Hello again, Friends!
If you have read any of my blogs before, I have talked a little bit about what it’s like to have a disability or to care for someone who has one. Some of us have to deal with the challenge of incontinence. In this blog post, I’m going to let you know about a somewhat amusing experience I had camping with a couple of my close friends. At least we can laugh about it now!
We had a pretty relaxing summer! I spent a lot of time hanging out with two friends who had “moved in” for a few weeks, just to help out and have some fun. Before they came over, I texted one of them, suggesting the idea of going camping (I wasn’t really too serious about it!). When they came over, we decided that we’d actually try it!
We picked a campground and packed for a two-night stay, but with my needs, our car looked as if we were packing for two weeks. I’m not afraid to tell you: I LOVE JUNK FOOD, by the way! So, realizing that this was a vacation without any parents, we stopped and bought a boatload of yummy, UN-healthy snacks. After our shopping binge, we headed to the lake.
Driving slowly through the entrance, we began searching for the campsite we would stay in. Right about then, I realized that I had to GO! Not go “home”, but go to the bathroom!! I couldn’t wait any longer! I let it rip, and the nasty smell began to fill the van! This left my two friends, let’s call them Kelsey and Rebecca, frantic to open the windows in a feeble attempt to get away from the deadly smell! (Even I could smell it, so I knew that it was terrible!).
I had my mind set on having a barbeque once we found our campsite. When Rebecca asked, “Why?”, my reply was, “Because I WANT IT!” Backing off, Rebecca said, “Okay.” Gagging away, Kelsey begged, “Rebecca! Please change him!” Fifteen minutes later, we successfully found a campsite. Rebecca changed me, and then noticed the sign that said, “This is a carry in, carry out campground”. Now we knew we’d be stuck with the mess from cleanup the entire time that we stayed! Ten minutes later, I had to go AGAIN. While repeating the whole changing process, my enthusiasm for camping began to disappear. “I want. To go. Home!” I pleaded.
Sighing, Rebecca tried not to show her irritation and announced “This. Is. FUN! We are having fun!” As she said that, she knelt down next to me.
“Oh, noooo!” I moaned. “What?!?!?!” Rebecca and Kelsey asked nervously at the same time.
“I have to go number one!” I admitted.
“No!” Kelsey started, “Hold it! Hold it! Everyone can hold it! I’ve held it for twelve hours! You can hold it!”
“Too late” I thought as the wetness began to seep into the sleeping bag I had been lying on. “I’m done with this trip!” I announced.
We were lucky that we loved each other, because if we didn’t, we would have killed each other by this point!
“I want to go HOME!” I repeated tiredly in the soaked sheets.
“This is FUN! We’re having FUN!!” Rebecca tried ignoring the exhaustion that she felt already from the day. “Let’s go to the beach!” She offered hopefully.
Pushing me close to the sand, we realized that my wheelchair wouldn’t go through the sand and down the hill to the beach. Locking the wheels on my chair and unbuckling me, Rebecca and Kelsey each took one of my arms and we began stumbling down the steep, sandy hill. This was awkward because I am taller than both of them, and I can’t really walk. As we headed toward the beach, I could tell that my pants were sliding off my waist! Realizing that we were at a public beach and my pants were falling down, Rebecca demanded, “Kelsey, pull his pants up!”
“What?” Kelsey asked as I began to buckle to my knees, dying of laughter. “No!” She squealed.
“Hurry up! He’s falling!” Reluctantly, but as fast as she could, Kelsey tightened the strings around my waist, the two of them straightened me up, and we continued trying to walk.
Finally, we arrived at the water, and all three of us collapsed in the sand.
Rebecca offered to get some dinner at the snack bar. I heard Kelsey demand, “Hold still!” as she smacked my back. “Ow! What?” I asked. “There are bugs biting you and you’re bleeding!” She splashed cold water on my back.
Rebecca came back and announced that the food bar had already closed for the day!
Well, this had been an absolute blast so far, so we decided to head back to the tent. Exhausted from the day, I collapsed on the ground, missing the bed.
Rebecca offered kindly, “Do you want me to move you?”
I insisted, “I’m fine!” “It’s not that bad…” “Well… yes it is!”
Kneeling beside me, Rebecca tried to cheer me up, rubbing my shoulder.
Looking up at her, I demanded, “Never do that again!”
“Oh…okay buddy. Go to sleep!”
Shutting my eyes, I fell into a deep sleep.
Snapping awake in the morning, I looked around, clueless about where I was.
Rebecca smiled, “Hi!”
Glancing up, I saw the bright, beautiful, morning sun streaking through the fresh green leaves. “This is…nice!”
Laughing, Rebecca agreed, “Yes! It is!”
We ate Ho-Hos for breakfast and actually spent a relaxing morning at the beach! Packing up and laughing about the whole trip, we decided that if we ever went camping again, we would have to bring at least five more people along to help us!
K. J. Tyrrell
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