We're All Insane - Zip Lining Almost Killed Me

Episode Date: February 5, 2024

FREE TOYS OR GIFT CARDS FOR TOYS! Everyone who signs up to my giveaway with Bellesa wins something! https://www.bboutique.co/vibe/we'reallinsane-yt Watch the incredible journey of Karsen, a courageous young soul who faced a zip-lining accident head-on and emerged stronger than ever! It's important to spread awareness about zip-lining safety and the importance of resilience in the face of adversity. Let's turn Karsen's experience into a beacon of hope for others who may be going through similar challenges. Karsen's IG: @karsenspencer If you have a unique story you'd like to share on the podcast, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/ZiHgdoK4PLRAddiB9 or send an email to [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey guys, it's me Devorah. I just dropped an all new bonus episode inside my new subscription channel, We're All Insane Plus. This week's bonus episode is called My Brain was slipping into my spine. Listen now by subscribing to We're All Insane Plus inside your Spotify or Apple Podcasts app or go to we're all insane.com. Hi, I'm Carson Spencer and this is my story about how I fell off as a plane in a foreign country. So starting off, my grandparents literally love cruises because my grandma can't really walk well. So she likes to see the view from the cruise ship and just like watch. So we took a cruise to Alaska in 2010. In 2015, they were like, let's go on another cruise.

Let's go to Belize, like Honduras, Cozumel. And so we did. It was on Thanksgiving, like, week. So my family's huge. There's like 30 of us. Wow. We're Italian. So it's just like huge.

I know I don't look Italian, but I am. But it was my mom and her four siblings. She has three sisters and a brother. And my parents told me that we could pick an excursion like to go on when we got there. My sister the day before went snorkeling with my dad. And so the next day I was like, I want to go to Zipwining. That's so fun. Also, I was like pretty young.

How old were you? 2015 so I was 14 okay so the next day we went on the zip line it was me my cousin my sister my mom and my aunt that all went on this zipline excursion it was like cave tubing and zip lining together but we went in the car and as soon as we got there they were like oh cave tubing it's too flooded it's been raining all week like you're not going to be able to go cave tubing but we all wore swimsuits and we wore tank tops and like shorts over them and we were were like, okay, why wouldn't you tell us that before we even got on the boat or like got on the like journey? Because did you pay for boat? Yeah. Okay. So we get to the excursion and it's like all good,

you know, but now we're like sad that we are still wearing swimsuits and now we're just going to go zublining. And so I'm wearing these like booty shorts and I'm wearing this like big tank top that I got like day before in Honduras and I was like really cool. I was like, oh, I'm the coolest kid because, you know, I feel like Cosmo Honduras merch like when you're a kid is just like. Yeah. I went here. I did this. So I was really excited. I've been ziplining before, like that church camp and stuff, but not like across any big gaps of like the forest. Yeah. So I was going to ask you like I've been ziplining at like not I guess like a park. And then I've done it for a school field trip. And it was in the woods. Yeah. But like was this zip line. It was like through the forest. So like. Okay. So it was. A big zipline.

Yeah. So there were six in total. There were six zip lines. Okay. Like in the rounds of ziplines. Got it. So we're going to do six lines. Six zip lines total.

But it started like easy and then it got harder and harder and harder. And then it got like longer. Was it high up? Yeah. It was like depending on each zip line because they were like attached to trees. But like the last one was like six feet. But the first one was just like small, easy. Just to like be trained on how to do.

it. So we get there, we have gloves. The tour tour guides are showing us how to do it. We have like a glove and it has like a grip on it. And they're like, okay, you're going to have to stop yourself because there's no stoppers when you're going to zip lines. So you have to like pull down and like, I don't even know, foreign countries. That's like the first problem. Yeah. So like it's like a glove and then it has like a little like see hook and you have to like pull down and stop yourself. So the zipline is like, okay, go ahead. We go on this zipline. It goes.

My cousin goes first. Then my sister goes. Then I go. Then my mom goes. And then my aunt goes. And we're all going down. It's fine. It's just practice.

We're just learning how to stop, basically. We are walking to the second zip line. It starts to downpour. And we're in the rainforest. So it's like, you know, mosquito-y, gross, nasty. So we're going down the second one. And the second one's a little bit longer. You cannot see the end of it.

like you can't see the other side, but you could on a clear day, like if it wasn't raining. So, again, my cousin goes, my sister goes, I go, then my mom goes down, and she's going down, or no, then my aunt goes down. So my aunt's going down, and she gets to the other side, and they're like unhucking her. And the guy tells my mom, go ahead, you're good to go. My mom starts going down, and then she sees that her sister is still being unhooked, and there's no guy to like catch her. So she's like starts slowing down though it's like raining so it's harder to slow down because the zipline cord. Right. Also it's like why would they continue if you can't

really see the end? Money. It's money. They just want you know. Oh my God. Before you continue just so I don't forget. This is just a little thought that I've had. But I feel like this is a prime example because when you're young, I feel like we are fearless. If you want to do all these fun things, I remember when I was young, I used to want to skydive. Yeah. It was like a big thing. my bucket list. No, thank you. Yeah. Don't want to die. And also, I mean, you hear these, so many people go on these vacations and they innocently want to do these excursions or these fun activities and they can be fine. Yeah. But then these freak accidents can also happen, which is terrifying. Very terrifying. And it sucks. It's like you want to live your life and experience

things, but you're risking serious injury or death. Yeah. And you don't think about that when you're on it, you know, you're like, okay, where just it goes? Especially when you're that young. Like, you shouldn't have fun. Okay, continue. That was just something that was in my mind. Oh, also, like, the excursion was not through the cruise line. That's, like, something to mention my mom.

