9/2016 Kilimanjaro? Who’s idea was that?

I’ve thought about climbing Kilimanjaro over the years, but I couldn’t find anyone else interested in it. I went so far as to check expedition prices and ask friends if they would go, but no takers. Then I got leukemia, Acute Myeloid Leukemia, and thoughts of hiking anything evaporated. I was in the fight of my life. I received a Bone Marrow Transplant in Sept. 2015 and began the long slow healing process. After being treated for Acute Myeloid Leukemia walking up the stairs was a challenge. It was many months before I started to feel like my old energetic self again. Slowly I regained my strength; today I am fairly healthy although my immune system is compromised.

I started looking for ways to give back. Something I could do for other people suffering with Leukemia. One day in early Aug. 2016 an ad popped up on Facebook, Climb 2 Cure, a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I clicked on the ad and they were climbing Mt Kilimanjaro as a fundraiser! That was it! I immediately started looking for more information. I floated the idea with my husband and sister. Neither one was enthusiastic. I asked doctor El-Jahawri her opinion and she said I could try it. I asked my nurse practitioner Julie what she thought of the idea. She was skeptical to say the least. My immune system is still compromised and I’m weak. My initial enthusiasm started to wane.

The cost of the expedition is $5-6000.00. It will require many hours of training and a commitment to fundraising. I would be spending a great deal of time away from my husband Steve. He spent a year taking care of me. He did everything for me and now I’m going to take off hiking and fundraising every spare minute?! I would be splurging all of our vacation funds on me. Would it even be possible for me to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro? Could I raise the funds? I was losing sleep over this. I set a deadline for the decision. By Oct 1 I would be in or out.

Sept 24^th I met the Climb 2 Cure Massachusetts team. They seem like a great group of people although quite a bit younger than me. Could I keep up with this group? Throughout Sept I grilled Steve. “Are you sure you would be OK with this? If you tell me not to go, I won’t. I’ll be spending all our vacation money on me. Are you absolutely sure?” I queried my doctor and nurse again. Same split decision, but Dr. El-Jahawri said something that resonated with me “…there is a point when fear and precautions can actually take away the joy of life, which is the whole point we did this transplant…”. Yes, exactly! If Steve’s OK with it and my doctor says I can try it than I will.