Sportsmen ’ s Alliance members have great stories to tell that speak to the success of conservation and their efforts to continue the traditions of hunting , trapping and fishing . We ’ re proud to share those stories in these pages , as they demonstrate the commitment of citizen huntervationists . The Sportsmen ’ s Alliance recently caught up with Amy Duncan to hear how time in the field and on the water has changed her life . The following is her story , in her words . Right before I turned 28 , I had been in a long relationship that ended poorly , and I was not very happy with anything at that point in my life . On
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top of that , one night , suffering from complications due to a prior surgery , I found myself in emergency surgery at 1 a . m . The surgery went awry and I almost died on the operating table . When the surgeon told me what had happened , it opened my eyes .
The event really was a wakeup call . My parents came to visit me in that hospital bed , and I told them , “ I made a promise to myself to be happy , and whatever that takes I ’ m going to do that . I ’ m going to go hunting in Africa .”
I had a morphine drip in my arm , and they kind of looked at me like I was crazy .
“ OK , Amy ,” they said . “ You ’ re going to go shoot zebras and lions and elephants , OK .”
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They didn ’ t really take me seriously . Two weeks later we were sitting at Thanksgiving dinner , and we went around so everyone could say what they were thankful for .
“ I ’ m thankful to be alive , and I ’ m going to go to Africa to go hunting ,” I offered when it was my turn to give thanks . “ It ’ s something I ’ ve wanted to do my whole life .”
“ You told us that in the hospital ,” my mom said , her face going white . “ Yes , and I was serious ,” I said . Seven months later , I was in Africa . I spent two weeks there hunting . I went by myself . It was something I had always wanted to do , and I didn ’ t feel like I needed anybody else to make that happen or to go with me .
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COURTESY OF AMY DUNCAN ( 4 ) |