Thanks for taking a moment to visit my 'Verna mounts Kili' page.
What an unbelievable life changing journey! What started as an idea on my 40th birthday to climb up a hill has ended in climbing (Mount) Kilimanjaro to reach the very top of 5895m (19,340ft).
My inspiration for this mad venture was our gorgeous friends, Colette (Cogs) and Paul Murphy who, after difficulties faced at their son's (Harry) birth, set up this wonderful charity BREATHE and work tirelessly to support, raise money and buy equipment for other new born babies suffering similar breathing difficulties.
5 days before the climb my friend who was due to climb with me fractured her cocksics and couldnt get out of bed ...so I was to face this mountain alone!!
As many of you know me...nothing much phases me...but I can tell you I spent all day on the day of leaving crying my eyes out and petrified that I was to be pushed outside my comfort zone with no friend for support.
It turned out to be an unbelievable life changing experience filled with highs and deep lows, laughter and tears. Harder than I had ever imagined.... the elements were against us. We faced rain storms, hail, snow and thunder and lightening like I have never experienced. Made some magical friendships and have ended up feeling truly blessed to have been on this journey. The Kenyans are beautiful people and even when they are giving 100% they always want to give more. Never worrying about how much they have got but always wanting to give more.
In the end the goal of getting to the top was almost insignificant and it was more about the journey, the teamwork and the pure survival. I have never felt so strongly how we can achieve much greater things together as a team than we can alone.
Our team really bonded and stuck together and the support for each other was overwhelming. Paul, part of our group, is blind and made it to the top....he is the bravest man I have ever met. A few of our group did not make it and some that did faced serious medical problems. Summit night scences were not pleasant with people in trouble where they had pushed themselves in the altitude to beyond their limits. I never anticiapted that the altitude would affect every single one of us. Summit day lasted 36 hours with no sleep climbing through the night. Dawn broke on the highest point in Africa and somehow managed a dance!
A truly amazing 10 days...thankyou so much for all your well wishes and your support.
I fully self funded this trip and so every penny of any donation will go directly to Breathe to buy equipment to support babies going through a similar situation as Harry.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to BREATHE and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - BREATHE will raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
Thankyou thankyou so much for you support... you don't know how much your messages, charms, letters or support really helped me through.
love
Verna x
PS. Whilst all monies will go directly to BREATHE, I would also like to mention another crazy, silly, beautiful person who is a very special friend of mine. J.K. was diagnosed with breast cancer 5 years ago. After a mastectomy, chemotherapy and endless treatments she has ended her battle resulting in the '5 year all clear'. Her positive attitude continually inspires me and, as this climb coincided with her wonderful news, I thought of her every step of the way!!