My mom, like, loves a deal. She loves to get a deal any way, any sort, which me too, girl. But so she, like, booked through the company itself rather than the excursion. Because the excursion was, you could book the same excursion, the same place, but just through the cruise line for, like, $40 more per person. And she was like, I'm just going to book through the person itself. because that's cheaper. Right. Yeah.

So the second zip line, my mom can't see my aunt, and the guy just sends her. And she's going down. She sees my aunt still being unhooked. And she starts slowing down, and she can't really slow down because the railing, or like the zipline is wet. And so she's, like, pulling really hard, and she finally slows down, and my aunt finally gets, like, unhooked from the zip line. And the guy sees her coming in, and he pushes my aunt out of the way.

grabs my mom. My mom like swings up, hits the tree, like with her foot. And she, like, he grabs her waist. She goes up. She hits a tree. And then she gets off. And on the walk to the next zip line, she is complaining. My mom is very, like, tolerant to pain. Like, she's not, it has to be like the end of the world for her to, like, complain about anything. She's very, like, not, she's really risky. Like, she always gets hurt, I swear. But we're walking in the next zip line. She's like complaining like, my foot hurts so bad. And I'm like, you're chill. You're like, I don't know what you're talking about. You're fine. So we're all walking, whatever. She just keeps complaining about her foot. And we're like, okay, whatever. And she's like, I think I broke my toe. Like, I think I broke my foot. And we're like,

no, you're fine. Like, I don't think that could happen. Like, we're like, whatever. So we go on the third zip line. We go on the fourth zip line. We go on the fifth zip line. Everything's fine. It's beautiful. It's still raining, but it's like fun. Like, you know, I love rain. And it wasn't like thundering or anything. Also, I forgot to mention, this was on Thanksgiving Day. So, like, which was crazy enough. So now that's like the anniversary Thanksgiving, which is insane.

But we get to the six-zip line. My sister, my cousin goes, my sister goes, I start going down. And this sixth line is over this year. huge river and it's raining and the rapids are insane they're like underneath there's like rushing rapids and we're like okay this should be fun whatever it's like the biggest i'm a little bit angsty um and there's no way down from the zip line so the fifth zip line went to the six zipline and then the six zip line like went to that next platform so there was no walking between the zip line um so if you wanted to stop halfway through you you really couldn't okay

because you had to go through that. You were just going to the next platform. Okay. And it was six stories up. And so we're going over this river. And so huge river. And then like there's like a bank. And then there's trees.

There's like a whole forest right next to it. And we're like, okay, cool. Didn't think anything of it until it's going down. And so I start going and right in front of my eyes, I see this tree. This waterloged tree. start falling and it hits my zip line while I'm going down and I'm just shock I'm like pulling my hardest to like stop myself um I don't think I've like ever pulled like that hard I was using both hands because I was like this is insane the tree's falling next thing I know I'm being dragged into

water um and you were still attached yes the zip line never broke but I just the tree was and it like made it slack and it dragged me all the way down to the water into the rapids, into the rushing rapids. So the tree, I ended up, like, being, like, super close to the tree. My feet were on the tree. I was still attached to my zip line. The water was, like, to hear on me. Like, I was pretty low.

The tree was massive on top of me, on top of the zip line. And I was quite literally freaking out. My sister and my cousin were on the other side just, like, it's going to be okay. And my mom, my mom's a preacher, or, like, youth minister, preacher type. And she was like, Carson, it's okay. Like, it's okay. You'll be okay. You'll be fine.

And I was just like not crying, not anything. I was just like in shock. Next thing I knew, two men come out of the woods with the chainsaw. And I'm like, okay, this should be fun, you know? Also, like things are hitting me left and right in the water. Like branches, like different things are just like flying, hitting my legs down this river. And I'm also being like pool. So like, I'm like going.

But to keep my stability, I put my feet on the tree so I can like kind of like stance it. How fast did you say that you went down like into the water? Like was it kind of like a slow fall or was it fast? Oh, it was once the tree hit the zip line and it was just like down. Do you remember feeling any pain going down or no? No, not not any really. The pain really came afterwards. Also I think it was like shock like when you're in that situation.

You're not thinking about it. You're not like, oh, my leg hurts, you know. So that all happen. These men come out of the woods. They start speaking to me. And I'm like, I don't understand them. They're speaking a different language. So I know a little bit of Spanish, not a lot, just to get by.

But they speak Creole, which is like French, Spanish combined. So some words will be French, some words will be Spanish. And so I didn't understand these men. And they, like, I couldn't understand them. They couldn't understand me. It's kind of a tough situation. So they toss me a rope. I'm Anna Garcia, host of True Crime News, the podcast.

