up off the floor after I've fallen, and on and on. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment
HostAsha Posted August 7, 2016 Pearl : post stroke we can do everything just little differently & need little adaption or some support from our friends & family. Don't listen to your son. kids just say anything sometimes just to hurt. you can prove him wrong by doing it & he will know never underestimate MOM you are woman hear you roar. Asha Quote Link to comment
Pearls Posted August 8, 2016 Asha, thank you. You always say the right thing. Will let you guys know how all this works out. Hope I can pay you back someday. Strokeboard rocks. Quote Link to comment
fking Posted August 9, 2016 Pearls, You are a diamond in the ruff as we all are when we suffer any stroke because recovery takes years, therapy, rest, plenty of work on our part then it takes plenty of time o we must be patient and wait on the Lord to heal our bodies..... I am at 12 years recovering I walk with a cane, use a scooter and try to do all I can to get better with more time.... My constellation is by the grace of God I'm still alive in which I'm very thankful.... You have to be too...... I support you just keep living God knows your condition....... Quote Link to comment
heathber Posted August 10, 2016 Pearls, It's none if your son's business if it's something you want to do and the owner says it can be managed safely so what if you don;t do it the same way as everyone else and you don't look cute doing it. Get out there and have a great time. Life is for living Hugs -Heather Quote Link to comment
englishlady Posted August 11, 2016 Hi Pearl, so sorry that your Son chose to open his mouth, and junk comes out. The Youth is wasted on the Youth. You go Girl, we overcame a stroke, You can overcome a Zipline. We are Gladiators!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yvonne Quote Link to comment
SassyBetsy Posted August 28, 2016 I bet son is just worried about you so we will let it slide off and go out and enjoy life any way you want to. It sounds like you have researched this and have a plan.k I will just hope you have talked to doc for health advice just as anyone beginning new exercise would. Other than that I do not know of any reason that any Too would get in the way. Enjoy@@ Quote Link to comment
Pearls Posted September 21, 2016 MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. NEVER GIVE UP BECAUSE YOU CAN DO IT. I did the zipline three times. I want to start out by saying I would never do just any zipline. Each is different. SKAMANIA LODGE ZIPLINE TOUR which is the one I used in Stevenson, Washington really pays attention to safety at all levels. They are very professional. They went above and beyond to accomodate my disability and adjust whatever extra safety problems I might encounter. They already had previous disabled customers prior to me, two paraplegics and a quadraplegic and had worked out most of the bugs before I got there. Since I am hemiplegic my issues were a little different but they were great problem solvers. They were patient, kind, understanding and fun. I highly recommend them. A great group of people. I have never been an athletic person. I am your average 65 year old woman if there is such a thing. my left arm is useless. I have graduated from wheelchair to a hemi walker to walking/hobbling. I can walk from the car to the house or to the front door of a building. I can walk across the house maybe once a day and then i am exhausted and in pain and ready for a nap. The flooring has to be completely flat. I cannot walk on grass or outside surfaces with texture. Any little pebble sends me into a panic. The thought of falling and not being able to get up on my own is unbearable, like a turtle on its back. How did I do this?? Pure guts. This zipline was located in a forrest with heavy undergrowth. No smooth surfaces and distractions everywhere. We used a golfcart for most of the area that needed to br traversed. At one point we got stuck in the mud and i drove the cart while my guide/helper pushed from behind. Then we got to the first jumping platform and my guide said"We're going to have to walk up that SORT-Of trail , that little hill"' more or less a rabbit trail in the woods with lots of bushes, tree limbs and roots. Uh-huh.so there i stood between two strong tall young men holding on as best I could. We took it one slow step at a time. My affected foot kept getting caught on tree roots and ground vines. Then the voice of my physical therapist came back to me: PICK UP THAT FOOT WHEN YOU WALK. We made it up the hill about twenty feet and i was sweating. Next was time to be hauled up to the tree platform on a cable with a pulley system thirty feet into the air. Someone with a strong core would have done just fine. I was harnessed in with cables and ropes everywhere. you should basically be in a sitting position. However...........to be continued later. Quote Link to comment
Pearls Posted September 22, 2016 However (read previous entry) it just wasn't working for me. I couldn't sit up straight and my body kept leaning back. Whenever I lay flat on my back with my head hanging lower i get very nauseous. We adjusted and readjusted all the straps many times. By this time i was not only sick to my stomach but was short of breath. We eventually got it worked out with much trial and error and I was pulled up to the tree platform. Once I got up to the platform I had to worry about my balance. I was tethered on in three places and had three strong men holding onto me who were also tethered. There was no way of falling but I was still terrified as my toes hung over the edge. I have always been afraid of heights and speed. There was a little bench on the platform with two steps up to it. It was about two feet high. I next found out that I had to climb up on the bench. No way. It was very skinny. Somehow three men muscled me up there and my toes were really hanging over the edge. I did not look down. If you have a strong core and torso you can sit up without holding on. I had been holding on with my one good hand to the strap but did not feel confident that I could continue to hold on. It was a long zipline. So we hooked my good arm around the strap and I held onto my harness which was a narrower strap . It was a trade off but much safer and doable. Everyone told me goodbye and off I went 35 mph through the forrest canopy. I kept repeating outloud that I was doing this for all the other stroke survivors who didn't have the means or the wherwithall, not the zipline per se, but the return to normal life, the return to a joyful life, the conquest of fear. trust me I was afraid, just afraid as I had been taking my first step without holding on. But I was determined that I was not going to let fear rule me. I was going to find that well of courage that I knew was somewhere deep inside of me. I was going to succeed. I did three zips that day. I think I was on autopilot. After the last zip I had to walk down two flights of stairs and back out of the forrest on a wider dirt trail enhanced with large rocks. Everyone held onto me and I walked step by step slowly but surely wth my guides/mother hens making sure I missed every rock in the trail. Sooooo....... Was it easy? NO it was not easy. I came to terms with the fact that I was no longer the person I used to be, that everything would be and was harder for me in this new body but with effort and courage i could still do things. It would take more work, more problem solving, more frustration but in the end that was the hand I was dealt and I had to accept that to move forward. It was well worth it. Being able to fly thru the trees is an experience not every person gets to take. I met wonderful people along the way who supported me and encouraged me. I went looking for them and I found them. just like on Strokeboard. i put out my hand and said :: Help me and they did. I have tears in my eyes as I write this. We are all here for each other and life is still wonderful, different but wonderful. never give up. You never know where it is going to lead you. There are many paths in life. Choose what is best for you. Prayers for all of you. Quote Link to comment
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