Mont St. Michel
The Gehr family does not really know what a break is. My summer vacation consisted of 3 trips for a total of more than 7 weeks in 3 states (not including Oklahoma) and 4 countries (not including the U.S.A.). When I was not on a trip, I was talking and creating a website with Clovie, preparing for the ACT, taking the ACT, doing other college stuff, meeting and getting to know new people, attempting to stay in contact with friends, among many other things.
I have been taking French for over 6 years. Sometime during the first semester of junior year, my French teacher told me that she would be organizing a trip to France in summer 2017. Since I enjoy French and French culture, my immediate reaction to that news was wanting to go. Upon further thought, however, I decided that rushing around France for two weeks would not be enjoyable for me. I really struggled in convincing myself not to go. It was one of the first times that I had to give in to FA.
Sometime in early 2017, my parents told me that our family would be going to Europe that summer to visit friends who live there. We would go to the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, and France. In France we would stay in a hotel in Bayeux and take little road trips everyday to beaches in Normandy, surrounding towns, Mont St. Michel, etc. The surrounding towns were beautiful, and war related things were amazing to learn about, to observe, and to admire, but the day we spent at Mont St. Michel topped it all.
Mont St. Michel is an island in the northwest of France, but, when the tide goes out, it is connected to the mainland. Mont St. Michel is a functional town that includes houses, stores, hotels, fortifications, and a monastery. When my family and I visited Mont St. Michel, we arrived at noon and spent five hours walking around the town. We even went all the way to the top of the monastery. By the end of the day we both climbed and descended. The step counter in my phone read over 10,000 (or 4-5 mi).
The hardest part of having Friedreich’s Ataxia is watching as it takes parts of your life. I would not have thought twice about going on that trip with my friends if I did not have FA. FA can force you to make decisions that you would not otherwise make. The biggest challenge of having Friedreich’s Ataxia is finding a way to be as happy as possible despite your unfortunate circumstances.