Every week we bring you in-depth coverage on cases making headlines, as well as those that go under the radar. Tune in for murders that defy explanation, mystery seeking exploration, and shocking secrets that will leave you breathless. Each week, we honor the victims by going beyond the salacious in our search for justice. Crime never stops, and neither do we. Listen to True Crime News available now wherever you get your podcast. Were they with the company or no?

I still don't know. They just came out of the woods. Like two random men. And they were like bigger guys. They come out of the woods. They start like brainstorming things to do, I guess. They get a rope and they tie it around my like waist. They tell me like to die around my waist.

So I tie it like around my waist and they're like, swim, swim? Like, swim? Like, can you swim? And I was like, no. Well, because I was pretty far from the shore. Also, it's rapids. It doesn't matter how good a swimmer you are. Literally. I was thinking that too.

I was like, I am not a good swimmer in general. There's no way I would be able to swim through these rapids. I'm probably going to drown in the process. Probably would die. So I told them, though, I can't swim. So they had to brainstorm another idea. So they climb on the tree. These men are, they walk on a tree.

They obviously go down a little bit farther. So it's like up to like here now. and they get a chainsaw and they're like okay we're going to cut off the top part of the tree and then tie the rope that was around me to the end of the other side that they didn't chop so they're walking down they chop off the tree the tree goes down the river within 30 seconds it's lost like the whole top of the tree gone um and that was like the craziest part like how fast it went down that river and it just kind of like made things more real like dang I'm so glad I didn't swim because if I were to swim, I would have 100% drowned.

And so I just like, I don't know, I was scared out of my mind. So then they tied the rope that was around me to the tree like itself. Were you still attached to the zip line? Yes. Okay. I was still attached. The harness was hurting like at this point. because you can imagine like harnesses are not fun also i was in a swimsuit and shorts so like the

chafing was insane shorts were way up this like the harness was not comfy and just sitting there i was in the water for 45 minutes like this whole thing was like a long right because i don't think they knew what to do or how to do it um so they finally like two men come down and join me um and then two men pull up the, like, tie the rope to the tree, and they grab the tree and they pull it up off the zip line. And the two men are, like, holding me, like, their legs are around me, their arms around me. And they're like, okay, here we go. So they pull up the tree of the zip line, we go shooting up in this air. Fast? I mean, it was pretty slow, because they, like, pulled it off, like, slowly. But, I mean, we go flowing up. The zip line is still. And one

them's holding on to you? Both of them have their legs like touching each other. So like, so they're going up with you with no harness or anything. Well, they attach themselves. Okay, okay. They put on harnesses and they. Got it. Yeah. Okay. I was going to say that's risky. No, that would be crazy. But it was like they had no shoes on the whole time. Right. Oh, I can't, I can't remember those men's feet that they were nasty. But they were like both put their legs around me and both of their legs were wrapping around. other, which was crazy. I was like in the middle of like two grown men, like straddling me. Right. And that was just awkward itself. I was like a 14 year old. I was like, ugh. Just save me. I'm like, yeah, just get me out of this situation. Like the zip line, not so bad. This situation

bad. So we go flying up and they drag me. Like the zip lines like still pretty slack because the tree just fell on it. And they're dragging me up it like one by one hand by hand. They're just like pulling me up the zip line. And that was crazy too because. I would have been able to like pull myself back up. I mean, at that point, you're kind of relying on two other people to save your life. Yeah, exactly. And like if the tree would have fallen seconds before, seconds later, I would have been either under the tree or if it fell later, I would have been like dragged back and I probably would have broken my back.

So it was a very good situation that I was where I was at the time I was because I would have died any other way. died drowning too. So they dragged me up. I finally get to the platform. I'm like, get off the zip line and I just lay down. My, I look down on my legs, they're purple and blue. They have so many bruises on them from the things that hit me in the water. I cannot feel my legs.

Like, it was bad. And I lay down and they're like, okay, we have to get the next people on the zip line. Like, you have to move. I was like, what? Like, why would they even use it? I know. Well, because like the fifth platform went to the six. So it was the only way down for like my mom and my aunt.

They were behind you? Like they hadn't gone yet? No, they had not gone yet. So yeah, so there's the only way down. So they're like, we have to use it. So you have to move off the platform. I was like, I can't feel my legs. Also this whole time, my sister and my cousin were at the bottom of the zip line or the other side of the zip line because they already went on that zip line.

And they were like running back and forth. And I was like, why are they running? Like, why aren't they just like supporting me staying here watching? they were like there's so many mosquitoes in this rainforest because of the rain. And it was like my mom and my aunt didn't really face it because they're six feet up in the air. But my sister and my cousin were just getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. So they were like running out of the forest, running back in to check on me, running back out, running back in. And so finally get on the platform.

My sister is running back in. She helps me get to like a bench. So we sit on a bench and she's like, Carson, we have to go. Like I'm getting eaten alive. Like, I cannot be in this forcing me. I'm like, I just need a sec. I need to breathe. I'm like, just went through this horrible situation.

I just like, I don't even give a shit about, like, mosquitoes. I just need to, like, lay down. I just need to be chill. And so I sit there. My legs start returning back to normal color. I'm like, I need to get this harness off. That's the first thing I need. Get the harness off.

