A Comrie grandmother has recreated Everest – and its crowded summit – in her own back yard.
Dee Thomas nearly died from sepsis last April.
And so, to mark how far she has come, she decided to celebrate her recovery by climbing the equivalent height of Everest on the little hill she can see from her Comrie home.
It’s about 100 metres high, compared to Everest’s 8,849m above sea level.
So Dee decided to tackle it 100 times just to be on the safe side, while raising money for a sepsis charity.
However, as she was nearing the conclusion of her challenge, a generous supporter came up with an idea to boost her fundraising.
If she could recreate the famous photos of the queues for the summit of Everest, the anonymous donor would add another £5,000 to the pot.
The pledge was just the kind of incentive Dee likes.
And since her final ascent coincided with her 66th birthday, she didn’t have to twist the arms of too many friends and relatives to join her.
A 75-strong group of people set off with her on Wednesday evening. A few more stragglers arrived to join the party at the top.
It means she has now raised just under £10,000 for Sepsis Research FEAT, the UK’s only sepsis research and awareness charity.
And mercifully, the biblical rain which battered much of Perthshire swept around the hill and didn’t dampen the celebrations.
“It was incredible,” said Dee.
“I’m so grateful to everyone who came along.”
Sepsis symptoms could have proved deadly
Dee needed open heart surgery and could barely walk after her brush with sepsis.
The mum-of-five developed aches and pains in her joints on April 3 last year.
She was taken by ambulance to Perth Royal Infirmary the following day.
There, an MRI and other scans showed she had sepsis.
The Thomas family were told Dee’s chances of surviving were low.
But she was sent to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for open heart surgery on April 15.
And after four weeks in hospital, she was finally allowed home to begin the long road to recovery.
She started walking – a little further every day. And her first ascent of the little hill behind her home was a major milestone.
It’s always been a favourite for family picnics and now it is a symbol of her recovery.
Dee says her 100th ascent was a chance to reflect on how far she has come since this time last year.
“It feels like I can maybe start to put it behind me now and get on with living life,” she said.
“I plan on being fit and active till I’m 80.”
Conversation