The PaddlerUK magazine March 2015 issue 1 | Page 64

ThePaddlerUK 64

JOURNEYTO

FREEDOM
By
Sonja Jones

October 2013 I was 27 years old and urgently hospitalised with suspected
stroke. I couldn’t move my left hand very well and was incredibly weak down
the left side. I was unable to open my mouth properly to speak or eat, and
couldn’t even smile. Numerous blood tests, two MRI scans, and a lumber
puncture later revealed that I actually have Multiple Sclerosis (MS). I didn’t see
that coming.
On leaving hospital, the gravitas of the situation set
in. I felt that there were two pathways before me.
Pathway one could lead down a spiral staircase of
self-pitying and depression to a future of doubt, lack
of confidence, and ultimately a half-life. Or Pathway
two could start with buckets of ice cold water being
chucked over me to get my blood pumping and
wake me up, followed by a life of self-exploration,
adventure, love, and joy (with a few mountains to
climb here and there). After much contemplation, I
chose Pathway Two.
I realised that I had been living life on autopilot
based on what I believed society expected of me; go
to university, get a good stable career where I’m
supposed to wear a suit, and herein lies the cycle of
Monday-Friday 9am-5pm humdrum life until I retire,
which at this rate will probably be at 80. This siren
that was MS (or Malcolm as I call it), was screeching
at me so loudly, that my entire being was poised for
action. Pathway two was glaring before me; it was
showing me the way to an alternative life, a rich life
full of passion and endless possibility.
If you told me this time last year that in May 2015 I
am to kayak Scotland coast to coast, I would have
laughed [