Like, finally, like, you know, I'm okay. Breathe, whatever. Like, what's going to come out of this next? Also, the fact that I feel. like, I mean, I know you were in a different country, but the fact that no one attended to you, like immediately is crazy to me. No one seemed to care. Like, oh, she's breathing and alive. Yeah, she made it. She's fine, you know. Right. Now you got to move. Now you got to, we got to keep running business, you know. But also, like you said, in moments like that, you don't even really know

the pain and what has happened until, like, after the fact. Yeah. It was like, I don't know, it happened so fast, but it was so long. Like, looking back on it, an hour, Like I was there for such a long time, like on that last zip line. And I was just like, you know, no one tended to me afterwards. No one asked if I was okay. No one apologized. Nothing. And so we finally walk out of the, well, I wanted to wait for my mom and my aunt to go down so I could see if they were okay.

And I wait for them to get across and my mom is just like crying. She's like, my mom does not cry unless she's mad. And she's like, I'm just glad you're okay. And I was like, yeah. So we start walking back to like where the bus is and stuff. No one asked me how I was. No one checked on me. Nothing. No refund, no anything. So we walked back to the front and there's a huge, huge line of people like lined up wanting to go on these zip lines. Because obviously I stopped the zip lines for a long time because I fell off on, you know? It took me a while, so everyone was backed up like 45 minutes because obviously you can't go into zip line or you don't want people to see that.

So that was crazy. I just don't understand why they were still doing it because it's like even if the zip line didn't break, a tree just fell on it. So it's clearly not in the same state it was. Yeah, literally. I don't know. I don't know if they like pulled the line back like tighter or like fixed it or something. But I was like, I don't know how they're doing it. Right.

They just like kept running production. Like it seemed like I walked out. No one in the line knew what happened to me. No one like I was soaking wet, but they just thought, okay, it was raining, you know? Yeah. There's like no reason to overthink that. And so it was just like really strange. And it was like kind of sad that no one really cared.

My mom was still complaining about her foot at that point too. And so we get back in the car to head back to the port. and they were like, the excursion was like, oh, provided lunch too. And we're like, okay, like we're going to go eat somewhere in Belize. Like, this is fun, whatever. We get in the van and she's like, oh, I packed all sandwiches. We're like, okay, sandwiches, cool. So we ate sandwiches for lunch.

He did it all the way back. And as soon as we got back, I tell my parent and my dad, I'm like, this just happened. My mom was like, you know, I got to go to the clinic because my grandpa travels, or my grandparents travel a lot on cruises, and they're like, you should go in the clinic on the cruise. Like, you shouldn't wait until you get back to go to the clinic for my mom because her foot was hurting, and they were like, it could be a lot cheaper on the cruise,

which I didn't know. Like, health care on the cruise is pretty cheap because it's, like, in the middle of the same. Like, they don't really have to do much. But so she goes, gets her foot checked out. Turns out her pinky toe was broken, and her whole foot was, like, shattered from the zip line. from hitting the tree.

And so she's wearing a boot the rest of the trip. I'm just in my room just like processing. Did they have you go to the clinic at all? No, because I didn't have any like pressing injuries. I had a lot of bruises and I had like deep bone bruises for a long time. Like if you would feel my leg, it would just have like a bump. But nothing like was broken. Nothing was hurt.

So I just didn't because they were like, I don't know. I didn't really need to. So I just like went back in. I was telling my everyone that didn't go on the excursion with me, like what happened. They were like, that's crazy. And then soon after that, the joke started coming. Like, you know, like, oh my God, that's, that would happen to you. That would happen to you.

Like, you know. And I was just like, you know, too soon for jokes too soon. But we celebrated Thanksgiving with that whole group of people like that night. there was 23 of us. We were eating, like, in the cruise lounge, whatever, talking about it. And I'm just kind of, like, stunned, and I didn't process it or whatever. And it was just, like, a really, really traumatic experience. And it just took me a while to, like, process and realize what happened. And, like, most after it, I don't really remember much of that cruise after Thanksgiving because it just felt like a blur because of how, like, traumatizer was. I think, too, people don't

realize. I always say like unless something happens to you, you don't really fully grasp it and understand. But whether something happens directly to you or you see something traumatic, that stuff will like linger for a little while. Yeah. And I can only imagine like having, I mean, people might not realize this because you're fine, but your life flashed before your eyes. Like there was more than a 50% chance that if like you said, if one thing went wrong or anything, you could have died. Yeah. And that's terrifying. And you weren't near home.

And it was like all the circumstances were horrible and scary. Yeah. So I can only imagine like not only would I be scared to do anything after, but mentally I feel like that's something that you just, you can't just shake it off. Like, oh, I tripped and fell. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I broke my foot one time. Right.

No. It was, I think it was hard on a lot of people. I think my parents didn't know how to like go through that with me and like figure it out. Because my, I don't know. My parents have been. really supportive and they're really great. But like as a child, they're like, don't know how to handle emotions very well. So I just didn't know how to do it. They didn't know how to do it. We didn't know how to figure it out together. It was just kind of something that like we really

didn't talk about afterwards for like a few years. And until like I had a really bad PTSD like thing. That's what I was going to say to. I like didn't want to assume because sometimes I know people can like use different term not terminologies but what is it called um like diagnose things in different ways but i was going to say that was what i was going to say is when things like that happened you definitely have that like lingering PTSD from yeah for sure in so many different ways yeah and it's so random how i still have PTSD like i don't know i have PTSD from the water like brown murky water that are rapids like scares the life on me and i mean that's like a stupid thing to be scared of but like with my experience, it's not really stupid.

