Be Prepared

Last night we had Westport Fire Ambulance on site. 

As host campers we have no responsibility to act when EMS arrives.  However, as a fellow resident of the Big Blue Ball and as a fellow camper we have an obligation to each other.  This Columbus Day will mark the third anniversary of my tibial plateau fracture, the crown of the tibia that forms the lower part of the knee. We had just arrived at Fourth Cliff Recreation Area in Marshfield, MA.  - I took that Friday off from work to get a head start on the holiday weekend.  We quickly set up the Coleman Niagara and had a sandwich lunch.  About one-half hour after arriving we were lugging kayaks to the North River for a quick excursion.  Fourth cliff is a peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean south of Boston and the North River begins (or ends?) on the inland side of the peninsula.  On this particular Friday the ocean waves were large and that was causing some wave action on the back side of the peninsula.  As Lori started to paddle off in her kayak she got a little sideways and a wave capsized her.  She has OK, though a little disoriented.  Once she was safely ashore I went to retrieve her swamped kayak.  As I got to the kayak a wave pushed it into me and knocked me on my butt  The wave took it away and the next wave was bringing it toward me, now seated I was at eye level with the runaway kayak. I stuck my legs up to prevent the maniacal kayak from hitting me in the face.  Unfortunately my left leg was not slightly bent to absorb the impact and the two bones that make up the knee came smashing together with the top of the tibia shattering because of the impact.  This caused a trip to Southcoast Medical Center and an overnight stay at the hospital.  Returning to Fourth Cliff I found that the camper had completely been packed up and everything made ready for the trip home by our fellow campers helping Lori.  None of whom we had even met yet.  I told that story to tell this one!  Fortunately the ambulance was here for a non-life threatening condition. But Lori and I know what the family is going through.  Thoughts of “how are we going to get the camper out of here?” and “How do we get everything packed away?” begin to come into view.  We immediately informed the Horseneck staff that if the family needed anything they could direct them to us and we would handle whatever they needed.  Today I went over to the site and introduced myself and made the same offer to the family.  I explained my similar situation of three-years ago to them – more briefly than I did here.  I’m hoping the wife felt some sense of relief knowing that help is available.

  I know Lori is capable of getting our camper packed and hooked up, though it may take a little time because she is not proficient at it.  I’ve noticed that most families seem to have each person with a specific job setting up and taking down – with no cross training.  I prefer to have Lori knowledgeable of the whole task so; even if she is being helped she knows what is right and what is not!  This way if, something happens she is capable of taking action on her own with confidence.

To my fellow campers – be safe.  You never know when some freak incident will wreak havoc on your trip, so make sure your partner can handle the load!  None of us are invincible – though my plan is to live forever, so far so good.