Almost died today....

June 19

I bet you've all been waiting for that blog title. The ironic thing is that it could have happened at home just as easily.

I met most of the group that I'll be with for the next 21 days last night, and opted to go whitewater rafting with them today, rather than abseil.

After all of the standard indemnities were signed (as would be the case anywhere in the world), we trekked into the gorge of the mighty Zambezi river which runs between Zimbabwe and Zambia. Having been rafting in Ottawa, I'm happy to report that the experience was pretty well identical- equipment, guide knowledge, safety training... all of it. I trusted both my guide and the equipment. The river, on the other hand, not so much.

Turns out my gut instinct was right! On our 4th rapid the raft flipped, and we held onto the safety lines as we bobbed downstream, where we would upright our raft. We manage to get the boat upright and our guide begins hauling each of us back into the raft. As I'm holding onto the rope safety line, which is attached to the rim of the boat, waiting for my turn to be pulled in, I was suddenly sucked under water.

Within seconds I knew I was trapped in a whirlpool, where no amount of swimming strength was going to save me. I did my best to stay calm, continuing to kick towards the surface despite the overpowering force of the water down on me. I had no sense of time, but I obviously began to run out of air, and became increasingly desperate.

When I started to inhale water, I knew I was drowning. Panic set in and I kicked harder and harder, demanding oxygen that I didn't have. Sucking in water, I lost my orientation in the water and quite vividly remember thinking,

"Oh my god, I'm drowning. I am going to die."

(Note: I did not die)

After that thought I started to see spots and in a last ditch attempt, kicked (turns out it was in the right direction) one last time. My head slammed into something and I saw a blur of yellow amongst the white spots.

At that point I knew I had made it out of the whirlpool and actually had a chance of breathing again, if I just found my way to the edge of the boat, where I could surface.

I pulled myself over to the edge of the boat, which had drifted into more rapids at this point, and sucked in the air as I surfaced. I didn't have an ounce of strength left in my body to hold on anymore, so I was lucky to have my guide grab my life jacket as I fell unconscious.

Slouching in the boat after I was pulled in, I came to but don't remember much. My fellow rafters tell me my eyes were rolling back into my head before I began throwing up.

I regained full consciousness within a minute or two as I struggled through throwing up and coughing. But it wasn't over yet.

Since my 'rescue' was the focus of the guides' attention, we had fallen into the path of the next rapids, and flipped within 2 minutes of my getting back into the boat. This time I panicked immediately and was convinced that the Zambezi river wanted me dead.

Luckily, as I pummeled through the second set of rapids, I was washed into another raft, and was yanked into their boat within seconds. Still coughing and throwing up, I had some sense of what was going on and broke into tears, and have never been more scared in my life.

The group I will be traveling with were all very concerned, and I was incredibly relieved to have them nearby as I got through the shock. We reached a fully calm, flat area and pulled over where I recovered while we sorted out the missing paddles and rearranged the boats.

The only way down was through the next 8 rapids, so I gripped on, literally for my life, and we made it safely to the bottom.

Now that I'm on dry land, I am keeping a close eye on my overall health- for any infections or stomach illness as a result of the enormous amount of ingested river water, and for the possibility of pneumonia.

Not that "near-death experience" was on my list of things to do while in Africa, I can now say I've had one. For the record, I will never go whitewater rafting again.

Side note: Keep me up to date on your lives, please! I love getting emails from friends/family at home, so keep writing.