No. Heights. I've never been scared of heights. Even two years after I wasn't scared of heights. Hey guys. Today's episode is sponsored by Belessa. All right, guys. So my friends and I over at Belessa are sending out free toys and free gift cards to everyone

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Like, scares the life enemy. So after that, my mom she's like a preacher she's like mission trips you know so she still wants me to go she still wants me to experience things we go to church camp we do zip lines and stuff at the church camp just like small zip lines you know just like little short zip lines and I was able to do them for like two years and I'd have fun with it whatever and I wasn't like freaked out about it I was just like pretty chill you know, it was fine. And one year we went to Costa Rica for a mission trip.

We were going to, like, paint a school. It was pretty fun. But we go to Costa Rica, and that's fun. And we usually, like, for mission trips, we have, like, all these work days. So we're there for, like, five days, I think. But we had all these work days, and then one day is, like, fun.

Like, you just go out with your group and you have fun. It's, like, a little treat for, like, the, like, people that are doing, like, the mission work. And so we go ziplining. And I'm like, oh, this is going to be fine. Like, you know, I'm not really scared of ziplines at that point. At that point, I was like, Yolo, like, I'm not going to let something hold me back. Like, I was very in my head.

Like, I'm not going to let this stop me. I'm not going to let this, like, take my life away from me or make me scared of living. And so we go on the mission trip, we go ziplining. That was, like, fun. Like we had, the zipline adventure was so fun. The very last zip line starts raining. It starts like raining at that place. And I'm like, okay, I'm just going to skip the last zip line.

I'm not going to do that. So I think like everyone else went, but I didn't go on that last one. I just like kind of waited for the group and I think my mom waited with me. Because I was like, zip line, rain? No. Like I'll do. I'll do. Yeah.

So that's fine. Like everything went well. My mom was like, see, Carson, like, you don't have to worry. Like, there's only a one-in-s-lifetime event. Like, that's a freak accident, you know? You'll be fine. Like, see, wasn't that fun? Wasn't that exciting?

Like, now you can zip-line again? Like, you're cured, kind of. I was like, okay, yeah, like, that was fun. So it starts raining. We, like, are waiting for a group. There's, like, a little museum, like, with the ziplines. So, like, we're walking through the museum. We're reading stuff.

There's, like, a butterfly exhibit. We're, like, going around, like, just, like, exploring, kind of. And we had a tour guide and we rode some gondolas. It was just like fun. And we were just like in a huge group too because it was like a big mission trip. And so we split off to two groups because like one group wanted to stay behind and ride like like finish on the gondolas. And one group was like, okay, we're going to wait on the bus.

So like two, I think one adult came, my mom came with my group. And then another adult came with the other group. And then there was a group before us too that was with us. So we had this big like chart of us. And so we're headed back. Like I was in the middle group and we're headed back to the bus. And the tour guide is like, hey, the road that the bus would come pick you up at is flooded. The bus can't get through.

So we're just have to walk it. And we're like, okay, you know, whatever. That's understandable. Like, cool. So we walk it. And we get to a part where the road is like flooded rushing rapids. I showed you that video. But.

Wait, that was the road? Yeah, that was the road. That wasn't just a river. That was the road across. Yeah. Yeah. So the tour guide's like, okay, I'm going to take off my shoes because we're going to have to cross this. And my mom's like, no, we're not.

Are you joking? Like, you're good? No, we're not. We're not crossing that. And he's like, yeah, I have to be in San Jose in like two hours. Like, we have to cross it. Like, this is the only way out. And we're like, okay.

And we're assuming that the group right in front of us already did it, you know? They've already been through that. They survived. Whatever. Cool. So I was like, okay, we'll do it. That's fine. So all of us in a group, link up arms like this. And we're all like pretty young still. And we all link up arms. The guy takes off his shoes, ties him around his neck. Like ties like the shoe laces together. Puts it around his neck and he's like, okay, let's go. And he's like so happy about it. And we're like all like, this is terrifying. Why are we crossing this river? Like it was scary. Like our legs, it was pretty high up on our legs. Yeah, and for those of you that haven't been in rapids, let me just tell you, it doesn't matter if it's only to your ankles. That shit will take you down and kill you. Yeah. Literally. Like, I've done that before.

I was young. And I'll never forget, like, the water wasn't even above my ankles. It was so shallow. But also the rocks are full of algae and they're so slippery. Like, you're, no, there's no, you got no chance in rapids. For sure. So we're all, like, super scared to go across this river. and the guy takes off his shoes, puts them around like, he's like, y'all should take up your shoes too if y'all want.

