Give an account of the narrator's …

Douglas' experience at the YMCA pool had a far reaching effect on him. It left him weak and terrified. It haunted him till later in life. It ruined his fishing trips and deprived him of the joy of canoeing, boating, and swimming. He was never able to go back into water again. He tried to avoid it whenever he could, but whenever he went to a pool, the terror that seized him in the pool would come back. His legs would become paralysed. Icy horror would grab his heart. This handicap stayed with Douglas for years.
Finally, one October, he decided to employ an instructor and learn to swim. The instructor gradually built a swimmer out of Douglas by making him practice five days a week, an hour each day. He taught him the techniques with the help of a cable and also taught him to breath underwater. To remove his residual doubts about his fear of water, Douglas went up the Conrad Creek Trail to Meade Glacier and swam across to the other shore and back. He then shouted with joy after finally having conquered his fear.