My Story
Almost exactly one year ago I had a stem cell transplant in an effort to treat Crohn's disease. It wasn't cancer, but it wasn't pleasant, and perhaps most importantly my diagnosis wasn't terminal. For a lot of people however, treatments like chemo and stem cell transplants are the last hope. Now, a year on, I'm starting to get back into the swing of things. I've finished Uni, found myself a job and am finally getting back to the things I really enjoy - like being outside! I've wanted to get into winter mountaineering for years but have always been missing something, be it time, money or my health, so this is it. I don't like to do things by halves, so a friend from work (Adam Macdonald) and I have decided to tackle Mount Toubkal in Morocco - the highest peak in the Atlas Mountains. Standing at 4167m (13,671ft) it's almost four times higher than Mt Snowdon at 1085m and will certainly be a challenge, getting well into the regions of thin air and low oxygen. I would like to raise money toward developing a better understanding the body's own immune responses in the hope of developing less harsh treatments. This research might also benefit those suffering from autoimmune diseases, such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis and (of course) Crohn's disease. I'll try my best to take some pictures and keep the page updated with our progress!
