Sunday morning dawned cold and clear. When I woke up (for the second time) I tried to decide what to do next. I wanted to go get breakfast, but I didn't want to have to walk back and deal with my tent after. I figured I'd be in line at Medical for a long time, as well. It was just too cold to get dressed in walking clothes, though, and I didn't have the heart to do it. My teammates were gathering down the row a bit, and I joined them when they said they were going to breakfast.
Breakfast was good, and it was nice to eat with someone I knew for a change. Until today I hadn't seen much of my teammates at all. Most of them walked much faster than I did, so we were usually at different parts of the route. We agreed to meet at the holding area after the Walk and march into the closing ceremonies together.
Once I got back to my tent it was warmer and I changed and packed. I was a little less careful about packing since I knew it was the last stretch. I lugged my bag to the truck with great difficulty and then headed toward Medical.
The line at Medical was really flippin' long. I stared at it for a moment before making up my mind to try self-medication using the anti-bacterial gel I'd been given the day before. I found a place to sit and slathered the stuff on my various blisters. I had a total of five, and I just gooped it on. I didn't bother with any bandages, since all they seemed to do was make the blisters worse. I just got up and got going.
To my immense surprise I was one of the first Walkers out. There was a cheering station about a mile away, then the first pit was at about three miles. I figured I would get to the first pit and if my blisters were ok, I'd just goop them up some more and keep walking.
I made it to the cheering station without difficulty, and then the first pit. I checked my feet and the goop seemed to be working, so I put more on and headed out. The grab and go was next, and I sat in the shade for awhile and hydrated myself. Then I headed out and as I turned the corner from the stop I suddenly recognized where I was and what street were were about to walk on.
It was Northgate Way. We walked along the least hospitable portion of Northgate in the city. We crossed Aurora Avenue on Northgate Way. Aurora! Those of you who know the area probably have a concept of just how crazy it was. Then we continued on Northgate, now 105th, to Holman Rd. Holman goes down into a valley and then back up. And that's what we did. We walked down into a valley, and then back up.
Before we got to Holman we passed a church which had bottles of water out for Walkers, and had opened their doors to let us use their bathrooms. We all agreed that they had just earned themselves a mansion in Heaven.
Climbing up Holman we had to stay in single file for awhile. I felt pressured to keep up the pace, but as I was walking, I felt a twinge in my left foot. I stopped for a moment and tried to move my foot around to stop the pain, but it wouldn't stop. I was holding people up because there was no room to pass, so I continued up until I got to a cross street I could stop at and rest. After a few minutes drinking water and keeping the foot relaxed the pain receded. I was able to walk up the rest of the hill without trouble.
At the top of the hill I spotted Dick's Drive-In restaurant. The only problem was that it was on the other side of the road. I didn't have the energy to climb the overpass and go get a chocolate shake, but of all the things in the world that would have made me happy, a chocolate shake was high on the list (actually, it still is).
The next pit was at the top of the hill at Soundview Playfield. Again I went to Medical and gooped up my toes. The blisters didn't hurt at all. I was a little worried about the twinge in my left foot, but I wanted to go on, so I headed out again. I got to the cheering station and found Nichelle there. She insisted on a photo of us together, as she'd been doing a great job today and felt like she was going to make it.
I walked on. A short way down the road there were some "Walker Stalkers" with an ice chest and lots of cheer. I asked if I could have a piece of ice for my hat. They gave me one, and I felt wonderful cold water dripping down until the ice melted.
As we continued, we passed a very familiar house. I got a used fish tank from the folks who live there... Phil and Kaja Foglio. I didn't see any of the Foglios, but it was still early on a Sunday morning. I just hope they didn't mind the thousands of Walkers that came past their house and all the honking of the sweeps.
With only a few more blocks to go to get to Ballard High School and the lunch break, I felt my foot giving out again. A sweep van stopped to check on someone else and I hopped in when they asked how I was. Again I went to Medical. Again I got some ice on the foot. I had lunch, relaxed a bit and considered taking the bus to the holding area. In retrospect, I REALLY wish I'd done that.
I left the lunch area and started off down 65th. I'm not sure how far I got. My heart tells me it wasn't far enough.
As I stepped off a curb to cross a side street my left foot clenched in a massive cramp. I gingerly walked across the street only to realize that the pain was getting more intense by the second. I couldn't walk. I literally couldn't put any weight on it at all. I thought, "Ok, I'll wait for a sweep van", but I was going to have to wait on one foot.
Someone grabbed me as I started to fall over, and a couple of Walkers helped me to some steps to sit down. They walked on when I assured them I was going to be fine. Some of my teammates arrived, one of them a Registered Nurse. I told them I was fine and that I was just waiting for a sweep to spot me. They wouldn't leave me. Another group of my team walked up and after a conference two of them chose to stay with me while the rest walked on. The RN stayed.
Finally the Scoobie van spotted us and stopped. They attempted to get me into the van, but I literally couldn't put any weight at all on my foot. When I tried, I screamed and fell onto the shoulders of the folks helping me. They decided against putting me in the van, and called for "Medical Transport".
It turned out to be an ambulance. It took a long time to get there, and the entire time we waited I felt miserable that I was holding up two of my team members and a sweep van. When one of those team members later got swept, right at the end of the Walk, I felt responsible.
Because I couldn't walk, the ambulance guys put me on a gurney and rolled me into the ambulance. It was a surprisingly smooth ride into the ambulance. You see it on TV and wonder what it feels like, now I know. There were two ambulance guys, a rookie who got to drive and the experienced paramedic who rode in the back with me. The rookie got us lost, and the other guy told me bad jokes to pass the time ("What do you call a boomerang that doesn't come back?"). The lights and siren were fascinating from inside the vehicle. When the lights are on there is a chirping noise, and the siren is much quieter from inside the vehicle. At one point we did a U-Turn to see if someone else needed picking up, but it was a false alarm. From where I was sitting, I could see a motorcycle sweep talking with someone as we drove off again.
