This story was originally published by the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
When Christy Howard set out to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest freestanding mountain in the world, there was a great deal of concern that she would have a seizure, perhaps even multiple seizures.
And yet, throughout the entire arduous trek, Howard did not have a single seizure.
Diagnosed with epilepsy at age 16, not long after getting her driver’s license, Howard, now 50, is no stranger to seizures. In a typical month, she may have about 20, she previously told the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Howard may have multiple seizures in one night or none for a week, and their frequency and severity has only increased as she’s aged, she said.
It was James Howard, Christy Howard’s husband and the host of “This ‘N That” on WTVC News Channel 9, who proposed the idea of climbing Kilimanjaro, a dormant volcano in the African nation of Tanzania. At an elevation of more than 19,000 feet, Kilimanjaro is the highest point in Africa, and reaching the summit requires multiple days of miles-long hiking that tests not just the body but also the mind. James Howard did not pressure his wife to go through with the climb; that decision was all hers, he previously told the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
“For me, me summiting is kind of like me telling my epilepsy that it didn’t win, that it can’t control me,” Christy Howard previously said in an interview.
When Christy Howard arrived in Tanzania this July with the intent to summit Kilimanjaro, she experienced feelings of excitement and nervousness. She didn’t expect to be as nervous as she was, Christy Howard said in a phone interview after returning to the U.S., but her nerves also made her feel that she could go through with the climb.
About a dozen people accompanied Howard on her climb, including her husband and their daughters. Having a variety of ages in the group made Howard not feel old, she said.
“It just helped us when we were having difficulty in one area or another, there’s always one other person that is going through the same thing, and we could go through that together,” Howard said of her companions.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
To prepare for the climb, Howard would go hiking and camping. Because there is an increased chance of having a seizure at higher altitudes, she and her husband did sessions in a hyperbaric chamber to help her acclimate to the barometric pressure she would experience climbing Kilimanjaro. Reflecting on the climb, Howard said the hyperbaric chamber sessions did, in part, help her.
Each day of the climb, Howard and her group would wake up around 5:30 a.m., have breakfast and proceed to hike for about six to eight hours, she said. As climbers make their way up the mountain, the environment changes from a rainforest at the base to the rocky, snowy peak. The further up the mountain Howard went, the more she could feel herself slowing down, mentally and physically.
Howard made the ascent to base camp, which sits at an elevation of more than 15,000 feet. The day before she and her group were set to summit, guides took Howard aside and advised her that she should not attempt to summit.
“(They) told me that they felt like I went as far as my body would possibly let me,” Howard said. “And I lost it then because, in my mind, I was like ‘Well, I’ve made it this far. I can do it. I can do it. I can do it.’”
Howard pleaded to continue onto the summit, she said. But ultimately, she had to accept that her ascent had concluded.
“I went as far as I could before going to the top,” she said. “That’s not something to be embarrassed or to be ashamed about. Everybody was telling me this, and now I’m starting to believe it.”
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
While her goal was to summit, Howard said she had to think bigger.
“So, looking back, I have to accept that what I did was good, was really good — that I did go a long way,” she said. “But I also need to remember that that was not the reason necessarily that we chose to even do this. It’s not necessarily all about me. It’s to inspire others; it really is.”
All the while, Howard’s climb was the subject of a documentary meant to not just tell her story, but to also provide inspiration to those with struggles in their own lives. Lindsey Glass, 25, a producer at WDEF-FM 92.3, said James Howard, who also works at the radio station, came to her with the idea of documenting Christy Howard’s climb. Since then, Glass has documented the Howards’ day-to-day lives in the lead-up to the climb, in addition to accompanying them up Kilimanjaro.
“It’s more showing her fight and her determination to keep going,” Glass said of filming Howard’s climb. “Yes, every scene that we had, there was not one part of the trip that wasn’t lovely; it didn’t rain one bit. ... And so, yes, it’s easy to get those beautiful cinematic shots ... but I just made sure to go jump ahead and go a little bit forward or stay a little bit behind to grab the essence of her determination and fight, because this was not an easy climb.”
When asked about her reaction, as the documentarian, to Howard not being able to summit, Glass said it was a thought she had kept in the back of her mind. Not summiting didn’t stop the story. Rather, she said, it changed the ending.
“Yes, it’s bittersweet because we couldn’t get those shots of her getting to the top, but ... this documentary wasn’t about summiting Kilimanjaro; that is not what it is,” Glass said. “This was about living your life, and that is exactly what she did — she lived her life.”
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
With the climb concluded, now comes the next phase of production for the documentary, preparing it for the public to watch. While there is no set deadline for completion, the tentative goal is to screen the finished documentary, entitled “Scraped Knees,” at the Lookout Wild Film Festival in January, Glass said.
“I want people to understand that they are more than just somebody sitting at home doing nothing, that they are worthy enough to get out and to live and to do the things that they want to do,” Christy Howard said.
As for herself, Howard said she’s asking what she can do next.
Credit: Chattanooga Times Free Press
Credit: Chattanooga Times Free Press
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