Enniskillen woman scales Everest for suicide prevention

BREAKING the silence one step at a time, 25-year-old Aisling Simpson completed an eight day trek to Everest Base Camp in support of suicide prevention.
In December, she lost a very good friend Pól to suicide.
Aisling, from Enniskillen, works as a mental health nurse and decided to combine her professional passion with a personal challenge.
The Everest Base Camp trek is a demanding route through the Himalayas, which leads to an elevation of over 5,000 metres at the foot of the world’s highest peak.
Aisling and a group of 16 others had to undergo intense training before they were able to take part in this momentous challenge.
“In order to prepare I had to carry over 5kg for long walks because that’s what my belongings would weigh,” she said.
“I also did lots of weight training to help build strength in my knees and hips.”
Along with building strength another factor of reaching such extreme heights is the dramatic change in altitude.
Aisling explained, “The altitude takes no victims. I had a mountain sickness and didn’t eat or drink for 4 days of the trek due to nausea and headaches.
“The altitude affected our bodies massively.”
“My oxygen stats went down to 67 percent and as a nurse this panicked me but thankfully we had a doctor to check up on us.”
The expedition was organised by Caroline McKenna who is a mental health advocate and travel content creator behind the popular ‘County Down under’ social media platform.
For Aisling and her fellow trekkers each step was a physical test and a reminder of the cause they were walking for.
“On average we were trekking between seven to nine hours a day,” she said.
“The days were long but the views of the Himalayas were something else.”
While the journey pushed the group to their limits, Aisling felt the sense of purpose kept everyone’s spirits high.
“Suicide is sadly something very close to my heart, both professionally and personally,” Aisling shared.
“In December I lost a very good friend of mine Pól, to suicide.
”“He was my number one motivation that got me through this trek.”
Visit- www.gofundme-everesttbasecamp-for-suicideprevention.com to donate.