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If you haven’t already read the first two parts, be sure to read them here and here. When I ended the last post, I spoke about somebody who changed my perspective on life. His name is Guy and one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met!
Guy Pilote
Guy Pilote is a former police officer and firefighter who had a stroke one day, at the age of 49. The damage that was done was severe and he is still suffering the effects. He’s gained use of all his limbs, but still doesn’t have full control of his right hand and also suffers from aphasia, which basically means that the intelligence is there, however, the connection to his speech has been damaged, so it can be a struggle to get sentences out sometimes.
I first met him that first night passing Blood Mountain. He asked for help with his tent and I simply thought of how he must’ve seen the mom in me that was ready to help! We didn’t really speak that night but the next day I really got to know him much better. We ended up giving him the trail name Bilbo, based on the fact that he walked around in the molded shoes that look like you’re barefoot lol. The wind became so strong that day that Bilbo couldn’t continue safely so we helped him flag down a car to drive him back to town. The others and I followed him in a separate car.
An Evening in Town with Friends
After we all settled into our hotel rooms for the evening, we all met for dinner. Bilbo and sat at the table talking. He had been an atheist before his stroke, but he says that he died that day and saw God. He’s been a believer ever since. He told me how he was walking to raise money and awareness for Brain Injury Association of America. We talked about his frustration with his inability to grasp words when he needed them.
After my time that evening with Bilbo, I realized that there were so truly incredible people on this trail and that they were hiking for amazing reasons. I was so disappointed in myself for feeling so inadequate and feeling as though I just couldn’t continue; and here was this man, who’d been through so much, and was pushing with all his might to make it to the end.
Despite his injuries, Bilbo was still a much quicker hiker than me lol. He soon passed me and I followed along with his journey on Facebook. A celebration for him was done in November to honor his achievement. He did an amazing job and I’m so sad to have missed it. Hopefully I will see him again in the future!