On Wednesday morning, NoNut and I witnessed something that can’t be adequately described. As we looked through the
pictures on social media and watched the
newscasts later that afternoon, they fell flat compared to being there in person. We were able to watch 10 sea turtles being released back into the ocean at Surf City, NC.
These sea turtles have been at
The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue & Rehabilitation Center and are now ready to return home. The sea turtle hospital's three main goals are rescue, rehabilitation, and release. They rescue turtles in a variety of conditions.
Some have been harmed and/or injured (by boats, fishing nets, beach litter, predator attacks) while others are sick (a lot of them were cold-stunned—think hypothermia—due to the cold ocean waters). The day we visited the sea turtle hospital, 65 sea turtles were there needing some form of help and care in order to move from barely existing to surviving to thriving.
On the tour, we peeked into the sick bay where dozens of sea turtles were being watched, held for water therapy, treated with medicine, and loved on by the volunteers. Then we moved into a larger room where the turtles were not just healing and recovering, but they were thriving, swimming around, entertaining the crowds or ignoring the crowds. It didn’t take long for us to see that each turtle has its own personality as well as its unique story. Each turtle came with a need that required care and assistance. They were carefully nursed and fed and tended to as they moved through the different stages of healing. The ultimate goal for these sea turtles is to be strengthened and restored so they can be released back into the ocean whether that process takes several weeks, months, or years.
Once a sea turtle is ready, the sea turtle hospital will release it back into the ocean with a big send off, and it’s something to behold! After the time, love, and care poured into each turtle, it’s a true labor of love to let them go. During our visit, it seemed as if the staff and volunteers each have their favorite turtles and while they will miss "their turtles", there was an equal amount of excitement and eagerness to return their turtles back to the sea. Their vision and hope for the turtles went beyond the confines of the hospital!
For the smaller turtles, their names are proudly displayed on a sign carried by children as the turtles are carried by hospital staff and carefully paraded in front of the large crowds. Smiles, awe, excitement, and wonder are evident among the crowds as each turtle is recognized and given a send off. The hospital staff then tightly carries the smaller turtles into the ocean where the waves begin to break and they gently place each turtle in the water. Some of the little turtles swim right into the waves, and others tumble with the waves before settling into the rhythm of the ocean. The staff watches the sea turtles until they are out of sight and then they raise their hands with pride and excitement to let the crowd know the turtle is finally free…finally home!
The larger turtles (read somewhere that the largest one released on Wednesday was 240 pounds) were rolled down on a cart, one at a time, with 3-4 men holding each one down. We had the joy of seeing three large turtles released! One of the largest turtles kept wanting to flop up off the table…but as soon as all three were lifted from the cart and placed on the ground, they wasted no time finding their way to the ocean. They were ready to go, had freedom in sight, and went for it showing no fear and massive strength!
The one thing that really stood out to me with every single turtle is that when it was their time to be released, these turtles were
ready to be released! They looked well, healthy, hearty, and full of life. As soon as they were in the water, they knew what to do and didn’t look back. They went forward into freedom with all they had.
It was as if the sea turtle hospital was a detour on their life journey—a detour, not a final destination, a detour that strengthened them when they were weak and couldn’t go on, and a detour that was filled with dedicated hands and hearts who invested their lives into caring and nursing these turtles back to health. And if one of these turtles needs another rescue in the future, the sea turtle hospital will be there to serve as another detour in the journey once again. Just because a turtle is well enough to reenter the ocean, it doesn’t mean it’s totally forgotten and that help is no longer available to him. The sea turtle hospital staff will always be there with open arms and hearts to care for the sea turtles brought to them—that is their passion and why they do what they do!
The sea turtle release was symbolic to me as it reminds me of the recovery journey. Recovery can be defined as “a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.” It can be something like recovering from a broken bone or illness or change in life to recovering from trauma, grief, addictions, or mental illness. There are times when we can’t go on any further the way we’ve been living. Sometimes unhealthy habits and coping skills catch up with us or we have made one too many wrong choices that leave unbearable consequences or we become sick and in need of care because we can’t take care of ourselves at the moment.
We become like the sick sea turtles needing a place to go. Places of refuge can be found in the form of trusted friends, counseling/therapy, support groups, treatment centers, routine care appointments, safe community, etc. We need places where we can be cared for and given space to rest, heal, and regain our strength. As we get back on our feet, the broken pieces of our personality and lives begin to heal. Strength and energy return creating new vitality in places we thought were long gone. We are well-cared for and at times, that care seems so safe and nurturing that we don’t want to leave it and at other times, we are screaming to be free and be free now.
But those caring for us see what we can’t see and they see that we need more time before we are ready to be released. If they release us too early, we may not sustain the journey long-term. If they wait too long, we might despair. Timing is crucial! Yet when we are ready to step out into freedom, the door swings wide open for us to run through. We are given tools, resources, and reassurances with our send off. But unlike sea turtles, we have a choice if we will move forward without looking back and will gather strength with each stroke forward or if we will move forward but get scared of the vast ocean of freedom and will retreat back into the familiarity of sickness.
Seeing the eagerness, strength, and agility of the largest sea turtle and how he knew he was destined for the great ocean that roared before him inspires me to adopt a sea turtle mentality. This involves realizing that:
~ sometimes our shells can hide and protect us from the outside but they don’t always hide or protect us from damage on the inside whether caused by others or ourselves;
~ sometimes our shells can be so worn or damaged on the outside but we are feisty and strong on the inside that we don't see how much we truly are suffering--we need to be contained for awhile so our bodies can get the physical rest and replenishment that they need in order to survive the depths of the sea of life;
~ sometimes we need the care, love, and nurturing of others in order to help us move from surviving to thriving--that in order to live in the ocean of freedom, we need time, skills, and help in order to grow and mature so we can stand up to whatever is found in the depths of life and move beyond needing an all-out rescue mission every single time we get knocked down;
~ when it’s time to enter freedom, go with eagerness, swim toward the waves and feel freedom break all over you, keep swimming and don’t look back;
~ we never go at it alone…there will always be people there to love, listen, guide, and challenge us to move from surviving to thriving.
Sometimes we need the "rehabilitation" detours in order to regain the things we didn’t know we lost along the way or to teach us what we need to know in order to make it to the next destination of our journey. Detours aren’t all bad and if a sea turtle can find help and love, surely we can, too! Chances are that when you are ready to be rescued and start reaching out for help, you'll find a lot of love and adoring fans eager to cheer you on to wellness and freedom.
