The Twilight Zone Experience
Category: Life

Well, the story goes like this.

I had been planning on going on a camping trip with my family members for a couple of weeks. There was a baby involved in the venture. He is teething. I got a phone call on Saturday requesting that we postpone our trip for 24 hours to monitor the baby's fever before we took him out on the trip. I had understood this temperature to be 105 degrees and was told it was due to teething. I freaked! I tried to play it calm and cool but for the rest of the day and evening and into Sunday, awaiting the "we are going" phone call, I had stressed over it. I couldn't believe that we were taking a baby camping that had 105 temp on Friday night.

I looked up the average temps for babies cutting their teeth and 101 was about normal, along with drooling and loss of appetite. I was told to not say anything to my mother, who had been against the idea of the baby going on a trip, in 35 degree temps at night to 65 during the day. She had become obsessed with it and had made everyone's preparation for the trip stressful.

I was about 2/3 packed when I got the phone call on Sunday afternoon that we were going. I was not told when I should leave so I thought I had another phone call coming to confirm this. But at 3:30 in the afternoon, I finally called to see what was up and when we were leaving and found out that they were already on the road. Sheesh. I still had to pack my personal items and the 45 pound kayak on top of my jeep.

The camping gear had been in my car for weeks. I went through the house, finishing up last minute things, changing kitty litter, getting extra socks, making sure I had meds, etc. I thought, I probably should take my imitrex injections, but then thought, no, I have my pills and that should do it.

I never thought that I would actually wake up with a migraine which would be so far along in it's process of agony and hell that the pills wouldn't make any difference. Injections are the only thing that alleviate that kind of pain. I'm sure you can see where this story is headed. But wait, it gets worse.

I load my kayak, by myself. I tie it down, not very well, but good enough I think. Then I realize that I am the designated wood bearer. They are so packed that they had no room for wood for the campfire.

So, I find an attendant at the grocery store and pay her two dollars to stand watch over my kayak while I go into the store to pay for two bundles of wood and then she helps me load the wood. I then have to go get gasoline. After the gas, I realize I never got the mp3 player and my stereo in my jeep quit working about a month ago. So, now I face this unknown route with no music. I head out and realize the kayak has shifted on the roof. It's sort of whopperjawed - so, I stop and re-tie the sucker, which takes an additional 15 minutes.

Now it is 5:30 p.m. and I start off on the road. It grows dark about an hour later. I am headed toward unknown territory and decide to call my party to confirm my arrival time and get the campsite number. No answer. I call again about an hour later, no answer. I am headed toward a state park and it is a huge state park. It is dark dark dark. I get lost. I make two wrong turns costing me an additional hour of driving time.

When I finally get there, it is 10:00 at night and all come to greet me, freezing to death and say, "Where's the Wood?" I get joked about it being nice to see me, but the wood was even nicer. I understood. It was VERY cold and DARK.

By the time we get the fire going and my tent pitched, it is time for a little chat. First thing on the agenda - is how totally freaked my mother was at this trip. I found out that I had misunderstood the temp. It had been 100 point 5, not 100 and 5. BIG difference. So, I admitted that I had been worried to excess and then was told, "We are good parents, we would never take chances with our baby's health, etc." I was duly chastised but in a nice way. It was then time for bed.

I woke up around 6:00-ish, I guess and had a mild headache from a hard pillow I was using. I didn't have my pill in the tent with me. It was too cold to go and get it, so I just rolled over and chose a softer surface to lay my head and go back to sleep. An hour later, I have an even worse headache. I still do not go get my pill. I go to sleep. However, shortly after that I get my pill because I must vomit. The migraine has progressed beyond pill help. I am doomed.

I stay in my tent all day long, sleeping for two or three hours at a time and waking only to vomit. My friends and family are kayaking, seeing beautiful water falls, taking walks, eating great food and I'm lying in my tent, sleeping, vomiting, sleeping, vomiting. Finally at 4:00 p.m. I come out of the tent after everyone has decided that they would like to move closer to the river and so I get up, unwillingly to move my stuff. I still feel pretty bad. In the process of the move, I mention that I think I will try to stay one more night in hopes that I can salvage the last day of the camping trip and actually put my new Necky kayak out in the water for the second time since I purchased it in August.

It isn't meant to be. I am shaky, weak, dehydrated, nauseous, and even drinking water taste bad because of all the bile that has streaked through my esophogus. I eat half of banana. I gave the rest to the baby, which he promptly devoured and wanted another.

I decide to leave. I don't think I could have made another day, even without a headache. I had depleted my bodily resources needed for extended kayaking. I left at 4:30. Just as I was leaving the park, I pulled over and threw up the banana and water that I had tried to balance my electrolytes with.

Then another 30 minutes on the road, I pulled over again to vomit. I could only drive about 15 to 30 minutes at a time before having to pull over and sleep. About the fourth time I had pulled off the road for some rest, it was about 7:00 p.m. I took my last imitrex pill, slept for 20 minutes and then made the 100 miles left in one fell swoop except for one stop to get an icy diet coke. That made me feel better. At 9:00, I finally got home.

Yes, I am better today. Am I sorry I didn't stay? No, I need to learn a lesson from this trip. I must take ALL meds, no matter what my irrational thought processes are at the time as to why I wouldn't need them. I must clarify things that disturb me. Such as the temperture of the baby. I must learn to leave with plenty of daylight in order to pitch my tent while there is light and the BIGGY - I must have my cell phone CHARGED fully.

Yes, that was yet another little prick in my side. I had no cell phone after an hour into the trip and all of the messages with directions that my party had been leaving me, had been left on my HOME phone and not my cell phone.

So, prayer came into play Sunday night. I remember driving down that park road, thinking - I have no idea where I am going, "please Lord, direct me". And sure enough, as I round that last bend into the deepest part of the park, I see the car flashing lights at me.

Ah - that was the best and only good part of the trip.

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