9. December 2010 by admin.

Myah and I arrived in Peru on October 27th. We stayed in Lima for a couple of days and got to see a beautiful old city under a massive amount of renewal. The people we met were so friendly. Then we flew to Cusco, which is in the Andes Mountains and at an altitude of over 11,000 feet. We could feel the altitude as soon as we arrived but we took it easy for a few days and walked around this beautiful ancient city that seems to hum with activity the whole day and night. We met up with the group that would be working at the wheelchair distribution over the next few days. Mark Richards from Hope Haven headed up the group of about 15  volunteers. Partnering in this endeavor was the Rotary Club, with Don Murphy from California, and the Rotary Club of Peru and then of course our friends EquipKIDS International. Dana Corfield was tied up in Toronto and could not make it to Peru for this distribution but George and Sandra had everything well in hand and the whole enterprise unfolded to perfection. Well done everyone!!!

There were so many kids that recieved their first wheelchair, really their first access to community and activity. Myah and I met kids as young as 11/2 years old to 16 and 18 year olds. We also me quite a few adults that received wheelchairs as well. Evelin in a 28 year old woman who received a wheelchair. Evelin had Polio when she was a child and uses a cuff crutch and a home made modified tricylce to get around as much as she can. Myah and I met her and her mother, Edmina on the last day of the distribution and we were able to meet them again in Pisac, a town about 45 minutes away, where they had a stall at the market. This is how Evelin makes her living. She was accepted at University but it proved just too difficult to get to classes and to navigate a world where she is the vast vast vast, minority! 

So many of the children we met have very sad stories, but I could see their light, the spirit within them, sometimes well hidden but still there. People have asked me if it was overwhelming and did I want to take any of the kids home with me. Yes! to both questions, but the path I am on , through fate and through choice, tells me that I can have more effect on more lives if I concentrate on changing people’s ideas of who disabled people are and what they can do. I can’t adopt all those kids that have no one to tuck them in at night, although my heart would dearly love that, but I can tell our story, I can walk beside Myah, I can lend her strength and teach her how to be the woman she dreams of being, and things will begin to change, even if its only a few people at a time. One day there will not be a mother who feels so alone that she feels she has no other option than to feed her disabled baby poison and dump her in the city garbage. One day there won’t be a family with no other options except to check their child into a rehab clinic and never show up again, because they have no support in the community or finacially from a government that would rather pretend the marginalized souls don’t exist.

And a woman as strong and smart and beautiful as Evelin would never have to make the choice to stop reaching for her dreams because it is just too hard. And no mother would have to be as resilient and determined as Evelin’s mother Edmina, just to have a child grow up without shame and abandonment.

Thats what I hope and that is what I will continue to fight for, continue to support Myah with, and I will remember this trip, the people I have met, the changes that need to be realized and most of all I will find courage in the memory of a trail that seemed impossible, a mountain that seemed too far and the young woman on my arm who never gave up. 

The Inca Trail was not made to accomodate anything but the strongest bodies on earth. They are called Porters. They are restricted to carrying only 25-30 kg packs up and down the Incan road. I use the word road very loosely! I may have called the Incan sanity into question a few times on our four day journey to Machu Picchu but I must say they did not harbour any grudges and I stayed on the mountains with both feet the whole time, not that it wasn’t in question more than once. Most of the path was narrow, some parts there was merely a toe width separating me and Myah from 100 foot drops, and the steps were never predictable or even, but they were never in shortage. We hiked for a minimum of 7 hours each day with the longest being over 12 hours with hardly a stop for My and I since we fell way behind everyone else. The last day we hiked 41/2 hours into Machu Picchu and it seemed like the longest leg so far. Perhaps because we knew the torturous amazing trek was almost over, perhaps because it was so hot, perhaps because we were told it was the easy flat part of the journey and yet stairs, hills and mounds abounded around every corner. It made the final steps into the Inca City all the more sweet! The hardest physical thing I have ever done? Yup! Hardest mental challenge? Oh yea! But we made it and I am so rewarded with the light in my daughter’s eyes and the ease her  body has taken with the confidence she has gained. I have no idea how we did it except we just kept going. There were some ugly points, lots of smelly times and a truck load of moments filled with joy so awesome very little has ever come close in my life so far.

