Lari Shea Presents Meghan’s Story:
Lari Shea and Rascal
“Over decades, men, women and children came to Mendocino to experience the joys of riding horses in our magnificent redwood forests. At my Ricochet Ridge Ranch, we hosted kids from various Make a Wish Foundation grants.
Riding in the Redwoods was a "bucket list" goal for many, including folks who had just endured their last cancer chemo treatment, and some who carried oxygen bottles on their saddles while they rode. Some chose this venue to propose marriage. (Thankfully, every request was answered with a "YES!”)
While working with the "Paul Bunyan Center" for adults with their various other abilities, I often guided them on walks through the Jackson redwoods. Yes, I know, it's a diverse forest with many Douglas fir, grand fir and various oaks, but we always named it by its iconic "Redwoods". One day I temporarily lost a participant named Michael, who was also legally blind, deaf, spastically uncoordinated as well as being nearly non-verbal. When we found him, he admitted that he had wandered away on purpose, so he could just be alone with the trees.
I'm selfish, not just for myself, but for the thousands of people with whom I've shared experiences in Jackson. In my lifetime, I don't want to see these mature second growth trees be cut for lumber profit. As for the future, I hope we raise our children well.”
—Lari Shea, February, 2021
Meghan’s Story
Galloping a spirited Arabian horse along a deserted beach, swept by winds from the Pacific Ocean... what little girl doesn't dream that fantasy? But for Meghan, the dream held special poignancy, because it offered her respite from years of pain and anguish caused by cystic fibrosis, which was slowly but surely closing off her lungs. Thirteen year old Meghan has lost her hearing due to the ravages of strong antibiotics necessary to hold pulmonary infections at bay. Living in rural Alaska, horses have always been her love in life, but never before an actual part of her life. Meghan satisfied her love for horses with Breyer statues, devoured books about them, and always fantasized about being carried away from her wheelchair by a galloping steed.
The "Wish Upon a North Star" organization learned of Meghan's plight, and of her dream. Seeking out ways to help dying children enjoy their wishes come true, this group of volunteer money raisers and facilitators tried to send Meghan and her family to ride horses several times over the past year, but were always thwarted by Meghan suffering a crisis with her health. Fortuitously, in August Meghan's strength rallied, and I was producing a Redwood Coast Riding Vacation at my Ricochet Ridge Ranch in Mendocino, California.
Phone calls were exchanged; hurried plans were made. Wish Upon a North Star would send the entire family for the week-long riding trek: Meghan, parents Jim and Pat, seventeen year old brother Brandon, and twelve year old sister, Katie, none of whom had ever ridden a horse, but all of whom are adventurous out of door enthusiasts whose family runs a white water rafting business up north.
Paying for five people to fly, rent a car, and join a not-inexpensive riding holiday would greatly deplete the "Wish" foundations available funds and ability to help other children. So my staff and I called the various restaurants, caterers, Bed & Breakfast Inns and Hotels, entertainers and spas which cater to our riding vacations guests during the week, and garnered offers to help the family ranging from 10% off, through half price, to everything for free! Ricochet Ridge Ranch greatly discounted the horsey part of the equation, and put on extra staff to guarantee the safety of five total novices participating in a riding excursion generally lauded as a thrill for experienced riders. The Redwood Coast Riding Vacation is no head-to-tail walking trailride!
The two burning questions in my mind: What horses should the Gonski family ride? And how would I communicate with Meghan in order to teach her, keep her safe and allow her to have fun? An on the air plea through our local NPR radio station (where I accidentally asked for volunteers who "spoke" American Sign Language) brought in Wendy Lea Beak, an ASL interpreter who had worked at a dude ranch in Colorado in her youth, Jeannie Collins, an ASL teacher who was also an accomplished rider, and Ashley Gowen, her 17 ASL student who'd never been on a horse. Between them, they would cover four of the six days, at no charge, with RRR providing them horses. Perfect!
Which brought me back to the most important question: What horses? Of the sixty fit yet kind critters from which to choose, I quickly matched big daddy Jim with smooth gaited 16hh Nature's Ricochet, a successful 50 and 100 mile Russian Orlov/Arabian endurance and Ride & Tie horse. Momma Pat would be taken care of by Nature's Halloween, a 14.2hh, 25 year old Orlov/Arabian ex-endurance horse with plenty of stamina and sense. Brandon paired up with the quarter horse First Class. That left the two little girls. Hmmmmm.
