I’ve always been outdoorsy and athletic, I even considered pursuing a career in tennis. At the age of 30, I decided to pursue a life-long dream of climbing Everest, embarking on what became a 7-year training journey. However, halfway through my preparations, in 2017, I became so ill I was effectively housebound. I now know that this was due to a Colitis flare-up, which hit during a training climb for Everest, whilst I was halfway up Mt. Triglav, in Slovenia.

During the climb I had no energy whatsoever and I told my guide that I thought it would be dangerous for us to descend the way we’d come up. Fortunately, there was a gentler route to the bottom, albeit to the other side of the mountain. However, having to abandon what should have been a fairly routine descent was very concerning from a health and confidence perspective. 

My condition really deteriorated. I went from being someone who considered themselves fit enough to train to climb Everest, to someone who was stuck in their flat. I was not even able to go out for a walk to the shops.

When I was waiting to be referred to a consultant for a diagnosis, I did suspect that I might have an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This came with a lot of anxiety. I felt like my life was being turned upside down and I was about to be labelled with a condition that I wasn’t ready to embrace. I was worried whether I would ever feel like “me” again.

But 30 seconds after the endoscopy I got up, still wearing my hospital gown, to ask the consultant, “Can I still climb Everest?” I bet it was the first time he’d heard that! He assured me that as long as they got my condition under control there was no reason why I couldn’t, but there were no guarantees.

Within a month of starting my medicine, however, I was feeling ten times better and believed I could at least try to start training again and see where that would take me.

However, it wasn’t smooth sailing.

Whenever I’m in the mountains, I’m at risk of a flare-up and constantly having to monitor my condition. Whilst on the Everest climb, my trip also saw me take 3 courses of antibiotics and coughing so hard at altitude that it cracked my rib. I also had a crampon puncture my leg and was in an environment which was constantly presenting mortal risks. It was the heat and my Colitis, rather than the cold, that almost brought things to a premature end.

The Western Cwm is a barren ice valley with no shade and prone to extreme temperature shifts. If you get caught in the sun it takes everything out of you. Despite drinking over three litres of liquid, for the last half a kilometre I was so dehydrated I thought I was a dead man walking.

At one point I thought, “I’m done”. It was like all those films where people are in the desert seeing mirages staggering along – that was me. The camp in the distance never seemed to get closer, it was a horrible experience and it took us over an hour to cross the last 500m into Camp 2.

Then, once I got to camp, I collapsed in a heap into my tent. Our Sherpa guides were brilliant though, slowly rehydrating me and feeding me noodles with salty broth to get the electrolytes back in my body. It tasted like the best food ever. With that and a bit of full fat Coke, which we dub “black aspirin” in the mountains, things started to turn around slowly but surely.

After 3 more very hot days, and a 15-hour summit bid, I safely made it to the top of the world. And, I raised more than £10,000 for Crohn’s & Colitis UK with gift aid.

It was very surreal to finally achieve my dream and I hope that my journey can inspire others with Crohn’s, Colitis, or any chronic illness.