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12. November 2010 by admin.

This whole trip has taught me so much about so many things. I know where Peru is on a map and I know what a beautiful city Cusco is and how much amazing history is here. I also have seen how a country can be so rich in history, culture and resources and have so many poor people barely getting by. Especially if you are disabled in Peru. I have been walking around a lot over the last two weeks and a lot of people stare at me. I don´t think many people here have seen a person who has a physical disability that is just a person living a life, not a victim or a burden to be hidden away. The wheelchair clinic was so powerful to me, to see so many kids that need help and support and to be able to be part of making their life hopefully a little better.

I didn´t know what to expect when I went to meet the group I would be treking to Machu Picchu with. There were people from England and Scotland and Sweden, New Zealand, Australia, Denmark and the US.  And they were all so welcoming to me and my mom. On the first day of the trek we got our passports stamped at the entrance to the Inca Trail. We made an offering to the mountains with the sacred coca leaves. Then we chewed some. They taste sort of like dirt and green. They numbed my mom´s mouth. It is suppose to give you energy and strength and all the porters who hike the trail with 25 kg packs on their backs chew it all the time.

The hike. Wow. First of all I am so glad I did it. Almost every day I felt like my spirit was breaking but either me or my mom got us going when the other was too tired. A couple of times when I felt like giving up and just sitting in the dirt, there was a small whisper inside of me that said ´you can do it Myah, you have a strong will, don´t give up!´ So I kept going. Dead Woman´s Pass was the craziest height we got to which took all of my energy but the next days long trek was so hard and we didn´t even make it to camp before sundown at 6:00 pm, even though we started at 6 in the morning and hardly stopped for lunch or anything. At the third pass we were told we could not go on any more because it was forbidden to walk down the mountain when it was so dark. Our only option was to have three porters piggy back me in turns down the mountain with a flashlight. My mom tried to keep up behind us with our guide but they were at least 15 minutes behind us when we finally got to the camp.

We ate some dinner and went to our tent because we had to get going at 5:30 the next morning which was the last day and the day I would finally see Machu Picchu. We actually didn´t get started until after 6 and walked up and down the mountain for four hours before we touched the Inca entrance to summer palace of the Incan Kings.

I still can´t believe we made it. I was right there in the place where I had looked at all those pictures in books and on tv for so long. Roger our head guide gave us a little tour around the main plaza. The Inca civilization held three elements as most important to life. The sun, the water and the mother earth. They also held three animals as symbols of their world. The condor, the puma and the snake. Everywhere in the city there were patterns of three. Roger told us that the andean cross is made up of steps of three on one side to represent the three elements and on the other side the three animals. These ¨steps¨ are mirrored below to represent the shadow of the elements and the animals. The Incas were very in tune with nature. It is a very beautiful and powerful place so far away from everything else.

Sometimes I was angry at the Incas for building so many stairs, all of them uneven. And even the ´flat´ areas of the trail made me angry because they were so not flat!!! I had to fight for every step I took and it pushed me to my limits and passed what I thought I could do. I always believed I had a pretty strong spirit but I never thought I was as strong as I know I am now. So I guess to all those Incan spirits that I was so angry at I must now thank them. I don´t think anything in my life from now on will be too hard, or too much for me. That is pretty cool.

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12. November 2010 by admin.

Well my dream finally came true, one of them anyway. For the past two days I have been at the wheelchair distribution in Cusco. Me and mom are entertaining the kids with balloons (spelling may not be correct, but here it goes…globas) and bubbles (booburhas) and an old toy of mine where you make ants dance. The kids seem to really like them. Some like globas better and some like mom´s iphone with music or video of other kids at the Clinica. A lot of the kids like the booburhas!

It seems like an easy job, to entertain kids while they wait for the crews to fit their  wheelchairs, but boy am I tired. I am also happy and proud of the contributions I have been able to make. I talked so much on the taxi ride back to the hostal because I was so excited. I feel really satisfied that I got to be part of getting so many kids in their wheelchairs so they can be part of their community and be in a healthier posture therefore a healthier life.

