Hurting here & there

I don't know which hurts more. The physical injuries or the heart but for now my wallet seems to have gone into cardiac arrest and there are still the camera, lenses and flash unit to send in. The phone is in ICU now after coming into contact with its greatest nemesis - water! As did the cameras, lenses... ah, let just say the bagful of stuff with the owner was flushed down the river. The story was...

The day started pretty damp i.e. it was raining. Deliberated whether I should proceed to the waterfall. Along the way the weather cleared and some parts looked like it didn't rain there. On our way in there was some slight drizzle and that wasn't worrying. However 1/2 an hour after we arrived the rain started down heavy so we made our way out pronto. By the time we reached the "tunnel" crossings, the water had risen currents were swift. However, the tunnels had ledges just above the water level and we could make it out via that way. Cross the river to the other side then slowly and carefully go up the ledge. "Wait here while I check out the river". I distinctly remembered saying that as I had done in all my trips. It was my responsibility to check the situation before anyone else gets into the river. I found the edges where the ground dips near the mouth of the tunnels and the currents were strong but manageable. Next thing I know there was someone else in the river behind me and near the danger zone. She was already too deep and losing her footing and next thing you know she was being sucked into the tunnel. I grabbed her and tried to hold on but the power of the water was too strong. We were both sucked into the torrent and immediately i tried to regain my footing. If I could stand up i could still get us to safety on the ledge. I managed to stand but slipped and did a split. Damn it hurt! Again tried to stand and succeeded a brief moment before the water knocked me down again. This time I decided not to waste more energy fighting but to put both legs in front and ride out with the flow. Had to pull my right leg to the front as I did the split again.

"Shit my camera..." That was running in my mind all the time in the few seconds in the tunnel. My bag was AW (All Weather) but no way watertight in a situation like this. I was holding on to the girl all this time. To have let her go might have meant I could get myself to safety but dooming her to the raging river after the 2 meter drop just after the tunnel. This is where the conditions training and experiences over the years automatically kicked in. Keep calm, keep your feet in front and go with the flow. Just before we exited the tunnel, a fierce debate on whether to try to regain footing before we go down the small waterfall or do we ride down with it. I decided without thinking further it would be better to ride down the fall. Looking back it could have been the life-saving decision. If I had tried to regain footing and failed, we could have tumbled head down first into the river below and that would have been disastrous. Everything happened so fast and all i remember was over and down we went. Momentarily submerged but when we broke surface we were near the riverbank and we managed to grab on some vegetation to get to shallower waters. Managed to climb up the stone wall and to safety.

That's the story of how the contents of my AW bag got drenched. Over the next few days I could only hobble. The abrasions on my elbows and hand were manageable but both knees, shin and foot had deep abrasions that would take a long time to head. Right knee was also traumatized but unable to put on a knee guard until the surface injuries have healed over. Getting in and out of seats, especially the car took an effort during the first week. The leg muscles also had been over-stressed so the aches will affect movement.

It has been over 2 weeks since the incident and I am still nursing the 3 injury points. These are the most traumatized and deepest so it will take at least another week to heal. The rest have dropped (actually i peeled) scabs. The wallet trauma continues on with only the phone repair quoted so far. I have not had the time nor financial resources to send in my other precious equipment in for service & repairs yet. The dSLR seems to be ok but still better to have it checked out in the inside. G7 working but detected some rust on the lens protector springs. Speedlite 580EX seems totally shorted out. EF10-22mm working but unable to see if the lenses are clear of watermarks. EF70-300IS and Tamron 90mm both have smudgy lenses and definately needs to be serviced even though motors for autofocus seems to be working. A dire need to get the EF70-300IS telezoom fixed before the aerial dugong search in 2 weeks time.

From the day it happened to today, I have not heard from the group that I was with. Makes you wonder... I can't say it but those are the thoughts that hurt a lot. The emotional mix includes anger. Sometimes we need that but too much of it and the concoction will be a toxic mix. Better to dwell on positive. As in the words of wise Yoda, "But beware. Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny."

A lesson to draw from this experience? Keep your expensive equipment far, far away from the foolish.