Gainesville area, GA - an ... ESCAPE? May 2020

Tallulah Gorge State Park, May 2020

Who would have guessed we’d be where we are today?  I’m not talking about Tallulah Gorge, I’m talking about Covid-19!  For two months now, we’ve been dealing with the new reality that Covid has brought.  There’s no need to explain, we all are experiencing life in a new way.  Our particular challenge is Rob’s health in the midst of the pandemic.  With another recurrence of tumor growth, we’re having to maneuver continued healthcare mired with new complications. 

With the airBNB business at an understandable standstill and feeling like our wanderlust might make us crazy in the confines of our own little bubble, we decided to try a short trip to an open park in nearby Georgia.  Really, how dangerous can RV travel be?  We have everything we need!  Full kitchen, bathroom and no need to stop anywhere or see a soul.  So we took off feeling thankful for a much needed escape.

Tallulah Gorge is a wonderful site.  With the days hot and the nights cool, we had a perfect campsite with no one else around us – distance protocol not a problem!  The first day’s hike was through all of the park’s boasted features and we thoroughly enjoyed hiking along the rim of the gorge and climbing and descending the 721 steps to the river below!  With miles under our belts (and plenty of elevation challenge), we spent the evening with a great meal and our favorite games.

Rob has been struggling with migraines lately and we’ve tried our best to maneuver around them enjoying the clear moments.   Usually waking in good shape, we decided to try an eleven mile hike to a lake positioned further into the park.  It was really a wonderful day despite the distance.  Without too much elevation change to challenge unreasonably, we made it to the lake and basked in the sunshine, our lunch and cool water to dip our sore feet into.

The camp host had told us that the back trails normally required permits to hike but that the office was closed with covid so we just needed to know there was no staff covering the area and to use 911 for emergencies.  Thankfully, the hike went off without event but we were surprised to find a group of rangers near the end of our day that were as surprised to see us as we were them!  We were admonished for not acquiring the previously stated as unavailable permit … apparently a miscommunication somewhere along the line!  We made our apologies and were treated to viewing the very rare trillium persistens plant found only in a four square mile area in the world – right where we were!  Who woulda guessed?!

With a great hike under our belt, we fell into another casual night.  Rob continued the daily migraine struggle as the day wore on which was the norm in recent times.  It’s so hard to watch this man of such strength and vigor be held back by this malady.  Taking one day at a time is all we can do and we settle in hoping for better spell in the morning.

Well, the morning didn’t bring us good tidings, I’m afraid.  We woke to Rob’s migraine growing progressively worse lending him finally on the floor without any fight left in him.  I called 911, an especially scary proposition with Covid raging.  Being in a remote campground, it took a little time for them to arrive.  Deciding the closest facility didn’t have the resources to care for Rob in his condition, it was decided to transfer him to Gainesville, an hour away, where they had full services for possible stroke or heart related issues. 

It’s Covid.  We don’t have a car.  I’m not allowed in the ambulance.  They’re taking Rob miles and miles from me – and he’s not well.  Needless to say, it was an unbelievably hard thing to process.  I first tried to rent a car but we were too far to have it delivered.  I tried to find someone in the campground to take me or lend me a vehicle.  No such luck.  And finally, realizing I couldn’t be in the hospital if I went, I tried to sit still with myself far too far from family or home.

Without spending a full page on the details, Rob needed to stay the whole day and into the next to get stabilized despite no answers being found.  The big challenge then was getting to him!  Time for the big girl panties.  I packed up the RV – first time solo – and I got behind the wheel thanking myself for having at least tried it once before!  I did it (and did take that selfie because I HAD to).  I did it fine, too.  I got things right, got out of the campground (despite accidentally hitting the air horn a couple times at the pre-waking hour of 7am!) and made the 60 mile trek to the Gainesville hospital. 

Rob wasn’t released until that afternoon and I sat in the RV in the entryway of the hospital (thanks, security!) trying to get updates and sending up supplies for Rob and fresh baked cookies for the nurses.  He was released in better but still far from perfect condition and it was time to get off the hospital grounds.  Navigating and driving through county roads on the approach to the highway toward home, I gained even further appreciation for Rob’s insistence on driving all the time!

I drove the balance of that day and we found a place to pull off the road for the night in the corner of a parking lot.  Not an auspicious place to spend our final night of our Covid escape but we could not have been happier to be where we were – safe, together and alive!