A young mountaineer has vowed to overcome serious health issues to conquer Scotland’s tallest mountain.
Ashleigh McBlain pledged to climb the 4,413ft Lochaber mountain on February 3 to raise money for the Rangers Charity Foundation.
“It’s been on my bucket list for a while” said the 32-year-old, who suffers with diabetes, Fibromyalgia and Anaemia and has overcame sepsis on numerous occasions.
Speaking from the high dependency unity at University Hospital Crosshouse, she explained how her dream hike turned into a terrifying life or death ordeal.
Ms McBlain, a nurse, said: “It’s something I have always wanted to do so I thought I would go up and give it a go.
“I got up past the half way mark, I maybe got around 300 metres above that and it just came on all of a sudden, really quickly.
“I was violently sick and I started shivering and was really cold.
“I knew it couldn’t be the cold because I had the right layers on but that was actually a symptom of septicaemia. You feel freezing but your temperature is so high.
“It was terrifying.
“I had been sick but I thought I will keep going and try and power on but it got to the stage that I thought it wouldn’t be wise, it’s not sensible to keep doing this now and I just decided that I had to turn back.”
Following a call to emergency services, the intrepid walker, from Stevenston, Ayrshire, was advised she should be airlifted off the UK’s highest peak.
Despite their advice, she pledged to walk back down to help save emergency teams thousands of pounds.
She added: “They were quite keen to get me airlifted off the mountain because obviously sepsis is a killer but I’m probably one of the rare people that knows just how much it would cost to get a helicopter up there.
“I kept saying I will try and save them a good few thousand pounds and just keep powering on.
“I don’t think I did myself any favours. I kept wanting to stop every five to 10 minutes and be sick. To just stop and lie down.
“I literally got to the hospital just in time. If I had arrived a few hours later I could have been on life support.”
With the help of her guide and a passing stranger, Ms McBlain made it to a waiting ambulance before being rushed to Belford Hospital where she spent 13 days undergoing rigorous treatment.
Upon returning home, her health began to deteriorate, leading to her readmission to hospital in Kilmarnock.
Nonetheless, Ms McBlain said she plans to make a fresh effort to conquer the mountain again – this time alongside her sister Kimberly in May.
She has appealed to fellow mountaineers to treat Scotland’s mountains with respect and use the emergency services wisely.