Photo Story

     This story could start really at any point of my life.  It is such a complex story that I will have to do my best to fill you in on the basics. 

It could have started in 4th grade when I went on my first Church camp, and met the most influential person of my life.

Or that summer when he appeared again on the way up to Noah's Arc Water Park in the Wisconsin Dells. 

It could also have started the night before I hurt my knee at church camp and he introduced himself to me again after about 7 years since we last saw each other.

I will start the story on the day that I realised who this person really was in relation to me.

    I was at church camp in Moab, Utah and we decided it would be a great day to go cliff jumping.  Some people were hesitant but I could not have been more excited to jump right into that white water at the bottom of the waterfall.  We had to climb down into an almost cannon like river and walk to the end of the river where the waterfall was.  The jumping spot was right to the left of the waterfall and it did not seem very high.  The were no signs around telling us to be cautious so we decided to go for it, and start jumping.  I climbed right up and a few people went in front of me with no problem.  Then it was my turn, and I the water felt a mile away.  Everyone told me to jump into the white water, but all I could think about was the rocks right under me.  If I do not jump far enough, I could hit my head back on a rock, and that could end very badly.  So I stopped thinking, and jumped.  I didn't hit the rocks under me.  Unfortunately, I over jumped, and at an angle where my knee hit the rocks at the other side of the water.  Once I reached the surface of the water I looked up and everyone looked pretty concerned. They asked me if I was okay and I responded with an unrealistic "Yeah!"  I could see the rock right before I hit it and I thought maybe it was no big deal, I must have just broke the fall with my knee. Then, I reached down and i felt my knee to see if it was alright.  Lets just say, I could fell that it was not.  I started to get worried, looked over at the closest person I could find and told her that I wasn't okay and i needed help.  She waved me over so I swam over to get her help.  Then I started to go into frantic mode and plenty of people gathered around me to help.  They raised my knee up out of the water, and that is when the real pain set in.  I started screaming and the next thing I knew, I was laying on a rock with my friend to the right of me, my small group leader to the left, the Physical Therapist that just happened to be with us and my friend Reid, who has been going in and out of my life for a very long time.  The kept asking me questions and checking my feeling in my leg.  One of the leaders on the camp climbed out of the cannon trying to get a phone signal to call for help, and people were helping each other climb out of the cannon quickly and safely.  I was so stressed out and overwhelmed but some how a appeared very calm.  Reid kept asking me funny questions, but when he asked me if we signed the medical release form I thought he was kidding.  He looked panicked but then I realised what he was asking and luckily I had.  It took at least 20 minutes to get the ambulance to the cannon, and they had to carry me out on a stretcher inside a cage that they used to get me out of the cannon.  Before carrying me out, they humorously asked us why a church would choose to come to Moab, Utah for camp.  The ambulance people had to carry me in this cage down the river on slippery rocks, and one of the men even fell and I was dropped on my upper right side of the stretcher.  Then the cage connected to a latter that would lock into place every time it traveled further up the cannon.  I looked to my left as I was being lifted up the cannon and saw many concerned looking families.  I wanted to relieve their concerns so I gave them a friendly wave hello.  Then I finally got into the ambulance where they gave me an I.V. and told me that they thought my knee was broken and it may be a 2 hour drive to Colorado where they have an adequate hospital for my needs.  They also told me that the last person they tried to help from that cliff ended up dying.  Let me remind you that there were no signs of caution to warn any stupid tourists about how dangerous that cannon could be.  We arrived at the Utah hospital only 20 minutes away so they could take x-rays to see if anything was broken.  Thankfully nothing was broken and they only had to give me stitches.  I was so relieved.  Then I saw the man that was going to stitch me up, he had a baseball cap on and did not look very convincing.  Also, my parents would not answer their phones so we did not get a hold of them until after the procedure.  Reid was holding my hand the whole time and was excellent at distracting me from the situation at hand. 
    When the procedure was over I got the chance to talk to my parents and Reid and I waited for our ride to come pick us up and bring us back to camp.  During that time I had one of the most meaningful conversations I have ever had. 
Just like the beginning of this story, it could end in many places.  It could have ended when I got back to camp, or when I went home from camp. But it did not, because from this outrageous and possibly terrifying experience, I received one of the my most valued relationships.  Reid and I still keep in touch, and I am so thankful for that.  I truly do not see my knee incident as a bad thing at all because so much joy came from it. 
    My recovery was brutal.  They had to take out the stitches when I got home because the wound got infected when I was exposed to the river water.  Then the doctors were worried that the infection had traveled into my knee bone or joint which would have resulted in a knee surgery.  Thankfully again, I recovered just fine.  In fact, 1 day after I got off of my crutches, I went on a trip to New York with my neighbors.  My knee did not fully heal until at least a year later and I still have quite the scar.  But; in the end, I would not have traded that experience for anything in the world.