Daily/Weekly Thoughts

May 2020

Josh Carries Emmett!

BC's Provincial Parks recently opened for day use and, after a wait to allow the first rush of hikers to subside followed by a wait to allow the downpour to stop, we headed to Rolley Lake Provincial Park on a cloudy morning. With the weather promising us a day of sunshine ahead while seriously looking like another downpour could begin at any moment, we were off on the 30 minute drive to this park. As we were getting ready I commented that this was a 'we carry Emmett' hike and he quickly corrected me that it was a 'We Carry Kevan' hike. And he is correct, because the backpack that Emmett sits in for hiking is a unique people carrier. It was designed and made specifically for carrying those who cannot walk into places that they'd never be able to go with a wheelchair. We've mentioned it before, and Kevan is a young man who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2; his friends carried him around Europe in a custom backpack. That prototype is now the WeCarryKevan backpack that is available online. Emmett, as you know, also has Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Emmett has Type 1, however, with the Spinraza doses that he has been getting since before he was one (and he's now five) Emmett has progressed and now presents as SMA Type 2.

With the backpack resting on the ground, Emmett is set into the seat and strapped in. It is very secure and the backpack even has hand holds for him to grab onto when he needs a bit more support. Then with the help of one other person, Josh (Happy Birthday today May 30th, Josh!) picks up the backpack containing Emmett and straps it onto his back. It's perfect. Emmett sits up nice and high so this was ideal for grabbing wet tree branches and shaking the rain water onto his mommy. We were very pleased to note that do to social distancing and personal safety, the trails were labeled for foot traffic to go in one direction only and that 2 metres must be maintained upon approaching another family/group. As we were there mid-morning we had most of the trail all to ourselves (apart from a few people fishing and a couple of other hikers).

The first part of the trail is very accessible and Emmett has done that in his chair, but after about 500 metres the tree roots stop all wheeled conveyances. This is where the WeCarryKevan backpack shines. If Josh can walk there, then Emmett can go there. It was quite funny as Emmett realized this and began giving orders, "Go Up!" and "Go There!" and "Go Down!". Emmett just giggled as they were tramping through the forest. By the way, the up and down is referring to going up steep hills and down hills to the lake. Of course, Emmett did think that his daddy could take him up a tree ... but that didn't happen.

Emmett is a very brave kid, but there was absolutely no way that he would even think about touching the huge banana slug that was crossing the path. Fortunately, it was travelling pretty close to the appropriate path direction so we didn't have to report it to the park ranger.  We did see a park ranger and asked if they had seen any bears. Emmett's eyes popped wide open when the ranger responded affirmatively - but we relaxed when she said that the bear had been near her house which was a long distance away from the park we were visiting.

After our hike we had a picnic lunch near the lake and then we sat on the beach. Emmett was throwing stones into the water (possibly to scare the fish away from where daddy was fishing) and Emmett also spent a bit of time fishing himself. He has an amazing Lightening McQueen fishing pole and we saw a minnow chasing after his lure. Today neither fisherman caught anything so it was a good thing we had sandwiches and weren't expecting a fish fry for lunch. While Josh was carrying Emmett, Alisha had a backpack full of gear plus a u-shaped pillow that, when Emmett tires and cannot hold his head up well, comes with the WeCarryKevan backpack and offers both support and comfort on those longer trips. Or those more rugged trails where Emmett gets jostled more than he is used to. Pam and I had the suction machine and water bottles in our backpack. So all of us were carrying a bit of stuff. Josh did find that a walking stick helped - we're going to have to get some proper walking sticks for future hikes.

From Emmett and all of us, 

Happy Birthday, Josh!

Comments

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Guest Comment 3 years ago
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This is a wonderful account. Was fun to follow along on your adventure. Hope it’s the beginning of a wonderful summer! Happy Birthday, Josh!
Frank Ewald 3 years ago
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Hi Guest, Thank you for sharing and we are also looking forward to a great summer. Once we start hiking mountains, Josh is going to have super strong leg muscles! Ha ha
Guest Comment 3 years ago
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Just awesome seeing him enjoy his adventure