“I've made it and so did my tricolour!”

23year old trainee solicitor Sinead Gorman has safely completed a 130km trek to the refuge near the top of Cotopaxi, one of the world's tallest volcanoes, which stands at 5000m above sea level in the Andes Mountains in Ecuador. It is situated in what is known as “The Ring of Fire”, one of the most volcanically active areas on the continent of South America.
Sinead took part in the trek to raise money for the Parkinson's Disease Society and in memory of her Grandma Kitty Molloy, who was born in Donegal but lived in Mayo, and who suffered with the disease for the last few years of her life.
Sinead was well equipped for the trek, with a special “minus 10” sleeping bag, thermal scarf, hat, gloves and socks and plenty of layers of clothing, yet she was still freezing cold during the night in the tent. The sun was strong and glorious during the day though, and she even managed to acquire a tan. Several of the group struggled with the climb because of the lack of oxygen and the height above sea level, but all of them managed to complete the trek.
Sinead said “It was a really tough challenge, but I felt a great sense of achievement when I reached the summit. At times it was very difficult to breathe, my legs felt like lead and our goal seemed further away with every step. The last hour of the last day and the final few metres were the hardest. At one particularly difficult moment, it was only the thought of my Grandma and of the reason for my being there that made it possible for me to keep going and take those final steps”.
“Ecuador is a beautiful country, its people are warm and friendly and we were looked after extremely well by 4 local guides, who were the only people we saw during the week. Some lovely meals were cooked on a camp fire by one of the guides each day and we got to taste some of the local dishes.”
Two horses were used to carry equipment, food and medicine, also to take some of the other trekkers down to the base camp if they were struggling with their breathing. Sinead managed to get friendly with one of the horses, Emila, (see photo) but thankfully was not one of those who had to be carried down the mountain on horseback.
Sinead said “It was an adventure that I will never forget. I am very pleased that I have managed to raise more than my target of £3000 and hope to raise some more money when volunteers from Sandwell Irish Society help me with a bag-pack in Sainsburys in Oldbury on 16th December. I would like to thank all those people from the Irish and wider community in Sandwell and Birmingham who gave so generously, also my family and friends who encouraged and sponsored me - it would not have been possible without their support”.
If you would like to donate some money via the internet, just click
on the Just Giving website www.justgiving.com/SineadEcuador or you can contact Sinead where she works at Shoosmiths in Birmingham on 0121 335 4348. Every little helps and it will enable PDS to fund projects which support carers and those people who suffer from the disease, also to continue with their vital research into a cure for Parkinson's.