Mackenzie, BC

As many of you have been asking about our getaway to Northern BC…..

For the past year we haven’t really traveled much, mostly because of my sleeping, or should I say lack thereof. I have had a very difficult time sleeping in bed without a lot of pain, and so spend most nights in the recliner where I sleep relatively soundly and pain free. So, when Cory suggested driving the 12 hours to visit his family over Easter, I was a little skeptical, but agreed. In preparation, my dad bought me an adapter so I could use my heating pad in the car and Cory’s mom sent photos of the recliner she had for me to sleep on. My mom set about packing all that I would need for almost a week away. It used to be all about making sure that I had the right clothes,  shoes and snacks; now it’s all about the tube feed, medical supplies and machines.

We made it to the small town of Mackenzie, where my husband grew up, in just under 14 hours. Between the washroom breaks, stops for the kids to get snacks, and time spent getting me up to stretch and tube fed, we stopped a lot. Overall, it went much better than I was anticipating. Only a few highlights; the exploding syringe of tube feed while trying to be discreet in Starbucks and the kids invitation to attend the “Haunted Dolls” exhibit at the tourist info in Quesnel.  Now that I would have liked to see… lol!

It was a great four days of visiting with Cory’s mom, uncle, two sisters and niece, as well as his cousin, who also came up from the Lower Mainland. I am not used to being “on” so much of the day. While I love visiting and wouldn’t trade it, using my tablet to “talk” gets tiring, as does intentionally working to keep my mouth closed (literally) and not drool. Hardly pleasant I know, but a legitimate concern when your swallowing is impaired and the muscles controlling your mouth and jaw are weak.

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Besides a lot of visiting, there was a ton of eating. In fact, I had never fully realized just how much a family gathering revolves around food! My mother in law cooked up a storm, and I was more than a little sad that I couldn’t partake; I particularly missed the perogies and sour cabbage rolls. I felt an odd kinship with my sister in law’s dog, who also looked on longingly, wanting nothing more than to join in the feast. 😉

We had fairly warm and sunny weather so we were able to venture out on some really nice walks and enjoy the fresh air. This visit was the first time I truly appreciated just how clean and pure the air is here. I was a little worried about my breathing with the higher elevation, but it felt better than it had in a long time.  We also headed outside to do some gold panning. About a month before we left, Cory was in full gold panning training mode: watching a number of shows on TV, as well as “how to” YouTube videos. So, armed with their new pan Cory and the kids, his uncle and cousin waded into Mugaha Creek in search of gold. I was creekside, but stayed in the car as the rocky terrain wasn’t very wheelchair friendly, and although it was sunny, the breeze made it a bit too cool.  The setting was spectacular and I thoroughly enjoyed my time watching the gold panning from the comfort of the car, window open, sun shining in, audiobook playing. Olivia was extremely relieved not to have crossed paths with a newly awakened grizzly. A great time was had by all despite not striking it rich. 😉

Before ALS, and the pain and discomfort that comes with it from sitting too long, I used to love long road trips. This time the ride back was close to what I remembered, no tasty snacks, but enjoyable nonetheless. It didn’t start well, I began experiencing bad sciatic pain not even 30 minutes into the drive. Panic started to rise up in me. I immediately said a quick prayer, asking for a pain free ride, and within 20 minutes I had no more discomfort.  It was 9 hours, and we were almost home, when the pain returned. A huge answer to prayer. I thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with my favourite three in the car. The lively discussions and friendly banter were  entertaining, as was listening to Cory attempting to sing along to the 80’s channel. He wasn’t kidding when he said he doesn’t listen to lyrics.

We made it home just in time to crash… we were exhausted. So happy we went, but also grateful to be home. 🙂