A Tough Day Under Everest
13th April Last night was a bad night. I woke in the middle of the night coughing qiute badly and a rattley chest. I kept coughing for quite a while before I proped myself up and waited until the morning. It was the first really lonely night. My mind spent what seemed like hours back with Beth and Isla all safe in Helmsley. Once i was up the cough didn`t seem to bad so I set off on the group walk. As we gained height the cough became more regular, as I struggled to get air in. Simon, the other dad picked up on this and stopped me and asked Nigel, the doc to check me out. He couldn`t do a lot where we were but I decided to go down a wait for them to come back and get checked out. I was exhausted once I got back and I`d only been on the go for 2 and half hours. Once I stopped I didn`t feel to bad. I could feel my heart was beating fast and my chest tight. I suspected the worst and it would be the start of High Altitude Pulmonary Edema. This can be treat and doesn`t definately mean the end of my trip but its a problem thet may lead that way. I lay in my tent just pondering the potential outcome of my illness. There was part of me that would love to buzz home and see the girls, but then in the grand scheme of things a few more weeks and I`ll be back anyway. Once the party was back and we`d had lunch Nigel gave me full MOT. He checked me over and using his stethascope he couldn`t hear any rattling on my chest. My heart rate is high and my oxygen saturation is a liitle low but it`s a lot of snot on my chest. I have just had my head over a bowl of hot water with Vics in it. It`s definately feeling a bit better so we`ll see tommorow. The main thing is it`s not HAPE. and I`ll be abe to shrug it off. I`m taking things day by day so we`ll see what happens tommorow.

First Hard Day
14th April Today we were walking upto 6000m. This is really the first bench mark of the trip. I was not sure how I was going go. I was still chesty and planned to take it very easy. It was an 800m height gain over very bouldery ground, with a light brushing of snow. It would have been awkward at sea level. To give you some idea of how you slow down even at this alltitude. When planning walking times in the UK, I would work on 450m an hour over reasonable ground. We are doing something nearer 150 an hour even at this height. I was running at 80%,my lung capacity still seems limited. I am coughing a lot but feel like I`m on the mend. I got up to the 6025m turn around point probably 20mins after the qiuckest. The main thing as I managed it. I felt weak on the way down, mainly because I didnt take any food with me. Once down we had tea, I couldn`t get a lot down and just hit the hey. I`m finding getting food down a problem but got to keep trying.

The First of Three Days of Rest
15th April Today I woke feeling the best I`ve felt so far. I`m still coughing but feel like my energy levels are better. I drank a lot through the night which really makes a difference. Once we`d had breakfast today was the day the Sherpa`s have organised the Puja. This is a Buddhist ceremony, led by one of the monks from the Rongbuk monestry. The ceremony lasted about an hour and the monk blesses all the climbing gear, puts up a pole with four legs of prey flags and chants the whole time. This was fantastic, all the sherpas got involved one of which has summited 13 times. We all throw rice and flour as on offering to the gods, asking for a safe expedion. I got through to home today and spoke to the girls and mum and dad. Although i can`t stop blubbering eveytime it`s great to talk to them. I am still a little concerned about my chest. I`m going to get Nigel to have another listen. It would be great to feel on top form. I know the altitude takes it`s tole but if I had full lung capacity it would be great.