Olympic golden girl's mum scales mountain to save lives
THE mother of Olympic golden-girl, Sarah Ayton who nearly died from meningitis, has scaled Africa's tallest mountain to help protect future generations from the disease.
Colleen Ayton, 61, who feels incredibly lucky to still have Sarah, was spurred on to reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for Meningitis UK.
Sailing champion, 32-year-old Sarah, who took home gold medals from Athens and Beijing, was left in a coma for three days after contracting meningococcal septicaemia aged 14 while sailing in Hampshire.
A patron for Meningitis UK, Sarah who lives in Weymouth, is a sailing mentor for England's next top young Olympic hopefuls.
She was trying for her second child when the Kilimanjaro challenge was announced, and in a flash of inspiration, her mum Colleen volunteered instead.
Colleen, from Ashford, Middlesex, lost 35 kilograms while training for the grueling hike which she has described as the biggest personal challenge of her life.
She went on a strict, healthy diet, hit the gym four times a week and joined the Ramblers Association to help prepare for the trip.
Colleen said: "I knew this was going to be a huge physical challenge but I had never anticipated what a massive mental challenge it would also be.
"There were times when I thought I wasn't going to get to the top.
"Thoughts of when Sarah was ill and why I was doing this really got me through the tiredness and pain.
"I told Sarah I would've felt like I let her down if I hadn't gone all the way - she said I would have let myself down."
Since returning from Africa, Colleen has raised £5,000 in sponsorship towards vaccine research projects run by Meningitis UK.
She said: "I was very lucky not to suffer altitude sickness. The final ascent was so hard. It took us an hour to walk 100m. My legs had turned to jelly and it was sheer determination which got me through.
"The comradeship of the 13 in the group really helped too. It was a team effort and we supported each other. There were people walking who had lost loved ones to meningitis and it was really important to help each other.
"When Sarah was ill in 1995, it was so terrifying and knowing that we were walking to help fund research for new vaccines gave us motivation and hope."
Colleen joined a group of 13 people who all took on the mountain for Meningitis UK.
Meningitis UK chief executive, Kate Rowland, said: "Everyone at Meningitis UK is so inspired to hear that Colleen bravely made it all the way to the top and took on such a huge challenge to help our cause. We are so grateful of her support which will help us to save lives from this cruel disease in future years."
Cases of meningitis traditionally peak in February and the charity is offering the public a free fridge magnet which separates the specific and general symptoms of the disease.
To request your free symptoms fridge magnet or to find out more about Meningitis UK's Search 4 A Vaccine Campaign, call 0117 947 6320 or visit: www.meningitisuk.org.
For more information about signing up to our next Big Climb challenge, please contact our Events Fundraiser Liz Gough on 0117 303 3343 or lizgough@meningitisUK.org.
MeningitisUK · Registered Charity No.1076774
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