I'm like, I'm not taking off my shoes. Like, my bare feet are going to be less stable than my shoes. Like, I'm not going to have any grip on the road. So I wear my shoes, which makes it harder because there's water in my shoes. Now it makes it harder to lift my shoes. It makes it harder to move. So we're all walking across and we're all like, hold. He was like, just hold each other's arms like this. So we're all like walking across, like, in a line. And so we're all going. We all crossed the river. I was shaking. The girl next me was shaking. It was. was raining. Our arms were just like slipping apart and the girl next me, her name was Hannah, love her. She was like, Carson, we might have to let go. So we were like literally like to this point where we're holding each other's hands just like, because if we let go, then there's no stability and they're one of us go to just, you know, blown off. And so we finally like get across and

which was so scary. And we're moving so slow too. Like everyone's like one step at a time, like sideways. We weren't even like walking straight. We're just walking sideways. Um, and we finally get across and there's this huge tree that like was like blocking the road that fell to I guess, but we didn't see it fall. Um, so we're sitting on this like tree talking and we were just going to wait for the next group because we don't want them just to like have to cross that alone or like we wanted to be their support. And my mom was like so confused why the first group did not wait for us. She was like, of like crazy that like they crossed that river and they didn't wait to see if any way else was okay. And so that was kind of shocking to her and she just like couldn't understand it. So we had like

a mile walk after that. And we were sitting on a tree waiting for the next group and all of a sudden we hear them and but we don't see them. We don't see them crossing over. We look up and there's a sky bridge. They walk across the sky bridge. They walk down. They walk through the forest and they meet us. So my mom, everyone was livid because this tour guy just made us walk through this river when there was a sky bridge the whole time, like up above the river. There was no reason we had to walk across that. He put all of our lives in danger for literally no reason. And so my mom was just like mad and we were all mad and we wait for them. And then my mom was telling the other adult that was with that like group behind us like this is what just happened. This is what all these kids.

kids put through. And she felt bad herself. She was like, I should have known. Like, I should have known that this is not the only option. This had to happen before. Like, this road was low. Like, the river, like, nearly runs. If it floods a little, it's probably going to run through that. So she was just kind of upset that, like, she let us do that too. Um, but she didn't know any better. She was just listening to our guide. So we start walking back and I lost it. I, like, break down tears. but like I'm with all my peers too. Like I'm with people I just met, friends I just met. They don't know my story.

They don't know me. And I just like am embarrassed that I'm crying in general. Like I don't like crying around people. But I like just break down and I sit down and I lose it. I'm like sobbing my eyes out and my mom's like, what's going on? I'm like, that was just the worst PTSD I ever had. Like the rushing rapids, the river, like just being in that water again and seeing that. And I think also like the fact that like the other group just,

walked across a skybridge like the fact that we didn't even have to do that but i got put in that situation which is kind of very traumatic and i didn't even realize i had PTSD because it was like two years later like never had faced it i mean also like i'm not just in rivers all the time right i was going to say you were in a situation in an environment that probably felt extremely familiar yeah and similar yeah so i'm yeah losing it crying you know and after we walked across like the thing. We all were like, yeah, we did it. Like, good job, guys. Like, we're all hugging. We're all cheering. And then, yeah, so we walk up, lose it, crying. I've never felt like that PTSD before. And that's kind of when I realized that I had really, really bad PTSD. And I didn't even, like, know of it.

You're good. But it was just, like, didn't realize it, didn't know. And that's when it really kicked in. And after that trip, it's just, like, really never been the same. Can't go on zip lines, can't go high. Like, you know. And high school was hard. too because like I really not a lot of people like know how to interact with that I didn't want to tell people and be like that kid that like everyone felt bad for like I don't want people feeling bad for me it was just a freak accident and it happened hopefully and it doesn't happen again but just like the preventative measures weren't in place like there was no one like looking out for me I feel like in those situations like the people in the zip line didn't care the people after the tour guide

didn't care. So the tour guide, we get back to the bus from the long-ass walk up the hill, and we're all soaking, and we finally get back to the bus. And the guy, so my mom was with his elder use in the history, the second group that came, his name was Alex, he was nice. Um, mom was telling about it, and he saw me lose it. And he's like, what happened? And my mom told him, like, she fell his appointment. I'm like, 2015, it's just really, really traumatic for her. And So he goes off on the tour guide and he's like, why would you let them do that? Like, isn't that like screaming at him? Like, and I'm telling like the people on the bus like what happened.

And the tour guide ended up getting fired. Really? Yeah, because Alex, the other youth minister, was like, no, I'm not going to let this slide. Like, this is not okay. He should not even have to think about putting people in danger. Like, this is his job. And he shouldn't think about it. So he got fired.

And I mean, it was sad to see, but like at the same time, like, he shouldn't have put us in that place. Yeah. And I think too, it's hard to know what people need to sort through when they go through different things. Like, whether it's in therapy or even just talking to somebody. And I feel like, like I was saying before, the experience that you went through because you were fine, you know, and you didn't have any major injuries technically. I'm sure even to yourself you didn't think, like, okay, I didn't. need to sort through this and get through it. But it's almost like you said years later, that PTSD popped up out of nowhere.

Yeah. Didn't even think about it. Like, was fine, honestly. Right. But that same year, my mom was like, church came up again. Let's go. So we go on the Ziplines again. And we go on the, I get all the way up to the top.

