Reproduced courtesy of the Kingston NHS Trust Web Site
Scaling the heights for KingstonCan
30 January 2003
It was cheers all round at Kingston
Hospital this week for the team who climbed Kilimanjaro for KingstonCan,
the Kingston Hospital Cancer Unit Appeal.
On 10 January, seven consultants and a nurse from
Kingston Hospital flew to Tanzania having trained for months for
the climb. They are: anaesthetists Carol Stableforth and Abdulsatar
Ravalia, urologist Roland Morley, general surgeon Peter Willson,
pathologist Kaushik Patel, gynaecologist Andrew Pooley, colorectal
surgeon Ian Bloom and Day Surgery Unit staff nurse Amrit Gill.
Six of the eight members reached the summit of
the mountain (19,400 feet). Two team members were prevented from
exceeding 15,500 feet by altitude sickness. One member of the team
remained in East Africa for treatment and convalescence for his
altitude sickness and is now home. The rest of the team returned
at the beginning of last week.
Roland Morley says 'It was a great adventure.
I have fond memories of getting to the top with our KingstonCan
banner! It was tiring and cold … made fonder by great companions.'
Peter Willson said 'It was the adventure of a
lifetime, an exciting and enjoyable walk in a wonderful part of
the world with memories and views I will never forget.'
Kingston Hospital Chief Executive Helen Chalmers
said 'This is not just a stroll in the park, it's exceedingly challenging.
We're all so incredibly proud of them. '
Provisional estimates indicate the team has well
exceeded its target of raising £10,000 for the KingstonCan
appeal. |