I didn't make it to Base Camp. I tried my best and got to 16,000 feet, 1,500 feet short of Base Camp.
I developed HACE: High Altitude Cerebral Edema. My brain swelled. Not something you want to experience. The easiest (wrong word) way to deal with it is to descend. So I did, to 14,000 feet and the Himalayan Rescue Association, a small hospital staffed with young volunteer doctors. After miserably failing a number of neurological tests and receiving a mega-shot of steroids, I was heli-vac'd off the mountain to Katmandu.
I'm home now. I'm not disappointed that I didn't make it to Base Camp. I trekked through the Himalayas to 16,000 feet. Me, a 58 year-old woman with bad feet, bad hips, and Parkinson's Disease. Damn proud of myself.
What a tremendous accomplishment! Absolutely you should be proud of yourself - so many people never even try to reach for a dream under the most perfect of conditions, and you have gone so far beyond that. And what wisdom and great attitude in your perspective. (I'm so glad you got the right treatment and took the right path) Wishing you the best.
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