Nambour General Hospital Allied Health Assistant Gary Mckitterick Gillett’s passion is to help raise funds for Parkinson’s Disease through Treks to Mt Everest. He reflects here on how Trek cancellations due to the pandemic have affected his fund-raising and how staff are coping at the hospital. 

The past two years have proved challenging for everyone. Passports have stayed in drawers, awaiting a time to remerge and explore the world again. Lock downs have frustrated us and hindered our natural instincts to travel and explore, visit family, and even work.  

We have trekked local hills “Everesting” as best we could. Border closures and mandates have driven us to get vaxxed, with the hope that we could again venture outside and explore the world. We may now be seeing that proverbial light.

We had travel to Nepal cancelled in 2020 and again in 2021. So we adapted to our new world and Everested Mt Coolum and Mt Ngnunnun, climbing each 42 times over a five day period, matching the height of Mt Everest and raising funds to help Shake It Up Australia to fund Parkinson’s Disease research in Australia.

I  have seen firsthand how people’s anxiety has risen with each new strain, and with the daily press releases from State Premiers and health experts. It became extremely hard to keep up, with each state doing their own thing. 

Hospital staff just kept working, caring for patients, because,  just because Covid was around, did not stop all of the other ailments: strokes, Parkinson’s Disease, dementia, falls, type 2 diabetes to name a few. 

The elderly still fall over and get sick. 

The staff at Nambour just keep on fronting up and doing their job. The majority off us got the jab, I got both the jabs and the booster, because I work with patients that are compromised and I felt responsible for them and for myself.

Social distancing is fairly impossible when rehabbing someone, after a fall, helping them to walk again.  

My  passion at Trek Ready Himalayas has been to help raise funds and a conversation about Parkinson’s Disease by supporting Shake It Up Australia and preparing for the time to travel to Nepal with a group of like-minded people and explore the amazing Himalayas, which we are now planning for May 2022.

We combine  raising money for a cause close to our heart and trekking to Everest Base Camp, with a group of like-minded people.

This is an opportunity to make a real difference to Australian lives, you may find that people will be very generous and supportive of you taking on something as unique and impressive as this!

Covid has caused mayhem, but it can’t define us, we are explorers at heart and explore we will.

Preparation is underway for travel to Mt Everest Base Camp in May 2022. Yes, May 2022. “Trek For Parkinson’s 2022” will provide the ideal build up to traveling to Nepal in May.

“Its not the mountain that we conquer, but ourselves,” said Sir Edmund Hilary.

2022 will hopefully bring more adventure and goodwill. The seduction of Mount Everest has long been known to travellers, climbers, and adventurers alike. 

• You are invited to join us and share in the adventure. Contact me on Facebook @trekreadyhimalayas