Tackling the Camino in a Wheelchair

I don’t know when I first learned of the Camino de Santiago but I’ve been fascinated by it for quite a while now. I know folks who have travelled the Camino (or portions of it) and I am hopeful that I will eventually join their ranks.

For those not familiar the Camino is a medieval pilgrimage route - actually more than one - that leads travelers to the Cathedral in the town of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The Apostle James by legend was supposed to have spent time spreading the gospel in Spain, and his remains are said to be buried at the Cathedral.

In Spanish a Camino is a Road (or a Way), and Santiago de Compostela means Saint James of the Field of Stars. So Camino de Santiago translates to “The Way of Saint James”.

Since medieval times Christian pilgrims have sought spiritual meaning by journeying on foot to perceived holy places. There were other pilgrimage routes, and portions of them survive to this day throughout Europe. Most such routes are no longer traveled by pilgrims, but the Camino, which was all but abandoned after the Renaissance, enjoyed a resurgence of pilgrimages starting in the 1960s.

Today people travel the Camino for all kinds of reasons, not all of them spiritual. But it is a journey of sufficient effort and length (the route starting in France is 500 miles long) that it can be life changing for many who undertake it.

Justin Skeesuck first heard of the Camino de Santiago by watching a Rick Steves travelogue on PBS, and he was immediately hooked. At the time Skeesuck saw the show he was confined to a wheelchair. Skeesuck suffers from a rare neuromuscular degenerative disease known by the acronym MAMA. The progression of the disease had taken away from Skeesuck the use of his arms and legs.

Skeesuck knew that he wanted to travel the Camino but also knew that in his wheelchair he couldn’t do it by himself. When his best friend Patrick Gray and his family arrived for their annual get-together, Justin showed Patrick the Steves video and proposed the idea of traveling the Camino. Patrick reflected for a bit and then replied, "I'll push you." And that was the start of their Camino journey.

The two chose to take the route featured by Rick Steves, the Camino Frances, which starts in the French town of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. The trail ascends the Pyrenees and then makes its way through Pamplona, Burgos and Leon before finally entering the region of Galicia where it ends at Santiago. Many portions of the route are hilly, even mountainous. Sections can be rock covered, and much of the route is gravel path. All of that makes for significant difficulty in attempting to travel the route by wheelchair.

As the two prepared for the journey, they gathered the resources they thought they’d need and reached out for help through Facebook and appeals within their community (including their church). One of their major donors gave on the condition that they film their journey, which they arranged to do through some professional contacts Justin had. And then, when on the Camino itself, they received a lot more help from fellow pilgrims, without which they would not have succeeded.

The book is not only the story of the physical challenges that they tackled in completing this seemingly impossible journey, but also the spiritual and emotional changes it brought. The two are open about their faith and there are a few chapters that go into detail about their relationships with God and the spiritual challenges they each have faced through their lives before the Camino.

If you are interested in reading their story, it’s good to keep in mind that the book is published by Tyndale, a Christian publishing house. While this fact may put some people off, I found that the way the two talk about and share their spiritual journey was neither off-putting nor overtly proselytizing. It can be a bit much though. If you think that might be the case for you, then skimming over some of the more in-depth religiosity is an option that will still allow you to enjoy this story of succeeding against the odds.

Despite that quibble I found the book to be a well-done reflection on friendship, love and conquering challenges. I appreciated the significance of the physical undertaking. I enjoyed following along with the pair’s journey and learning what they both took from their life-changing pilgrimage.

The filming of their journey, by the way, turned into an award-winning documentary which can be found at the website illpushyou.com. (I have not viewed the film.)

RATING: Four Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

RATING COMMENTS: An account of two best friends, one wheelchair bound, who take on the challenge of travelling the Camino de Santiago. The pair alternate in telling the story. The two are open about sharing their faith journey and a few sections of the book have a high degree of religiosity.

WHERE I GOT MY COPY: I purchased a copy of the paperback book from the used book fest put on by the Lifeline Australia charity. For more about Australia’s Lifeline 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention services click here.

.