Having completed the London marathon in 2009 I wanted another challenge, after chatting with my personal trainer I came up with the idea of climbing Kilimanjaro. Little did I know that it would be a challenge in itself to even find a company that would accept me on their trips as I am a blind person and therefore was considered to be a liability and the other people on the trip might not like having a blind person with them. After much scowering of the internet I came across an article about a group of blind people that had climbed Kilimanjaro http://www.happybirthdaytanzania.com/experiences/blind-climbers-break-world-record-on-kilimanjaro/

 At the end of the article there was an option to leave a comment so I wrote … how I wanted to climb Kilimanjaro but couldn’t find a company to accept me. I never expected anyone to read it but just writing it made me feel better. A couple of days later I went back to the site to reread the article and much to my amazement there was a reply from Debs the company manager saying … Having a vision is not about sight, but about commitment to a goal and the desire to achieve, so please do not let others sway you in your quest.

One year later and many emails to and from Debs I am off to climb Kilimanjaro on 9 September with my friend Peter Roberts as my guide. Peter has only guided me a couple of times but with a bit of arm twisting he has agreed to do it.

 I am going to raise money for Parkinsons in memory of my very special friend Peter Flanagan to whom I owe much of my independence and who sadly passed away through parkinsons. It’s awful to watch someone who has been so fit and given many years of his time to helping myself and other blind people learning to ski and sail suddenly not being able to do anything for himself. I know he would love to be there to greet me on my return.

Peter adds:- my sister has sufferred from Parkinson's for the last 15 years so I am pleased to have the opportunity to help both Parkinson's UK and Linda in her goal. We both know it will be quite a challenge but are looking forward to making the attempt.

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