A husband from Wrexham recalled the moment his wife passed out at the top of Kilimanjaro on a fundraising challenge.

Paul Ffoulkes and his partner Katrina took on the mountainous challenge in aid of Nightingale House Hospice. 

The pair were among 22 other trekkers who took on the challenge in Africa. 

Paul and Katrina live in Wrexham where they raised three children, Rebecca, Megan and Paul’s stepson Jake.

The family has been strong supporters of Nightingale Hospice for many years, a charity they hold close to their hearts. 

Paul said: “There are few families who have been untouched by cancer or other terminal illness, losing loved ones and dear friends.

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"Both Katrina and I have had lost good friends and we have been privileged to witness at first hand the incredible support this hospice provides at the most difficult of times. But it cannot offer the magnificent service it does without ongoing support. It costs a staggering £11,000 every day to run Nightingale House."

Fundraising marathons they have accomplished in the past include Katrina and Paul cycling from Vietnam to Cambodia, and Paul biking from London to Paris.

Speaking about the expedition at the Wrexham Business Professionals group’s Christmas dinner, Paul revealed how more than £110,000 was raised in sponsorship from the energy-sapping ascent in aid of the town’s Nightingale Hospice.

Katrina succumbed to severe dehydration, potentially fatal altitude sickness and desperately struggled to breathe whilst climbing Kilimanjaro.

Mountain guides rushed to her aid, administering oxygen and half carried her at breakneck speed back to base camp.

Recounting the Kilimanjaro expedition, from which his wife is now fully recovered, Paul said it was the hardest challenge of their lives: “We knew it would be tough but it more than exceeded our expectations. That mountain is brutal, it takes every ounce of steel out of you.

“The last hour was the worst. We could see the landmark Kilimanjaro name-sign on the peak, but every step towards it was more and more debilitating. Exhaustion is too small a word for it.

“There was no physical or mental fuel left in any of us, every single breath we took was painful and our legs were dead weights ploughing through the harshest terrain. It is like walking on sand but in minus 16 degrees temperatures.

“The main problem is altitude sickness. The higher you go the worse is gets and it affects everyone differently. No one knows how their body will react. Symptoms range from loss of appetite to nausea, vomiting, disorientation and total incapacitation.”

The Leader: Paul and Katrina Ffoulkes. Paul and Katrina Ffoulkes. (Image: Newsquest)

Paul described the moment when Katrina, started to lose consciousness.

He added: “The altitude was lung-busting and the temperature glacial. I knew Katrina was suffering but there was nothing I could do. I was running on empty myself. When she passed out I could only stand there and watch as the guides sprang into action administering the oxygen. Then they lifted her up and supported her, they ran at full pelt back down the route we had just climbed. I could not have kept pace with them if I had tried.”

Paul didn’t see his wife again until several hours later after they all made their way back down to camp.

“It is definitely one to tick off the bucket list, as well as raising much needed funds for Nightingale House," he added. 

"I feel incredibly proud that we did it. But it was so much tougher than I ever imagined.

“It was five days up and two days down. We were supported by a group of 70 brilliant local guides and porters who were very hardworking and made us humbled to be in their company.”