26th July 2006
The day before I was due to fly home to start the summer 2006 tourist season, I was stepping over a small irrigation ditch when my biggest dog, Raffi, decided to tear around like a lunatic. 100lbs of dog crashed into my knee at a speed of 50 kms an hour. I managed to limp back to where I was staying but after sitting down for an hour I could no longer walk.The next day my friend drove me the 3½ hours to the Bella Coola hospital. It was the July long weekend and we wondered if there would be anyone available to make an xray. We need not have worried: the Bella Coola Rodeo was being held that weekend and there was a steady stream of broken limbs passing through the clinic. The xray department was definitely on call!
Fortunately a friend was able to come home with me right away, and shortly afterwards three excellent wwoofers arrived. Steps were built in the trails so I could hop over the rocks more easily.
(The dog in the picture is Raffi who caused all the problems!) My friend also rigged up a handpump on the deck so I would not have to carry water up from the lake.
(Note that the crutches very rapidly acquired the wilderness look.)
But I felt very miserable when clients, wwoofers, and even the dogs, were running around all day and the expedition highlight of my day was going to the outhouse. The only thing I was fit for was doing the dishes.
Because the camera was broken I could not enjoy photography, and because the computer was broken it was difficult to tell anyone about it! Both camera and computer are now with repair persons: a wwoofer took these pictures, and I am writing this on an old computer.After a couple of weeks, I felt able to get into a canoe (providing someone held it very firmly!) and at last had the pleasure of seeing something different.
I even managed to catch some fish!
Frustrating though it is, there are worse places to be sitting around.
(People are telling me that I am smiling too much in these photos to get any sympathy.)
