Anne's Africa Adventure!!!!!

 

Guest blog from Anne’s friend and adventure buddy, Erica Wehrwein!  It is an honor to give a voice to Anne’s Africa Adventure…the good, the bad, and the cough. I am honored and grateful to be invited to go on this adventure and to help Anne experience this dream trip of a lifetime.

After Anne was diagnosed with lung metastasis, we talked about what she most wanted to see and do.  She bought a series of travel guidebooks for places around the world and studied the options.  The final decision was to trek with gorillas in Africa and go on safari! Wow what a plan! TREK WITH GORILLAS!!!  Think Gorillas in The Mist/Dian Fossey.  We even watched that movie just before flying overseas.  We also watched Out of Africa because we went to Karen Blixen’s estate, which is now a museum.   

We initially planned the journey after her diagnosis in 2020 with a plan to go June 2021 but COVID thwarted this plan.  Fortunately, despite lung mets that are relentless and keep growing, we were able to go in June 2022.  I am SO glad that we were able to make it happen.  To be honest, I cried when we cancelled in 2021 with the uncertainly of progression of cancer leading me to wonder if a 2022 trip would happen.  WE DID IT! 

Africa was truly the trip of a lifetime in more ways than one. I am so proud of my adventure buddy extraordinaire for her resilience and perseverance to pack her oxygen concentrator, cancer meds, and a backpack to just do it! Take that, metastatic cancer!  

The good…

We had a fully custom and private tour arranged by Bernard at Nziza Hospitality.  We planned the exact itinerary that we wanted across 3 countries (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda) and just the two of us went with a guide for a personalized trip. There was a new guide in each location, and all were outstanding.  Our Ugandan guide Martin was a walking encyclopedia!  We learned so much!  So many people donated generously to a life celebration Go Fund Me!! Wow wow wow.  Thank you so much to all who participated in that.  With those funds, we did every possible add-on to the trip. Hot air balloon safari ride, business class seats on the flight home, permits to shadow scientists/naturalists in the field doing their work (a half a day each for the elephant, lion, chimp, and gorilla research teams…we are nerds, as you know, and asked a million questions and took notes!), massage, post-game drive drinks, personalized visit to the local tribal village, and so much more.  Anne did it all!  The generosity from friends, family, colleagues, friends of friends, strangers was so moving.  The animals all came out for us as if on cue during the game drive.  Cue to rhino!  Cue the baby elephants!  Cue the cheetahs eating an impala!  We saw everything one would want to see and saw it up close and personal (we have a video collection of “this is not zoomed in” whispered as animals walked close to our vehicle!). Err maybe sometimes even feeling that it was a bit too close haha!!  Um should we really be this close a bloat of hippos (that is what it is called LOL! You can also call it a crash of hippos).  The guide said many times how lucky we were!  We had private charter flights between location, personal escorts to guide us through the airports, porters for luggage…living a charmed life for sure!  Also, they grow and drink a lot of tea in this region and each country told us they had the best tea.  I did a formal taste test and I vote Kenyan tea (sorry Uganda!). 

 

The bad…

Cancer sucks.  With extensive lung mets, there is a major challenge to feel good on long flights with low pressure and low oxygen levels driving down energy levels.  In addition, we were at altitude much of the trip.  Nairobi is a sister city to Denver, for example, at 5000ft. The less oxygen, the harder it is to have any exertion, even just walking around, and the more the cough becomes an issue.  The pulse oximeter measurement was checked regularly, and I saw as low of 82% when it should be close to 100%.  That leads to shortness of breath and physical effort is really hard.  I am amazed how much Anne pushed though this.  She was glad to have a device called a portable oxygen concentrator that pulls in air and concentrates the oxygen for her to breath.  This is like having an oxygen tank but safer for flying and much less weight to carry.  The device was purchased with GoFundMe donations!  Thanks donors! 

 

The cough…

Cancer cough is BRUTAL.  Soul rattling.  Persistent.  Aggressive. It sometimes happens with enough ferocity to induce vomiting.  So much compassion to Anne for living with that cancer cough day to day. So much empathy for the challenges with exertion that causes even more coughing.  So much admiration for Anne pushing through all this.  People in Africa were SO caring and supportive about the cough.  So many people offered an “I’m sorry” or “that must be so hard for you” or “can I offer you a lozenge or drink”.  While there, unlike here, we had no nasty side eye or complaining about her cough nor need to explain that it is not COVID.  People truly showed caring and desire to help.  She got many well wishes, blessings, prayers in various ways.  The guides on the trail were so kind to offer a hand, support taking a break, and were very patient.  I was so moved by these interactions. 

The biggest accomplishment for sure was hiking up a STEEP and LONG several miles up a TOUGH mountain trail to see gorillas.  Even without cancer, low oxygen, altitude, severe coughing, and limited exercise capacity, this was objectively a HARD hike.  The most consistently steep and straight up climbing I can recall doing.  This was epic.  Anne was determined.  We had a team of porters and guides to help.  Oxygen was on high the whole time.  For hours, we did one step at a time.  Took breaks.  Had moments of doubt if this was too hard to achieve.  But WE DID IT.  Anne did it.  The team of scientists and porters were incredible.  They all but carried her up the hill to make sure it happened.  I am so inspired by her and by them.  The primary trip mission was to see the mountain gorillas and we did it.  I cried when we made it to the top after several hours of hiking.  Somehow all the well wishes that people sent to Anne were channeled to this day.  The cough was the least intense on gorilla day than it was any day of the trip despite being the biggest exertion.  How is that possible!?  It was meant to be, I guess.  The best I could do was offer some pep talks, assure Anne that the climb was REALLY hard, and go step by step with Anne as she slogged up the mountain.  It was STEEP, people.  I can’t say that enough.  At the top there was true trailblazing and bushwhacking to clear a path to the gorilla family.  They are wild but “habituated”, meaning that they see the researchers daily and won’t bother humans because they are used to us.  BUT…they are very much wild animals.  This is not the zoo!  We got to see them up close.  They are beautiful!!!  The gorilla babies were adorable.  The large silverback was thankfully way up a tree just looking over the family!  I didn’t want to be any closer that that.  

 

It is impossible to briefly explain what this trip meant to both of us or to succinctly summarize a two week journey. Therefore, I will let the pictures speak a thousand words. Check out the 8.5 min video montage here:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cD3g5j813VU&feature=youtu.be

 

My heart is filled with gratitude for our amazing tour guides/hosts, the hospitality of the people, the abundance to allow us such a journey, the support from friends and family, our safe travels, and for the opportunity to make these special memories together!