Former World No. 1 Martina Navratilova released from hospital after Kilimanjaro scare
Tennis great Martina Navratilova was released from a Nairobi hospital earlier today, three days after she was first admitted for physical exertion after she attempted to climb the highest mountain in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro.
A leading doctor at the hospital diagnosed the former World No.1 with high-altitude pulmonary edema, her lungs having filled up with fluid because of the extreme weather conditions on the 19,340 foot peak in Kenya.
The 54 year old former player was helped down from the mountain on a stretcher, with porters carrying her to ground level on Thursday night and Friday morning. Navratilova admits that she had lost all hope of reaching the summit
of the mountain by Wednesday evening.
After her release, she issued a statement saying, “I didn’t feel badly, I just couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t get a full breath of air. Nothing hurt, and for an athlete that’s weird. Nothing hurt but I (couldn’t) go on.”
Earlier this year, Navratilova also suffered a brief breast cancer bout which she successfully battled. The pro, who had never climbed higher than 12,000 feet prior to the Kilimanjaro hike, reached almost 14,800 feet on the mountain.
However, a doctor who was hiking with the 27-person Laureus Sport for Good team forbid her from travelling any further, and told her she needed to descend. Although the player has made it abundantly clear that losing or quitting are not words in her vocabulary,
she also said, “When the doctor said you’re going down, you’re going down.”
Navratilova kept a journal during the four days which she spent climbing the mountain. The last entry in the diary, added on Thursday, said: “I’ve never been so utterly exhausted. Everything is taking monumental effort, going to
the bathroom, getting dressed, setting up tent. I don’t want to ever..” – The entry stops there, Navratilova explaining that she was crying too hard to complete it.
Two days before the climb began, Navratilova had told the Associated Press that she knew she was in good enough physical shape to be able to reach the summit, but was not sure if “the altitude will get to me. That’s something you
can’t predict.”
Navratilova had been climbing the mountain to raise awareness and funds for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Eighteen members of the team made it to the summit. Kate Brewer of Laureus, told reporters that mountain guides
had declared the weather (which included torrents of rain, snow and cold) as the worst they had ever seen.
Two hours after the climb began, the weather deteriorated and it began to rain. Although it was cold all the time, it got worse by the third day when visibility became poorer due to snowstorms and sleet. Navratilova, who says her
cancer had no effect on her ability to make the climb, said, “Nobody had fun. It was just survival, just pure survival. Trying to stay dry, trying to stay warm, trying to eat enough, drink enough, to survive the day. The conditions were just so unpleasant.”
However, she has still managed to raise $80,000 for the charity foundation. She also observed that perhaps her failure to reach the summit attracted more media attention and publicity than if she had made it all the way to the
top. She seems pragmatic about her failure, saying, “I always said the only failure is when you fail to try. I guess the other failure is not giving your best effort. I did both: I tried and gave my best effort.”
Tags: