Some of you might know that I had a river accident this summer. My partner and I were swept into some white water in Colorado on our way back from a hike. As I get pulled into the river, I had my iPhone in my pocket and my Canon AE-1 film camera around my neck. We spent at least 15 minutes submerged in the icy water of the North St. Vrain River. Meaning, my iPhone and my camera were fully submerged in water for at least 15 minutes. I am beyond grateful my partner and I survived the terrifying events of being caught in a raging river. And despite our coming out of that experience with nothing more than major lacerations and bruises, I had little hope for my iPhone or camera.

Okay, maybe I had a just a smidge of hope. After all, I did follow the advice of every website I found regarding wet cell phones — I stuffed my iPhone in a ziploc bag full of rice and let it sit to dry out. I let it sit for over 2 months. Every website I read also cautioned about plugging in or turning your phone on too early in the drying out process, and if you do this, you pretty much fry your phone and any chance you have of it coming back on. So, I waited. I’ve gotten pretty good over the years at delayed gratification. And since I truly had such little hope it would come back on — it was in the water for over 15 MINUTES — it wasn’t hurting me to be patient.

A week ago, after coming home from work, I remembered my iPhone was still sitting in that bag of rice. Our river adventure happened toward the end of July and it was now mid-October. It was time. I dug the phone out of the rice, removed a grain that had lodged itself in the charger slot, and I plugged it in. Within seconds, the battery icon lit up. I could not believe it. I let the phone charge for a while, and as I came over to check on it, Facebook and Twitter notifications appeared on the screen. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! I quickly checked my camera roll and opened Camera + (the app I use to shoot all my photos), and sure enough, all of our trip photos from our travels to Spain, France, and Colorado were on there! Standing with my mouth agape, I could not have been happier.

So after 15+ minutes fully submerged in water, 2.5 months sealed in a bag of rice, and one cycle of charging, my iPhone is back and fully functional. That Steve Jobs was a genius. I shot, edited, and Instagrammed this photo on Saturday from what I’m now calling “the miracle phone.”

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A very happy fall photo, indeed!

With such gratitude,
Meghan of Life Refocused