On December 22nd 2014 – the morning of my 45th birthday (I LOVE my birthday….Im like a big kid as soon as I wake up and love celebrating that Ive reached another milestone – Ive made it through another year!) I leapt out of bed, organized and changed into my training gear/SBH Qld shirt…and excitedly jumped into the car, driving to RockIt Climbing Gym at Warana on the Sunshine Coast, in the anticipation of knowing that ‘my Wall’ was waiting for me to Climb it!
Not only did I Climb it, but I reached far more than I ever thought I may manage to Climb (realistically I had no idea how high I would actually be able to go – even if I got a couple of metres of the ground, that would have been awesome) – but managing to climb 6 metres off the ground (the wall is 8 metres high) – AMAZING feeling! Throughout my training, and the many months lead-up – I had visualised reaching the very top of my Wall…but am completely happy (and a bit amazed!) that I managed to reach as high as I did, to be honest!
I smashed it, pushed through a bit of a fear that came up..and I WILL be back at RockIt to get right to the top! It wasn’t easy….and it took many months of hard training to be able to achieve it….but absolutely every bit of effort, time, and energy I put into it in the months leading to this day – not to mention the pain and fatigue I felt in the days afterwards…its all SO worth it!
“People helping People…”
THIS RIGHT HERE is what Life is all about! People helping People…and pushing yourself to achieve exactly what you want to achieve, with the support you need – even if you’re not sure how you’re going to do it! I feel so blessed to have received such incredible support from this beautiful group of people to achieve what I did – they knew I wanted to achieve it, so they all surrounded me, and did what they needed, to make it happen. The RockIt Team – you ROCK! xx —
Royce (RockIt Climbing Gym owner), Hannah (who came up with me as my little security blanket haha – Hannah was amazing with me up there, staying by my side the entire way…but at the same time letting me ‘do all the work’ myself), Glenn (my ‘belay’ – holding onto the rope strapped to my harness), and Megan – YOU are all amazing! From that first day I went into RockIt in my wheelchair and approached Royce about Climbing the Wall….to on the day, the crew rallying around and doing what needed to be done, to make it happen – what a humbling, and incredible (and also adrenaline-filled) experience! A huge THANK YOU, to everyone at Rockit Climbing Gym for doing whatever had to be done to Make today Happen…you are all amazing people! Now THAT is a perfect way to celebrate my birthday!! 🙂 Reaching the age of 45yrs old, with my spina bifida and hydrocephalus (there have been a number of times in my life which I didn’t know whether I was going to ‘still be here at 45’) was a magic milestone age which was really important to me to reach – and to celebrate it in such an amazing way “Well Life, Im still here – and I’m ROCKING it!” haha…such a special feeling to show Life itself, what Im (still) made of despite the uncertainty of my health and life itself, when living with these disabilities!
“Did it…Got the Tshirt!”
“Did it….Got the T-shirt!” haha…I have to say, that was so much fun, having that ‘reward’ waiting for me towards the top of the Wall – thanks Royce! About a week before my Climb, I went into RockIt Climbing and while I was there I asked Royce how much the t-shirts were, as I wanted to buy one. He wouldn’t tell me…but instead had a cheeky glint in his eye while he said “You want the shirt do you? You want it (pointing to the top of the Wall) – you’re going to have to EARN it!”….oooohhh it seems he knows me too well haha – he knew I’d love the challenge!
THE MORNING AFTER LIVING A DREAM!
(words I posted on my Facebook page the day after my Climb – and a week later I was STILL sore, and exhausted! Haha)
“OOOooohhhh I’m a little bit sore this morning….Well…a LOT sore – let alone even trying to think today – Im exhausted! Feeling every bit my age today – my core/abs feel like they’ve been torn to shreds – and don’t even mention my arms…ouchhhh! haha. But what Im going through today, is worth every single bit of pain and fatigue, to experience all the magic of yesterday – and the wonderful memories now pouring through my mind!
Yesterday was amazing on so many levels – even after my Rock Wall Climb! Throughout the day I had many ‘bucketlist moments’ – it really is true, once you start living a life of following your passion, it surrounds you, and captures you, on the outside and deep inside you, wherever you go! The day was scattered with some awesome unexpected moments:
– before I did my Rock Wall Climb, chatting to someone at RockIt about certain big plans I have for next year, and the possibility of having this person (who also inspires me, with their drive, and awesome mindset) on board with these plans (an awesome moment, right there!)
– My Rock Wall Climb itself
– Receiving a phonecall later in the day about some SBH QLD (Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Queensland) fundraising plans for 2015 – and I have dates locked in already, now! Yay! (bring on January 17th at Sunshine Plaza, Maroochydore as my first official Fundraising/Awareness Day for SBH Qld in 2015)
– When at the beach on sunset last night to end off an incredible day for my birthday, I got chatting to someone down there about my Rock Wall Climb and bucketlist, receiving awesome encouragement and compliments towards what Im now doing with my life – and how it would affect others as well (which is a very rewarding aspect of ‘what I do’ with my life now)
– Arrived home to emails to further cement plans for 2015. 2015 hasn’t even arrived and its looking amazing already! BRING IT ON!”
WOW….what an incredible experience! Looking forward to geting back to RockIt, and GO GET those top 2 metres! 🙂
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE….when you Believe that you can Climb to great heights!
#161. Attempt to Climb a Rock Wall – TICK!!
Chasing my Dreams! 
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