July 18, 2001
Birch survives Outback
Australian trip fulfilled after battle with deadly disease
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
No showers or no communication with the outside world for four weeks? No problem.
Grueling physical labor for weeks on end in temperatures exceeding 110 degrees? Not a worry.
Participating in a 75-day course with the National Outdoor Leadership School, Scott Birch was in the right place at the right time this spring.
The right place was the Australian Outback with 15 other students and three instructors. There, he learned about outdoor survival and leadership, environmental ethics, marine biology, native cultures and interpersonal skills including small group communication and conflict resolution.
The trip was split into three components: six weeks of canoeing, 16 days of hiking and 10 days with the Bandi Aboriginal community. There the students, who ranged in age from 18-25 and received college credit for the trip, learned reef walking, spear fishing, boomerang making and traditional bread making. The students also learned about aboriginal culture's storytelling, dreamtime and creation stories.
"We were all learning, all the time," noted the Traverse City resident. "The trip was a strengthening experience because you learned to be without all the creature comforts we are used to, like going to the store for more food or having hot and cold running water."
Birch was at the right time, making the trip three and a half years after recovering from a life-threatening illness that left him paralyzed. For Birch, the 75 days were a dream come true, despite overwhelming odds.
After learning about the school from a teacher whose daughter attended one of the programs, he set his sights on going to the 75-day program after graduating from Traverse City West High School in 1998. However, his plans were indefinitely postponed when a serious bout of viral spinal meningitis struck just after Thanksgiving of his senior year.
The athlete who was active in football, wrestling, soccer and mountain biking suddenly found himself in intensive care at Munson Medical Center fighting for his life. Secondary infections brought paralysis and his excellent physical condition and minimal body fat actually worsened his prognosis: his body consumed muscle while he was immobile.
Taking his first steps after weeks of illness on Christmas Eve of 1997, Birch began a long, slow road to recovery. He had been fully paralyzed for a week or two and numb from the waist down for six to eight months. Only recently has a lingering numbness in his toes disappeared, the final vestige of his struggle.
"I had to learn to walk again, to build my strength back," said Birch, who did graduate on time from high school and has been studying at Northwestern Michigan College. "If anything, that experience gave me more of a sense of appreciation of what I was doing on the trip. I survived [meningitis] and came out in the end strengthened physically and mentally because of it."
That mental toughness served Birch well in the bush, as the team faced crocodile-laden rivers, class II rapids, 50-pound backpacks and the constant heat and blazing sun. The group carried all their food and camping gear and practiced leave no trace camping throughout their trip.
"This was so intense, we were literally picking up grains of rice and scrubbing flour off of rocks," he added.
Returning home in June, it was a culture shock to be back in all the noise and busyness of Western civilization.
"You really learn to appreciate the quiet and solitude," said Birch, noting Australia's natural beauty helped him stay focused when faced with seemingly overwhelming tasks.
"It was definitely a spiritual experience, there was a lot of self-reflection time and you work out what is in your head. You can't escape it."
Birch plans to merge his love of the outdoors and his lifelong fascination with law enforcement by becoming a Conservation Officer with the Department of Natural Resources. He recently became a reserve officer for the Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Department and also works full-time at Eastern Mountain Sports.
Besides the outdoor skills and confidence he gained from the trip, Birch believes the leadership skills he learned will prove invaluable to his career. Students shared leadership duties, with a different team taking responsibility for all decisions for a day. At the end of the trip Birch was chosen by the group to lead a special hike.
"I never had that kind of leadership experience before, it was a learning experience and a challenge," he said. "It pushed you beyond where you were comfortable to make decisions that would determine whether or not canoes were swamped or flipped. How smoothly a day could go depended on you."