- Mwende said she was forced to suspend the climb and seek treatment after contracting a cough at Khumbu Icefall six days ago.
- She said she had ascended above Lobuche peak (6,119m) as part of acclimatisation when she got ill.
Image: HANDOUT
Dr Faith Mwende who last month set out to scale Mt Everest’s peak in Nepal, Asia, has taken some rest following her doctor’s advice after she fell sick while on her way up.
Mwende said she was forced to suspend the climb and seek treatment after contracting a cough at Khumbu Icefall six days ago.
Khumbu icefall she says is located at the head of the Western Cwm that lies at an elevation of 5,486 meters on the Nepali slopes of Mt Everest, not far above Base Camp and South West of the summit.
She said she had ascended above Lobuche peak (6,119m) as part of acclimatisation when she got ill.
Mwende had intended to take around 60 days to scale up and down the mountain which is 8,848 metres high.
The Kenyan self-made mountaineer, however, said she was responding well to medication after she was flown back to Kathmandu base camp for treatment.
Kathmandu is at an elevation of approximately 1,400 metres above the sea level according to Mwende.
She said there was a cough outbreak commonly known as Khumbu cough.
“There has been an outbreak of cough virus at the base camp, everyone is sick coughing at the camp. Yesterday was on the way to rest on a lower elevation for quick recovery,” Mwende told the Star by phone on Monday.
“I got the cough as well. But, at the time I sought medical assistance from the doctors at the base camp, medicine such as cough syrup, strepsils and the likes had been depleted since everyone was sick.”
She said the doctor advised that she gets flown to the lower elevation for some days' rest for her cough to clear.
“I rested for a few days, but the cough wasn’t clearing. Instead, it felt like it got into the chest. I went back to the doctor at the base camp and was given some tablets for three days,” she said.
She said her doctor advised that she rests at the base camp for some days for the cough to completely clear or lose elevation for it to clear faster which meant going to low elevation, as low as Kathmandu.
Mwende chose to go to lower elevation for faster recovery before getting back to the base camp.
She said her doctor advised that she proceeds with the climb only after the cough clears since continuing with ascending the mountain before she fully recovers would worsen her condition.
Seven Summit Trek, the company that organised the Mt Everest climbing event, flew Mwende to Kathmandu where she went to hospital for a second opinion.
This was after her doctor at the base camp checked her lungs and reported that he could feel some water at the lower back side of the lungs.
Mwende said the doctor at Kathmandu did the same tests and gave a clean bill of health.
“He reported that the lungs were okay and recommended complete rest for 2-3 days before flying back to base camp for the summit push. The weather has been so bad. It has been windy, causing some climbers to turn back to wait for a better weather window,” Mwende said.
“Otherwise soldiering on would leave them with frost bites as the wind speed gets to as high as 30, 35, 40 or even 45 km/hr.
“I’m feeling much better now,” she said, adding that the cough was clearing faster.
“That's why the doctor at the base camp was saying losing elevation or going to a lower elevation can make the cough clear faster.”
Mwende said she had been summiting the mountain in a recommended gear that comprised; the harness around her waist, safety carabeners (orange), ropes from her waist connected to the fixed line rope on the way for safety, a figure eight (black) for descending the mountain, jumar/ascender for ascending up the mountain, 8,000litre summit boots to keep her feet warm, crampons fixed on her 8,000 litre boots for walking on ice and glacier, Snow/Sun glasses to shield her eyes from wind, sun and snow blindness, down jacket and pants to keep her warm.
Image: HANDOUT