Five days before departing Alaska, Meghan's sister Katie had broken her wrist playing soccer. But nothing daunts this feisty kid, and it was clear she wouldn't want to be in the back of the field. So Prince Asheem, the 1989 AERC Heavyweight National Champion endurance horse (and 2nd place in the nation in Best Condition) was trotted out.
A beautiful gray/white Arabian endurance horse named Faraj would make Meghan's dreams come true. Extraordinarily smooth gaited, with a naturally arched neck and huge black eyes, Faraj epitomizes the saying "spirited but gentle." Trailguide Carolyn would carry an oxygen bottle for Meghan to use when necessary. Patient Faraj would stand stock still when asked.
Meghan will die within the next few months unless she finds a live lung donor. Although she's on the list for a cadaver donor, there are so few lungs available for transplant that her doctors hold no hope for her to live long enough to receive one. But within the last couple years, a few hospitals have begun to have success transplanting one lobe from each of two living donors to children dying of cystic fibrosis. Since success is more sure with an entire set of lungs from a cadaver, this surgery is not attempted unless a child has less than a few months to live. Meghan qualifies...
An article in an Alaskan newspaper brought in 32 potential donors... people who were willing to undergo major surgery to sacrifice one of the five lobes each person has, three on one side, two on the other. Only one of these potential donors is a close enough match, however, so one more donor must be found, very soon, if Meghan is to live. Meghan is blood type "O positive".
On day one of the riding trek, the twelve guests formally introduced themselves by reciting brief equestrian autobiographies, and were introduced to their horses' personalities and quirks, first verbally, and then, after a riding and safety demonstration, by mounting up for a short ride on Ten Mile Beach. With five trailguides instead of the usual two, we felt pretty safe escorting the Gonski family along with the more experienced riders. Besides, the first day is just a "try out the steering and brakes" routine ol' beach trailride, with "no chills, no spills and no thrills."
The next long day's ride in Jackson State Forest meandered among ancient redwood forests and up into the mountains. Riding in a group on trails they've repeated many times, the horses know when they'll be allowed to canter and when they'll be asked to walk again. While my assistant, Cynthia, and trailguide Kyra led the more advanced riders, Carolyn, ASL interpreter, Wendy, and I rode with the Gonski's.
Clearly, Jim and the three kids were doing fine, but Pat was terrified. We eventually broke up into two more groups, Pat and Carolyn bonding while Pat learned to relax and trust Halloween. The kids were chafing at the bit~~ But there was a distinct time lag as I'd explain how to ride with a following hand, relax your back to encourage the horse to take a long walking stride, and keep your weight in your heels to keep your center of balance low and make sure your heels didn't nudge the horse faster by mistake. Then Wendy would communicate my instructions to Meghan, we'd answer questions, and all would then ride on to practice what we'd preached. Posting the trot, and eventually flowing with the canter were eventually added to the repertoire. Meghan received her oxygen treatment under a sequoia semperverins ("ever-living redwood") during lunch, but skipped her mid afternoon treatment. At dinner on the Noyo River, everyone was tired but exhilarated. We'd survived the second, long day. Spirits were high at dinner.... I was particularly glad to see that newly weds Paul and Kate LaRoach were not put off by sharing their honeymoon with our expanded group.
On day three, high school student Ashley, who was studying ASL as a foreign language enjoyed her first horseback ride ever while helping Meghan feel connected during another, slower ocean side trailride. Lunch and the remainder of the day were free to explore the beaches and art galleries in the town of Mendocino. My heart panged for Meghan when I realized that she could not enjoy the after dinner music of folklorist Holly Tannen; the Gonski family retired early.
Thursday dawned... the day touted as "galloping for miles along deserted Ten Mile Beach." The day Meghan had dreamed about. Could we possibly pull it off? My normal routine is to warn guests that if any horse passes mine on the beach, I'll simply raise my right hand and call out "whoooooaaaa"; everyone will break to the walk. Ordinarily, I get to know Fafaj's rider pretty well, because his natural place in the horse herd is towards the front. We joke that guests don't really even need reins, because my horses know darn right well that as soon as Lari's hand goes up and her whoa yells out, they'll all be stopping. But we'd never actually put it to the test, except with my horse Gabriel, whom I always rode just with a neck loop, no bridle or halter at all. We didn't have an ASL interpreter that day, but my husband, Harvey, rode as an additional guide.
