I'm always up for anything! Being in a wheelchair hasn't changed my wildly adventurous spirit in the slightest. So when my friends decided to call a "girls' weekend" to go relax and get our energy back, you can count me in!
We had it all planned out: a log cabin in the Canadian woods an hour north of civilization, good friends, good food, snow falling, a roaring fireplace, and our comfy clothes to keep us warm and cozy. My friend, Catherine, even planned for a yoga instructor to come and give us a private class!
Once we arrived at the cabin, we knew there would be some challenges as there are stairs at the entrance and stairs leading down to the bedrooms. But that wasn't the only problem! When we arrived, my friends desperately tried to get my wheelchair out of the car and put together. I was sitting in the front seat laughing until they decided to ask for my help! Giggling, they finally got the chair situated, even though the seat was backwards. Although I sat awkwardly in the assembled chair, we were able to start bringing our things inside the cabin.
As we unpacked, my friends met in the kitchen for some drinks to kick-start the weekend. When I was ready to go back upstairs to join them, I called out but they were making too much noise to hear. After a couple tries, I decided to text Catherine, "carriers please." Not understanding the message I sent her, Catherine simply went back to her conversation with the other girls! Luckily, one of the others came downstairs, saw me waiting and screamed, "GE!!" We all had a good laugh after that. The tone for the weekend was officially set!
We started the next day with a yoga class from our private instructor. We had to figure out a good setup so my precious butt would not sit on something too hard. Three yoga mats and several cushions later, we were finally ready to begin. I soon found that my flexibility and strength were a little lopsided for this kind of thing. I was like a puppet pulling my leg from one side to the other! The other girls were like, "Stop folding yourself like that, you're gonna break in two!" I probably invented some new yoga poses trying to follow everyone that day!
Later on, we decided to go outside and have a look around. There was a couple feet of freshly fallen snow everywhere! We decided to go on a sled track near the lake, but my friends had to find a way to get me there. They found a sled and put me on it with a foam cushion, again for my precious butt's protection. The further I was pulled through the snow on the sled, the more it looked like I was swimming in the fluffy snow because we couldn't even see the sled anymore!
After some sweat, we finally made it to the track. We had a great time enjoying the nice winter weather. After a little while of being pulled in the sled, I fell on my back without the other girls noticing. I started laughing so much that they turned around and discovered my awkward position! We realized that my foam cushion had turned so cold and hard it was not useful to sit on at all. So I continued riding in the sled on my back the rest of the way. Another good memory to keep from that weekend!
After such a day of crazy-good moments, we weren't prepared for what happened next in the middle of the night. The fire alarm went off and everyone rushed upstairs. My friend Marie-Hélène told me, "Don't move, I'll go check and come back for you!" I stayed put and waited — so stressful! An hour later, we were all in the living room with five firefighters just because the batteries were low in our smoke detector! Our boyfriends still think to this day that our night with the firefighters was planned!
Our trip to the cabin was an awesome time full of great memories. We can't wait for the next girls' weekend!
About the Author
Genevieve Halle has been an athlete since the age of four. Initially a gymnast, snowboarding became her main focus in college. After earning her degree, Genevieve moved to Whistler, British Columbia to further her graphic design and snowboarding careers.
In March 2001, during qualifying for the U.S Open, Genevieve crashed and broke her T5 vertebra and dislodged T6 by a centimeter. In a seven-hour operation, doctors were able to repair the vertebrae.
After going through rehabilitation, Genevieve has returned to the slopes in a sit-ski, explored new adaptive sports like mountain biking, surfing, and paddleboarding, and tried new experiences like bungee jumping and skydiving!
Genevieve's ride is a Quickie 7R
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