Gone Crazy Be Back Soon Part Seventy Eight

Swimming in cave water1

Seemed like a really neat thing to do
And I was really excited about it
Despite the violent shivers wracking
Through my entire body and the
Difficulty in breathing that was not
Only persisting but was actually
Getting worse and worse the more
Wet and cold that I was getting2

By the time we got close to the cave room
With the all the rushing cold water
I had to reach into my pocket and pull
Out my inhaler that I rarely ever needed3

I had been diagnosed with asthma years
Earlier but practically never used the inhaler
That particular day I took the first two puffs
Of Albuteral that I had taken in a almost a year4

Because it was such a narrow passageway
We had to head towards the cave room
Single file and it took a while because of that
It was half an hour before we actually reached
The room filled with chest deep icy cave water5

We had only just made it into the cave room
When we did a count-off I was wheezing so hard
That I had to use my inhaler again before I could
Choke out my number that I was assigned to call out6

I knew I wasn’t supposed to take more than two puffs
Of my inhaler in four hours but I was forty feet underground
I couldn’t breathe and I had no other options besides suffocating
And dying from cold-temperature-induced asthma attack7

One of the counselors asked me if I was okay
After he heard the wheezing and saw me
Taking puffs of my inhaler I told him that
I was fine and it was just a little asthma attack
I neglected to tell him that I had already used
My inhaler once and it hadn’t worked for me8

Dave asked us if we had ever heard of a
“Subterranean Polar Bear” he told us that
It was when you swim in really cold cave water
The fancy name meant that we would fully submerse
Ourselves in cave water for fifteen whole seconds9

He stressed to us that it was our choice whether
We did the “Subterranean Polar Bear” and that
It was vitally important that once we got out of
The water (if we chose to go in) we would head
Straight back to the cave entrance very quickly
And get into the hot sunlight to get warmer fast10

The other boys were psyched and couldn’t wait
To tell everyone that they had swam in 42 degree water
I was still having a little trouble breathing so
I took one more quiet puff of Albuteral before
I actually went in to the water for the Polar Bear11

Now in defense of the counselors it should have been safe
We were clothed in multiple layers of clothing and had
Woolen clothing for at least two of those layers plus we
Were planning on exiting the water fast after fifteen seconds
The counselors had no way of knowing every side effect of
The antipsychotic medications that I was taking at the time12

I got in the water13

As soon as I was waist deep I knew I had made a mistake
My movements were getting clumsy and I could barely
Get my body to go in the directions I wanted to it to go
Everything was starting to feel kind of hazy and my tight
Chest was tightening even further so that I was having so
Much trouble breathing that I was probably turning blue14

I tried to get back out of the water but my legs
Were wobbly and buckling a little bit as well
Dave had started counting the fifteen seconds
And was at five when I made a funny whistling
Noise from somewhere in the back of my throat15

Sarah the female counselor asked if I was okay16

“Inhaler!”17

I choked out through my gasping breaths
Sarah jumped forward and waded through
The icy waters at top speed but by the time
She got to me I felt so heavy that my body
Was slowly sinking into the cave water
I couldn’t get myself to stand back up
I was in the water covered up to my chin18

The only thing I was aware of in my muggy brain
Was that I was terrified that I was going to drown
If I hadn’t been so numb all over I might have felt
My galloping terrified heart and my painful wheezes19

My chin was sinking under now too
I was vaguely aware of Dave and the other
Two counselors now coming towards me
But it was so dark and I was so scared and cold20

My mouth slid under and the water
Was up to my nose when I felt hands
Around my body and hands lifting me
Out of the freezing cold cave water21

I heard voices telling the boys to get out
Of the water “Right Now!” and to follow
Lisa the junior counselor to the dry slope
On the side of the cave room we were in 22

Dave held my inhaler up to my mouth23

“Squeeze my hand when you’re ready to inhale”24

It took me a moment to get the coordination
In place to figure out which hand Dave was holding
And how to get my numb ice block fingers to squeeze
I felt the puffs of Albuteral spray into my mouth and lungs
And it helped a tiny bit with the breathing I was really cold
But totally numb and I thought it was odd that somehow
The violent shivering that had been wracking through me
Had stopped and that I couldn’t feel my body anymore25

Dave and Ken the two counselors that had carried me
Out of the water put me down for a moment on the ledge
That was above the water and they asked me how I felt26

“Cold” 27

I managed to pant28

“Do you think you can climb out of the cave now?”29

I nodded even though I knew
That I probably did not have
The strength to even sit up30

I was so embarrassed and scared
Both at the same time 31

Sarah and Lisa got the boys to start up
Ahead of us so that they weren’t staring
Dave studied me for a long moment
Then he reached out and I saw him
Pick up my wrist in his hand I barely
Felt his hand taking my pulse and
Pressing on my nail bed under the
Light of the flashlight he was holding32

“I think she’s hypothermic.”33

He whispered to Ken
In a quiet voice that I
Wasn’t supposed to hear34

“You seem pretty sick.” 35

Dave told me in a louder voice
That I actually was meant to hear36

“Ken and I are going to care you for a little while, until you’re able to be a little stronger.”37

I didn’t protest
I knew I was zapped
Of energy and health38

Dave lifted me up and began
Carrying me towards the entrance
Of the cave we were in39

The trip out of the cave was shorter
Then the trip in had been and only
Took about forty five minutes total
Dave and Ken took turns carrying me
I was worried that I was too fat and heavy
But neither of them complained at all
At one point Ken told me that he
Was a volunteer fire fighting and
Was used to carrying people much
Bigger and heavier then I was 40

When we finally got to the tunnel
That had led us into the cave hours earlier
Dave had to kind of drag me up the tunnel
With Ken pushing from behind us41

If I hadn’t been so freezing cold
My face probably would have been
Bright red from shame by the time
We reached the sunlight of the outside42