So, just to be on the safe side, I decided to pony Faraj for the first few canters. Nobody was happy with this choice. Jim reminded me that this might be Meghan's only chance to canter freely on a beach, and that I should just go for it. Faraj's usual cheerful expression turned cranky as he pulled from my restricting tether. Avantii, the winning endurance horse I was riding, clearly did not appreciate my restraining hand or a horse he saw as competition so near. But I've been a riding instructor/horse trainer for a quarter of a century, and I stuck to my guns, reinforcing my verbal commands with a few good tugs on the pony rope as I communicated telepathically with Faraj about what was to come.
Telling everyone else to stay at least four horse lengths behind us, I unclipped Faraj and tried my fledgling ASL to tell Meghan we could canter again if she liked. She liked.
Easing into a canter, I soon saw Meghan's pony tail flow out from underneath her helmet as she and the magnificent Faraj sailed along the ocean's edge. Her eyes intently upon the open sand ahead, Meghan didn't see me raise my hand to signal the slow down as they passed Avantii and me, and of course, she couldn't hear me. I had no doubt that if push came to shove, Avantii could run Faraj down and I could stop a run away the old fashioned cowboy movie way, but I sure didn't want it to come to that! With trepidation, I hoisted my arm, sang out my "whoooaaa", sat back, and watched Faraj slow to the walk happy to be a pace ahead of Avantii. He waved his mane in that way that Arabians do to show that they're feeling good, and looked me in the eye to tell me I didn't have to worry.
We finished up the beach with several more short canters, the new order being Meghan and Faraj leading Avantii and I, Harvey, Cynthia and Carolyn close behind with eleven more riders, and the Pat/Carolyn pair bringing up the rear alternating walk with trot.
Meghan's cystic fibrosis caused her a bad night Thursday. She was too exhausted to do our mock endurance ride on Friday, but joined us for "show and tell" in the living room of DeHaven Valley Farm that evening. After others sang, performed skits they'd composed, and read pithy poems, Meghan got out her sketch book. This marvelous young woman is an accomplished artist! Needless to say, most of her drawings were equine inspired, and all were an inspiration to the rest of us.
Saturday, we headed back through the cattle ranch, up into the mountains, down through a horse ranch, and back to Ten Mile Beach for the last long canter, this time heading towards home, right at evening feeding time. I wasn't at all sure that even the amazing Faraj could keep his mind about him with 20 horses egging him on galloping on the beach towards the stables. I procrastinated during our luncheon on the dunes, urging on the playful sand-impeded acrobatics and wild antics which everyone improvised. But fate waited... Meghan wanted to live her dream. No pony lead ropes, no stopping every few hundred yards, no keeping away from the water's edge in case the horse shied at a wave.
All the horses puffed up, pranced a little and told us in every way that they were ready. Meghan leaned forward and patted Faraj's crested neck. We eased into a trot that soon broke into a canter... Faraj and Meghan taking their rightful place in the lead next to the surf as Avantii and I galloped adjascent to them with the digital camera.
A most amazing, incredible connection with her horse enabled this young girl to be able to ride for days through redwood forest mountain trails, and finally to gallop for miles along the ocean on the strong back of this truly magnanimous animal.
And the day was completed by everyone's watching Pat and Halloween finish up Ten Mile beach in a triumphant slow canter, reuniting the loving family and new found friends for a final rendition of "Happy Trails to You", sung both verbally and in ASL, beaming faces hoping the wish “'Till we meet again" really does come true.
Lari adds: I'm thankful to tell you that Meghan is still alive! She was "lucky" enough to be close enough to death to be accepted into the first non-clinical trail of a new gene therapy protocol that only worked for people with a particular genotype. As I said in the story, they'd been unable to find suitable lung donors for her since she had an unusual genetic profile... but that was exactly the genetic profile for which this treatment worked. It didn't fix the damage already done to her lungs, but it "cured" her of further progression of the disease. We're email and facebook friends to this day. As a matter of fact, a couple years ago she reminded me that I could stop including her in group messages that I clearly sent to children... she was now over 21 and could appreciate a good riske` joke now and then!