The people who have been running the distribution (hope haven, rotary, equipKids) are all so nice and cool. The first time I heard the word rotary here, I thought they meant the rodeo, because I had no clue what the rotary club was. I had a hard time picturing some of the people here that are part of the rotary club in the states and in peru as cowboys riding a bucking horse. Now I know it is a group of community leaders that join this club to help other people. So much easier to picture!

During our down time my mom and I have been exploring down town cusco. We have met Elvis, not the original but still cool and with one of our bracelets, Marina who showed where to get the bubbles and balloons, Margaurita an older Quechua lady who showed me how she weaves her belts, and Ruth and Katee who sold us some pants for our trek and exchanged adresses with us. We have talked to so many people here.

The food is decent. I think the pizza is my best choice so far. There is an awful lot of cheese and bread, especially if you are vegitarian. I think I will go on a fast from chees and bread once I get home.

Overall I am having a great time. I have met and been able to help the kids at the clinic and at the distribution and I have met some amazing people involved with this project. At 16 my life has expanded in ways I never thought it would.

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31. October 2010 by admin.

Well we made it! My Mom and I are in Peru right this minute. We flew from Vancouver to Toronto and then Toronto to Lima. That flight was so long and it made me want to jump up and down and scream. But we are here and my dreams are coming true. We spent the first two days in Lima which is a huge and beautiful city but it has a lot of it that seems run down. There are very modern parts too. We went to a mall called Locamar which had everything you would see at any other mall except part of it was open air since they don´t get much rain in Lima. We saw a famous person except we had no idea who he was but all these teenage girls were mobbing him and following him, screaming and giggling and some got a picture with him. Cool.

We flew out of Lima after two days. The taxi ride was terrifying like all traffic in Peru! We arrived in Cusco around noon and met up with a group of Americans who are partnering with EquipKIDS for the wheelchair distribution. They have been really nice and very helpful since some of them speak spanish. They are very good people and I really like them.

We went on a tour of ruins around Cusco yesterday. It was amazing, especially after I left Mom´s side and found a place to climb some of the huge rocks by myself. We tried tomales which are a kind of corn bread but sweeter and it was made in a corn husk. It was delicious!

Later after a pizza dinner, we went to a halloween festival in the plaza. The catherdral that is the largest building there is so beautiful. There were a lot of street vendors trying to sell us things everywhere we turned. There was a little girl about 5 and she was so determined to sell us a peruvian wollen doll, and her face was so sad and she was such a good little actress that we gave in. The doll is beautiful. I definitely like the south american halloween festival as a way to celebrate halloween because it includes everybody in the community, not just the kids. There was music and dancing and fireworks and some people dressed up and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves emensly.

Today we have the hostal ( which is what the Peruvians call a guesthouse ) all to ourselves because the wheelchair clinic doesn´t start until tomorrow and the group went to Machu Pijchu (Qucheua spelling) by train for a day trip. My mom and I are drinking coca tea and it is tasty with sugar in it, but more importantly it helps with acclimatizing to the altitude. I am drinking it from a clay mug decorated with traditional patterns. So cool.

We will go out to walk and explore a bit today, and maybe get some fruit and other stuff. I would buy everything from every store and every vendor if I could. Everything is so beautiful. There are not a lot of visible signs of disabled people and I did get a lot of interest yesterday, but that is okay because the more people see people like me going about my business the more they will accept other ¨different¨people.

We leave for our trek to the Sacred Valley in four days and then we start our trek to Machu Pijchu two days after that. I will blog as soon as I can after that! I am determined and I think I am pretty ready for it mentally and physically. Yea!

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26. October 2010 by admin.

It is so exciting that we are going to Peru within 48 hours. It will be such a cool experience. I am excited of course to be flying to another country and to be crossing the equator for the first time but I am also very excited to be able to help the kids in Peru. My Mom and I will be volunteering at a wheel chair clinic where EquipKIDS has organized over 200 wheelchairs to come in and be customized for 200 people who really need them. We are also staying at a hostel that is run by some Peruvian woman and is right next door to the childrens hospital. All the proceeds from the hostel goes to the hospital and the kids they help. We hope to be able to volunteer at the hospital as well.