And I look down and I'm like, you know what? I can't do it. Like, there's no way. Like, I waited in line. I did the whole thing. And I was like, there's no way I can just do it. So my mom's like, that's fine. Like, I understand. So I walked all the way back down. So it was very traumatic. So I finally get like the courage to go back up and I just can't do it. I go back down and I'm just like, you know what? Defeated. And everyone's like, you did that last year. Like, why can't you do it? And then it's like embarrassing to tell people like, oh, like I felt the zipline like this story. Because then everyone's like, what happened? Like who? Like everyone just is so intrigued. And then like I'm known as like the zipline girl. Which is like fine. But like, I feel like. I don't want people to, like, see that for me or, like, put me as, or feel bad for me or, like,

put me in that place, you know? Or, like, be, like, cautious around me or, like, not invite me to adventure's things. Right. But, yeah, I mean, after that, like, high school just, like, felt like a blur a little bit because it was just, like, I don't know. It's just very traumatic. And I never, like, fully healed from it until, like, recently. But it's kind of hard to heal from.

Like, once you have PTSD, you have it. It's like you can't really get past it. And who knows what's going to kind of set it off or trigger you? Yeah, who knows who's going to trigger it. Did you have to go to therapy for it? I didn't for a long time. And then when I went to college, it was like free therapy for like three sessions. And I was like, okay, cool.

So I went and I did that. And we didn't really. Do you feel like that helped? No, because it was like the school therapist. Yeah. So what do you think just like time? Yeah. I think time.

It still like makes me like. gives me PTSD to the day. But there's like, I'm not put in that situation a lot. Right. You know? Like, I don't have to go through muddy rivers. I don't have to be on zip lines. Like, it's all optional.

Like, I'm not obviously probably going to zip line again in my life. I already had those experiences. I already had those years. I just think it was crazy how after the fact I was able to get back on a zip line. Like, I don't know. If I would have told that story, I would not have thought I would just be able to, like, live those next two years. years just ziplining and having fun like being adventurous and I consider myself like really adventurous

like as a kid but now I'm like scared to do things. How old are you now? 23 or 22. 22. 20 23 in May but um yeah it's just like I don't know so now I'm in the corporate world I'm not I mean like I said there too the order you get the more you know realistic life becomes and you get more scared to do things and to be risky because you know the consequences And I think, too, it's important to know because, and I'm glad that you brought it up because I feel like, you know, hearing that story, like you said, people can be intrigued and ask questions. And to the outside perspective, they might think, wow, that's cool. You fell and survived. But to you, it has a different meaning and it hits home, you know.

So I think that it's important for people to realize, like even if somebody's been through something that might seem kind of cool or intriguing or whatever, people might not feel that way. Yeah. And might not feel comfortable just joking about it. Yeah, which I think is hard, yeah, which I think is hard for people to really understand. Like I said, unless you've felt it and been through it, people don't really get it because they didn't have that trauma and that fear in that moment. Yeah, like the bruises lasted like three months because they were like bone bruises. And you're lucky you didn't break anything. Yeah, I'm super lucky.

I've never broken a bone in my life. I don't know why. Too much milk, I guess. But I don't know. But like after the fact, like people making jokes, like everything's. Thanksgiving, it's now like a, oh, remember this day? Like eight years ago? I don't know. Yeah, kind of. I don't know how many years ago that was. But like every Thanksgiving, like, it's brought up. And, you know, that brings me back. And I just like don't enjoy that day anymore as much as I normally would. Thanksgiving is not one of my favorite holidays because of it. And like this year, I went to my boyfriends for Thanksgiving. And like, I was just kind of like down all day. And. And. I like was like just brought it up in conversation. I was like, oh, I'm going on the podcast, yada, yada, yada.

And then they were like, for what? And I was like, oh, something that happened on me on Thanksgiving Day. And then I had to explain it. And you know, that was like, whatever, it was fun. My boyfriend was like, oh, she's going on podcast. And they're like, oh, that's crazy. But it just like diminishes the day now. So now like Christmas or like Thanksgiving Day is like not so fun.

Because it just brings back memories. And it's a bad memory. It was like I said, it's a near death. experience and it's terrifying and I think I can't express it enough when you're young things like that we can blow it off and it might seem kind of cool but then as you get older you realize like damn that actually was scary as shit and I don't want to be in that in that situation again and realizing it now like I feel like it was made to a joke like a little bit too fast like I also made it into a joke soon after because I think it was like a way to cope yeah for sure but when I started making

a joke everyone else top it on the bandwagon was like that's crazy you fell off a zip line. And it's just kind of became my thing. And so now it's just, like, joked about. And I feel like I never fully healed from that. And it's hard to heal from it because what's a therapist going to tell you? It's like a once-in-lifetime opportunity. Like, they're not trained on how to, I mean, they're trained on how to treat people with PTSD.

But, like, it's such a unique and, like, experience that, like, really doesn't happen to people. So it's, like, hard for them to give advice or the therapist I've, like, been with recently. Not recently. But, like, it's hard to, like, grow past. because it is a scary experience, but all I can do now is not put myself in those situations. But it's just something that, like, I have to move past and live through. And, yeah, I... Well, I'm glad you wanted to come tell your story to the show.

Yeah, I feel like... It was really, really. I feel like, yeah, I just, like I said, I haven't told any of my, like, friends, really, because it's hard to bring up in conversation and stuff. Yeah, it's like, why would you just bring it up? Yeah, you're not at the bar with friends. Oh, I fell off as a point, L-O-O-L. Like, it's just, like, something that, like, a lot of my friends don't know about.

