On 1st October 2019, I stood on the summit of Jebel Toubkal, the highest mountain in North Africa. My journey didn’t begin there though; it started 506 days earlier, as I lay in a bed on a neuro high dependency unit, unable to walk and struggling to adapt to my new normal.
Almost a year and a half later, a good friend gave me the opportunity to trek to Toubkal, at a time when I was really struggling. Psychologically I was not in a good place.When I finally reached the summit, I felt totally overwhelmed and empowered. This experience gave me the strength to move forward in life and set myself even bigger challenges. Now I want to help others to do the same. To move forward beyond recovery.
In June 2024, the Beyond Recovery project will be taking a group of brain tumour survivors, who have been on the same journey as me, back to the Atlas mountains so that they too can experience what it’s like to overcome the mental and physical challenges that life has thrown our way.
Recovery can be an isolating place. You’re told, “You’re ok now, get back to normal.” But what does normal look like? Months earlier I received the news I had a brain tumour and needed life-changing surgery, now I need to go back to normal. But normal is very, very different and it can be lonely.
I didn’t know who I was, where I was going next or what my future looked like. I had to create a focus, and reinvent “normal”.
By supporting this deeply personal project, you will be making a massive difference to many whose lives have been turned upside down by a brain tumour diagnosis, helping to give them a focus, and the opportunity to push the limits of what they believe is possible.
This cannot happen without your help. Please make a donation if you can (every penny really will make a difference!) and be part of something amazing.
Thank you so much for your support.
Sara