Blue Spring State Park

Florida                           

January 1, 2015

 

1.10 miles hiked:

 

Our first hike in 2015 came very close to not happening. The evening before while having a special  New Years Eve dinner, Kellisa had a significant seizure. Fortunately, we were close to home. After 4 minutes, I ran out on dinner with Kellisa to speed home to administer the seizure rescue medicine. We left Lisa and Laurel to enjoy their dinner while worrying about Kellisa. I drove up our driveway and through the grass to our front door. I carried Kellisa inside and dropped her on the couch as I ran to the kitchen to get the medicine.

 

I couldn't tell if she was breathing or not and her blueish/purple lips told me at best, she wasn't getting enough air. As I was pulling up her medicine, I could tell by her labored gasp for air that she had emerged from the seizure. At least 6 or 7 minutes had passed and half her body was completely paralyzed. To be safe, I gave her the rescue medication and we returned to my cold dinner. Kellisa wasn't interested in eating or enjoying the festive environment.

 

One of the side effects of the medicine is it knocks Kellisa out. She went right to bed when we got home and slept through the fireworks. The mental fog created by the strong medication can last 24 hours, so we left for our hike in the middle of the afternoon on the first day of 2015 when Kellisa started to show a few signs of life.

Lisa suggested a hike at Blue Spring State Park, about two hours from our home. I thought this was a brilliant idea because it was the 15th anniversary of Kellisa's first hike. When Kellisa was 7 months old and still dependent on bottled oxygen, we took her to Blue Spring State Park on New Years Day 2000.

 

We didn't know until we arrived, but the park closed at 5pm and we arrived just after 4pm. We had to rush through our visit which was disappointing on many levels. First, we were only able to hike just over a mile on the boardwalk that parallels the entire spring run. A ranger was on the boardwalk telling everyone to head back to their cars because the park was about to close. Second, Laurel fell in love with the manatees swimming in the spring. She thought they looked like mermaids and was mesmerized as she watched them swim, float and play in the crystal clear waters. I felt horrible for rushing her through her first encounter with manatees. She continues to ask just about every day, "When can we go back and see the manatees"?

 

Lastly, sadly, Kellisa still wasn't herself. She was tired and I could tell it was taking all of her energy to share a half smile along the boardwalk. Even if we had more time, I doubt Kellisa would have been up to much more than the 1.10 mile we did hike. 

 

 

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