Michelle Quinton Hickey came within 180 metres of reaching the summit of Island Peak in the Himalayas during last week's March to the Top expedition.
"I got to the bottom of the wall and basically couldn't breathe anymore," Hickey, a former Pender Harbour resident, said from her home at CFB Kingston. "Nothing was working."
Hickey had climbed more than 6,000 metres at that point, when she was stopped by high altitude pulmonary edema -or acute mountain sickness.
Four of the team's 12 members were brought down during that last stretch to the summit of the glacier, Hickey said.
"That seemed to be for the whole team the most difficult part. It was a 90-degree wall," she said.
Despite the setback, "from a team perspective, everyone succeeded," she said.
"The whole point of this journey and the documentary is yes, to summit, but also to get our stories out across Canada, so that people will hopefully find one of the 12 of us who is relatable -as daughter, sister, mother, brother -and get the message that no matter what injury you have, don't be afraid to try."
Comprised of former Canadian soldiers who sustained life-changing injuries while serving in uniform, the March to the Top team arrived in Nepal on Oct. 2 and spent most of the month trekking and climbing two other peaks before the final challenge.
"It was tough," said Hickey, who graduated from Pender Harbour Secondary School as Micki Sheppard in 1987. "I don't know what I expected, but I certainly didn't expect it would be that hard."
Hickey and another team member flew back to Canada early so they could represent the team at a special True Patriot Love dinner in Toronto. The expedition will form the centre of a CBC documentary to be aired in January.
Hickey doesn't expect her life to change because of the limelight, "but I hope it helps others reach out to get help," she said. "I hope it changes other people's lives."
Hickey, 43, sustained major ankle and knee injuries during her 22-year career with the Forces. She works as a nurse case manager at CFB Kingston.