When we got to Magnuson Park they drove across the grass to the Medical tent, avoiding all the Walkers who had fallen asleep on the grass. They rolled me out of the ambulance and into the tent, then onto a cot where the doctor on staff examined my foot.
Again, he couldn't see any obvious problems. He tested the bones and found no breaks, and told me that if there was a break it was a stress fracture and only an x-ray would discover it. And if it was a stress fracture, there wasn't a lot that could be done about it anyway. They put ice on it and I sat in the tent for a small eternity.
While I was there I heard about a Walker who had collapsed with severe heatstroke on the route and was taken directly to the hospital. I saw the medic listening to the report of her symptoms turning green until they got to the bit where she was being taken to the hospital. The medic said into the radio, "They took her to the hospital? She's not coming here? Please confirm!" and looked extremely relieved when it was confirmed.
A medic ran to get me my T-shirt for the closing ceremonies, and the doctor came back and OKed me for the closing ceremonies as long as I stayed OFF my feet for the rest of the day (after the ceremony) and all of Monday. I said that wouldn't be a problem. He also told me to get an x-ray done if it still hurt on Monday. I agreed, and the staff put me out of the tent and onto the grassy shade where it was slightly more comfortable.
I didn't get to finish. Perhaps if I'd taken the bus to the holding area I would have gotten to walk in with the rest of the Walkers. I don't know. I certainly wouldn't have ended up in an ambulance, I hope.
I waited for an hour in the holding area while the shadows moved across the grass and more and more people poured into the area. The staff told us there were 3300 Walkers, but the website says there were 2400. I know there were 400 crew members. In any case, there were a lot of folks in the holding area, including quite a few family members.
Eventually one of my teammates found me. She left her gear with me and went to find the others. When she did, she and her husband helped me across the grass to the team where I sat. Just after we moved, Eric called and told me he was at the medical tent, where was I?!? With some difficulties (thanks to the loud music) he found me. After a little while he went off to find my mom and sister and I waited for the rest of the team.
I think the gathering in the holding area was the first time the entire team had gotten together. We took some pictures, with me playing the part of the old granny in the chair. My teammates promised I would walk in with them if they had to carry me.
In the meantime, the final logistical nightmare of the 3-Day was happening. There just wasn't enough parking for the families of 3000 people. And there was a big "500 family" garage sale happening in the park at the same time. It was, in a word, insane.
It took a long, long, long time for them to get everyone processed and through the system. Finally we lined up, then slowly filed down the road into the area for the closing ceremony. Each step was a nightmare. The pain got worse as we walked, and I leaned heavily on my teammates. I wanted to stop and tell them to go on, but I was afraid they would try to carry out their threat to carry me in. I limped into the area with my eyes so full of tears I couldn't see much of anything. Then we were able to stop. A whisper went through the ranks that when the survivors marched in we were to kneel. I said, "I'm going down now" and my teammates helped me to the ground where I stayed for the remainder of the ceremony.
At the end of the ceremony we weren't sure what to do with me. Beth spotted a chair sitting forlornly in the middle of the holding area as people vacated, and they took me over to it where I sat to wait for someone to find me. Shortly after I sat, we saw medic surrounding a woman who had collapsed. When they carried her by, I thought it might be Nichelle. Whoever it was, I hope she was ok.
After the ceremony my little sister came and found me. When she came back with my mom's walking cane and her shoulder, my teammates finally left to go to their families. As I limped on Lisa's shoulder out to where mom and Eric were waiting. We sat in the shade and waited for a long, long time until the traffic cleared and Eric was able to bring the car around. Then I got to go home. And sleep.
Some news links:
- Seattle Times Article.
- Seattle PI Article.
- Longview Daily News
- KOMO News (I remember the woman profiled in this one)
- North Kitsap Herald
There was a small surprise waiting for me when I got home, which I'll post another blog entry about. I also found that I really didn't miss the internet at all, which is a new one for me. Usually I go through internet withdrawal, but this time I didn't even want to turn on my computer when I got back, which is why Eric blogged for me on Sunday.
My foot is feeling much better, although I'm still very sore. I probably ought to schedule an x-ray... but I know the insurance doesn't cover it and I was told that they wouldn't be able to do much for it anyway, besides telling me to stay off it. I guess I'm inclined to wait and see if it cramps up again with normal usage before I go get more help. "Normal usage" is less than a full mile all at once in a day.
Four of my five blisters have already gone to calluses, while the massive one between my toes is still going strong. I also learned that I do not have ugly feet. I saw a lot of feet while in the Medical tents over the weekend, and I can honestly say that my feet aren't that bad. Which isn't something that I really cared about before, but I found it amusing when it occurred to me.
All told, I did about 30 miles over the weekend... half the promised amount. As Eric joked, if I go back next year and do the same, I'll have the full 60 miles. But just to show how insane I am, part of me really would like to try again. If the 3-Day can work out the logistics problems and the next one I try has a few less hills on the second day, I would be willing to give it a go. Not next year, but maybe a couple years down the line.
Even if I don't do the 3-Day again, I intend to go on other Breast Cancer walks. I enjoyed the Race for the Cure a lot, and I would do it again in an instant, especially if I could do it with Eric and maybe my sister Lisa. Shorter walks with lower fundraising requirements sound real good to me.
And lastly, thank goodness for cell phones. I don't know how Eric would have found me, or Lisa and Mom, without the phones.
