“He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless. Youths may faint and grow weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.” ~Isaiah 40:29-31
I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to start the hike down Mount Mulanje. Although my feet were sore, and I was dreading putting my shoes on over my blisters, I had hope the way down would be easier than climbing up. Once everyone was ready to go, we started out again. My worries about my shoes had been correct. With the added weight of my pack and my shoes rubbing on my blisters, I started to limp. This really discouraged me, as I knew we had at least 5 good hours of hiking ahead of us. To make matters worse, we weren’t going downhill. Our guide told us that we had to go up for a little bit first before we could go down.
I guess something in me snapped. I’m not really sure what happened, but some said I had a panic attack. About half-way through the second rise, I started to gasp for air. It was as if my lungs weren’t large enough to take in the oxygen my body needed. I tried to push the feeling aside, attributing it to the rise in altitude. However, it got to the point where I couldn’t breathe. I was gasping for air, even though it was all around me. I asked my group to stop, and I kneeled on the ground and took my pack off. I slowly took deep breaths and worked on controlling my breathing. Skylar, a girl on the other team living with us, had an inhaler with her and let me use it. Once the medicine set in, I started breathing easier. I was really shaken, but the only way down the mountain was through hiking. Our guide was soooo kind. He offered to carry my pack for me, and did so the rest of the way down. I wouldn’t have made it without him. He truly was a gift from God. He grabbed my hand and helped me during the rest of the hike. When we finally reached the highest point of our journey and took a picture, I was so excited that we would be going downhill from there on out!
From left to right: Katie K., Skylar, Jenna, Abigail, Demi, Mikaela, Drew, and me in Chacos. Photo Cred: Katie E.
If anyone ever tells you going downhill is easier than uphill, they’re flat-out lying to you or have never hiked before. It was more exhausting because you were constantly trying to keep yourself from slipping. My limp continued to get worse, and it was continually getting harder and harder to put one foot in front of the other. The guide noticed about a 1/3rd of the way down and offered to trade shoes with me. I gladly accepted, since I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it with the shoes I had on. When I took my shoes off, I noticed that my blisters were bleeding. The guide’s shoes help a lot and didn’t rub on my blisters as much.
Every step I took down that mountain was a gift from God. Eventually, my legs had no feeling in them and walking became muscle memory. My limp died down a little, but it was simply because I couldn’t really feel my legs. I continued to tell myself that every step was one less step I had to take. I constantly asked God to give me strength. I just needed to make it to the van at the bottom of the mountain and everything would be ok.
Katie E., me in the guide’s shoes, and Skylar. Photo cred: Katie E.
Seven hours later, our host, Blessings, met us five minutes from the van. It was sooo good to see him! All of us ran up and hugged him. The end was in sight!! When we finally made it to the van, the guide put my pack in the back, and we switched shoes again. My feet were so tender that I didn’t try to put my shoes back on. By this time, I could barely walk, and I had severe and dirty blisters on both feet.
On the bus ride home, my blisters started to ooze, and one of the toes on my right foot developed a nasty looking blister that looked severely infected. When we arrived at our house, I needed people to help me walk. I collapsed in the first available chair, and Grace, our host mom, took one look at me, grabbed a bin of hot water, and washed my feet for me. Afterwards, Mikaela, Drew, and Olivia Dabbs helped me wash my feet with some soap and antibiotic ointment. They were all so kind and willing to help me. I felt so blessed to have them as my roommates. The next morning I went straight to the local clinic…