And I mean, I'm excited for them to listen to it and hear it and like understand me a little bit more. Right. And like the things I went through and. It's like they get to hear it indirectly. Like not from you. Well, from you, but like not in a conversation where you have to keep telling multiple different people different times. And it's just like, you want to know what happened? Here it is.

Here. Here's a link. Yeah. No. That would be nice. Yeah. No, you did a great job. Seriously.

It was obviously I feel like it's such a intriguing story. And I think that like I said too, I can't express. enough people don't think that anything bad could happen. And it's not to like put a damper on these fun excursions and vacations and being adventurous. But I think it's important to always know in the back of your mind, freak accidents can happen. Yeah. And I mean, that's why you sign waivers.

Like it's because it can and it's scary. But shit, I'm not doing it. Yeah. I don't know. I just that I've heard too much and seen too much from people. It's just no thank you. Yeah. No, it's like, yeah, no. It's scary. Yeah. It's scary to do like many things like hearing stories like that. I don't know. It's just. But you did a great job. Like I said, like you did such a good job of like depicting it that I could actually, I feel like I could see the tree falling. Yeah. Was it a thick tree or thin tree? It was like a palm tree. So it was like pretty thick. But it was like heavy enough that. Yeah, it was waterlogged. So it was like that's why it uprooted. And yeah. Like how I remember it, it was like. The river was right next to like a mud patch or like, and then there was a forest.

Right. And so the water was hitting it like underneath. It was like creating like a diffid. And then the tree was like decided to fall. But yeah. And yeah, if you're, everyone's wondering, you can hear a tree fall in the woods. It's loud. Yeah.

I remember I was in the woods and I think a, I don't know if it was a tree. If it was a really skinny one or it was like a huge branch. But it was like slow. It's weird because it's. like slow-mo, but not. Yeah. And when you see it happening, it's just like so slow. Right. But then, but the fall is like intense. Yeah. Once it hits, it's hits. Right. You're going down. And I always, I think too, like if you were underneath of it, like trapped, uh-huh. That would have been a whole another can of worms. Yeah. If the river was higher, if I was in front of it, if I was behind it.

Yeah. If I swam, like I cannot believe they even asked me to swim. Like that's insane. And that's good of you that you didn't because I feel like. there's a lot of people that, like that fight or flight that they'd be like, okay, like, and they'd do what they could to get out of it. And they would just listen to that people. Yeah, but I was like, nah, I'm okay. And where the fuck did they get a chainsaw? I don't know.

That's what I'm still wondering to this day, like, they just came out of the woods with a chainsaw. I was like, what were you guys doing before you found me? I was like, I don't know. Like, exactly. Like, I feel like they came out of the woods like three minutes after. Yeah. I mean, they had to hear that. Right.

And they probably like, I'm sure, like, you might not remember exactly, but I'm sure people were shouting and screaming. Yeah. I would be. Yeah. My mom was like, it's okay. It's okay. And also, I forgot to mention, there's a guy right behind my aunt, and he was on something.

He was, like, dozed off. He was either drug or something. He had a GoPro. And I don't know, to this day, like, I told my mom, I was like, didn't the guy behind you have a GoPro? Like, I'm pretty sure he had a GoPro. Like, I'm, like, almost positive. And he, um, and like, I don't know.

I don't know where that video is. I don't know. Like, if he even is a video, I don't know if he talks about it. But it was like. This one man behind us and that was it. It was just like my whole family and then that one guy. But I don't know if he, to this day, I still don't know. See, that's crazy to me too because if that were me, like, I'm somebody that would, not even post it, but I would offer it to you guys just as like, I don't know if you want to take any legal action.

Who knows? Or like if you want it. I think he was like that sick. That was so cool. He probably does have it. Yeah. At least like a part of it or the audio of it. Yeah, but he was also behind two people.

He's buying my mom and my aunt. Okay. He could like. Also, I feel like you wouldn't want that. Yeah, yeah. I was looking up where I went and I like look at pictures of like the zip line and like the six zip line and just like to reminisce on it and to like see. Because like a lot of times I'm like, okay, I think about it and I'm like, okay, it wasn't that bad. Because I don't really remember a lot from that day. All I remember is like a lot of stories from that day. Because it's super traumatic. But looking at the zip line, looking up the video, it's like even that video of Costa Rica like I got it yesterday from my mom and I haven't seen it in so many years that I haven't.

I didn't realize how, like, high that river was that we had across. Like, I didn't... Yeah. I didn't really realize, like, how much danger we were actually put in. Like, I just, like, afterwards, we all clasped. We all hugged. Like, I was like, okay, that was fine, you know? But, like, looking back on it, I was like, dang, that's so dangerous.

Like, it just really takes me back. And that's, like, a good outcome. Yeah. Anything can go south and, you know... Yeah, I'm just God. No one was hurt during that. Absolutely. But, yeah.

Still crazy. But, yeah. It's nuts. Well, I'm glad you're okay. I'm glad you're okay. I'm glad you survived, seriously, and you did such a good job. Thank you for wanting to tell your story. Thanks for having me more.

Of course, of course. I was so different. I was so excited for you to come on. I was literally like telling my friends like, oh my gosh, I'm going to be a podcast. Oh, good, good, good. So exciting. You did incredible, so thank you. Thanks for you.

Good job.