I think we are prepared to go up to Machu Picchu. I have been training a lot and I have SideStix that I think will help me not fall off a cliff! They are really cool cuff crutches that Sarah Doherty in Roberts Creek designed with her partner Kerith. She has used them to climb the alps and Kilamanjero.

I can’t to see Machu Picchu and the peruvian llamas. I also can’t wait to see the markets in Cusco and in Pisac a town about an hour away from Cusco. We will also tour Lima for a day.

When I thought about this whole thing, the journey, the trek, what I thought seemed a long shot, it always seemed a long way away. Now here I am packing my suitcases and cleaning my hiking boots ready to go to the airport on Wednesday morning. I have done a lot of things I never thought I would this year. I learned a lot about the economics of our world, and I have learned some spanish. I have done some public speaking, a particularly difficult thing for me. I have learned how to make a slide show presentation on the computer and I have pushed myself to go out in the community and ask people and business for help and support. It was so hard to tell strangers my story at first, but everyone told me “you can do it” and that really helped.

So…here I go. I am a little anxious, but a lot excited. I will make new friends, meet so many people speaking a different language and I will show myself that truly…anything is possible.

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14. July 2010 by admin.

Hi everyone!

The last time we did this blog my mom did it to get me started, but this time it is all me.  On July 23 we are having a mini fundraiser at the wild bistro. Anyone is welcome to stop by for a quick visit or for the whole show, and you get a great view of the fireworks for the sea cavalcade as an added bonus.  

I am horseback riding every day for 21 days straight! Today was day number 13. The idea is that I will pick up the horse’s rhythm because i don’t really have any natural rhythm of my own and that makes it hard to do just about everything movement wise. So far i can see lots of little changes in my day to day activities and I feel stronger and more confident when I am trying to balance and co ordinate my movements. I will keep you updated on the progress.

will write soon

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26. June 2010 by admin.

We set up this blog because a lot of people have asked us to so that they could follow us on this journey. So we did. Here it is. I will write some of the entries and Myah will write as well, eventually taking over the blog as she grows into her voice.

The title of the blog is my and my blog. It refers to Myah and my self, Angela. We have always been a unique team but since we decided to start this particular path My and I have become closer and more independant. As we each see what the other can do it has become easier to let go and stand back. Yes, its not just a parental thing. Myah worries about me and how I will handle every step she takes. She is beginning to see that sometimes I might need a little help but I am getting better at asking for it. She can focus on her own steps trusting that I will let her know if I need something.

Myah has blossomed like a irrepressable wild rose over the last few months. Each experience, every person she talks to, every walk she gets through and every blister that heals, she knows she can do more than she ever thought she could. And she always thought she could do anything. Now she knows. Huge difference.

Yesterday Myah said that for the first time in her life she felt free. That her physical body and her confidence were both getting into such good shape, getting stronger by the day, that she felt like she was set free from the trap that she had been living in. Wow. You never really want to hear that your child has felt trapped, especially when they feel that way because of a disability, that no matter how hard you try you cannot  make it ‘better’.

Trapped! Takes your breath away. But she used the word freed as well. Freedom!! She is free to become the person she wants to be. She wants to explore, to show people that they can, whatever that is and that they should believe in other peoples dreams as well. She wants to set out on adventures and she wants to come home and renovate old farm houses and plant vegetables and she wants …everything. And that is a huge thing, to want everything…something we take for granted. Something we, in our able bodies and our privledged country forget that it is not a thing that many can afford. To want everything and anything, to know potential and to look at choices with the knowledge that you can pick the path you want and come back for more if you want to do that as well.  Freedom to dream and really expect that those dreams will come true,  free from restraints, free from doubt and danger, free to become.

Over the last 16 years we have had a million hard won milestones to celebrate, many of which no one else would notice but each one was magnificent to us. This one was particularly significant and so quiet and sacred that she didn’t even know of the shivers that ran through me to be digested later when I was alone. As we walked down the hill from the bus stop on the way to get gelato at Mike’s, Myah spread her wings for the first time, moving with ease and aware of the gift she works so hard to touch.

And we continue.

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