Day #34

Location: Camp 3
Altitude: 7000m
Local Time: 7:15pm / May 1
Weather: Cold (20's) snow

Following are excerpts from 2 posts in the past few days specific to the Summit Scholarship. The first is from my brother Danny, and the second is from a fellow nurse (Susan) in Columbia, SC.

1. Pat and all bloggers, I put a link at the top of the page in the menu bar which should make it easier to access the Summit Scholarship site. The
last I heard the Summit Scholarship was at $2300.00, that's not good enough. We need to start thinking about the big picture and realize what Pat is doing to make this possible. I will donate $100.00 to the fund and challenge the rest of my Canadian friends to match that or do better. Looking at the donaters so far
(check out google maps in the menu bar), we are getting beat by the Americans and we know that just isn't right. European's and others feel free to join this challenge.

2. Hey Pat I never miss a day reading your blog and keeping up with your progress towards your goal. I plan
to pledge a hundred dollars to the Summit Scholarship and I figure if 300 nurses total would do that then your initial goal would be reached. I definitely want to challenge all nurses to participate in your scholarship fund when you consider the average age of a nurse nowadays is around 50. Think of how critical the shortage will be in around 12 or so years. I am 52 myself and only plan to stay on my feet at the bedside another 13 and half years. So I want to see us becoming proactive about recruiting bright and competent people to take over for us in the future. I know many folks are torn between charities but this one
is very important and I am still able to
work some overtime to help with the cause and challenge all nurses, especially South Carolina nurses, to fund the Summit Scholarship.

*I am hopeful that these two challenges will help you bloggers to see the way to contributing to the Summit Scholarship. I am sorry for the "hard sell" from halfway up Mt. Everest, but I have to keep this scholarship a priority and am limited in my ability to reach out from Mt. Everest!

Today was a long and grueling climb to Camp 3. The hike to the base of the Lhotse Face took 2 hrs. and was in very intense, hot, draining sun! Once at the base of the Lhotse Face the route is straight up and requires use of a jumar device (clips in to rope/fixed line and allows you to pull yourself up) and a separate carabiner tethered to a rope attached to your harness which is used as a safety feature to clip in to the fixed line. The route up the face is very slow as the angle is extreme. While on the face I encountered blistering sun, cold winds, and occasional snow. I have never felt so knackered as I did when I finally pulled in to Camp 3. Hyrdration was the first priority so we melted snow to make hot drinks and soup.
Our plans are to spend the night here and when the early morning sun hits our tents we will depart for Camp 2.

Your Messages:

Carol:
Hi sweetheart. Wow, long haul today! The sun really did me in as I was dehydrated before I hit the Lhotse Face. Quite knackered now and forcing the fluids in to combat the dehydration and altitude. I called Mom last night for a brief few minutes just to let her know that all is well. It was nice hearing her voice!
Received your text message ... thanks!
I'll send a quick email also!

I love you and miss you terribly :>)

Pat :>)

AORN Friends:

Kay ... thanks for the update on your activities. How cool to be involved with this process which will inevitably help your PhD dissertation! Glad to see that the power of AORN continues to make a difference in the perioperative setting. Here all is well as we are almost done with acclimitization. Prayers are greatly needed over the next few weeks. Thanks for all your support.

Judy ... your the best! Thanks so much for your contribution to the Summit Scholarship and more importantly to your passion for nursing!
Wow, great news about Ashley, and what a location ... Marina Del Rey. Might be worthy of a few visits! I'm sure that you may be able to give her a few pointers on recruitment!
Thanks for your warm wishes and support :>)

Bonnie ... as always, you are so inspirational! Your wishes of strength and coursage definitely helped me get to Camp 3 today as I was completely knackered and running on empty! I had to dig pretty deep ... but made it!
I appreciate the thought of communing with nature by looking up at the same, moon and stars ... it's something that we do not do enough of! Thanks for the strength and universal love!

Canadian Friends:

Jake ... great to hear from you! I think the Lhotse face kicked my butt today as it was a long hard climb to Camp 3. Look forward to Danny's wedding in early July and seeing everyone then!

Dave ... great to hear from you again and thanks for the support. Let me know what you decide regarding the school talk/interview.

Fran ... great to hear from you and good questions. When in Camps 1, 3, and 4 we melt snow and boil that water for our fluids. Our sleeping bags provide our only heat in the tents (mess tents have heaters) and dependent on your altitude is how cold it gets at night ... but it's cold enough to freeze any fluids in our tent that we don't put into our sleeping bags.

Eric ... all of the team enjoy doing the blogs. It gives them an opportunity to reach out to family and friends!

Sue ... glad that you enjoyed the blogger map. Hopefully it will continue to grow. Lots of waves will be sent from the top!

Columbia Friends:

Susan ... thanks for throwing out the challenge ... let's hope it works! I appreciate your passion and hope that other nurses can become as passionate about the need to develop our replacements!

Dave & Melle ... not sure if I am gaining or losing weight! Food has been ample and so far appetite okay! I do crave foods from home as sometimes the same menu has a way of repeating itself! Power bars supplement the diet as we climb the hills, and there are always plenty of hot fluids to drink as hydration is vital at altitude!

Palmetto Health Friends:

Rob ... great to hear from you and glad that you found the blog. I have not seen Wendy on the site so was wondering if she was following along. The technology has been great for me to be able to share this experience with all, and at the same time address the nursing shortage with the Summit Scholarship! Spread the word about the scholarship as there is a great need for contributions to make the goal of $29,035.00. Hope you can keep checking in on the adventure.

Sandra ... thanks so much for your kind words regarding Mike's post. The Sherpas are truly incredible and we owe so much to them for what they do. Yes the climbing industry has provided a source of income, yet they are in perils way as they do their jobs!
Thanks for your support of the Summit Scholarship and I hope that more nurses will be able to contribute as they know the issues more than most!
As always, thanks so much for your support, the quotes, and your friendship!

Mack ... no estimates on summit day, but we are now finishing our final acclimitization hike. We are hopeful that it will be by mid May!

Allison ... the Sherpas are great and well respected! We greet each other on the trail daily with Namaste! Mike's blog moved all of us also!
Thanks for the continued support!

USC Friends:

Liesl ... let me know when you hear from those wanting interviews! Time is limited!

All The Others:

Ken ... the push to Camp 3 was quite challenging! Used lots of short steps and deep breaths!

Ann & Graham ... thanks for the kind words regarding Mike's blog. Thanks as always for the warm wishes!

WP ... we concur that we hope this incident is the only one on the mountain this season! Thanks for your kind words regarding Mike's post ... it was very emotional for all of us!

George ... great to hear from you. I would love to see the article in Men's Health on Mt. Everest. Please save me a copy, and see you on my return!

Wendy & Family ... Mike has read your messages and it caused a big smile to cross his face! Glad the kids liked the photo update ... he looks a little grizzly! Mike sends his love!

Mike's Mum ... Mike is a great addition to our team and is not ashamed to let out his emotions as is evident in his post about the Sherpa. Mike has made a great impression on all of us on the team and has been a true ambassador for New Zealand.

Ron ... thanks so much for getting in touch with Wayne, Gus and Noe. I appreciate it very much! I have not heard from David in a few days but will check in with him regarding our reunion! I can't wait to ride a Harley ... it will be my first experience!

Mel & Connor ... Mike has read your messsage and plans on being safe, and making it to the top!

MC ... thanks for the quote and we are enjoying all the moments!

Liz ... Bo read your message and from the smile on his face was very appreciative of the posting!