In 2016, Jess Harris, a medical student at Bristol University, attended a fundraising event for the Giles Trust, a Charity based within the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity. She was so inspired by the words of Professor Cruickshank, Consultant Neurosurgeon at QEHB, that she decided to take on a personal challenge to raise funds for the Giles Trust.

Jess and her dad, Rob decided to climb the equivalent of 29,029 feet of Mount Everest by the cumulative total of around 17 hill and mountain walks around Britain which they coined the “Everest Challenge”. They started small with Worcestershire Beacon in the Malvern Hills in October 2016, building up to the three peaks of Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis by July 2017, so far they have raised an incredible £3,500!

Jess was diagnosed with an AVM back in 2010 whilst on a music tour in China following a collapse. She had stereotactic radiosurgery, a non-surgical procedure used to treat smaller abnormalities in the brain, in 2011 but reacted badly to the radiation and had to have the following year off school. Fortunately, Jess recovered, completed her A levels and achieved a place at Bristol University to study Medicine. Having completed year one she had further treatment in August 2015, as the tumour had shrunk but was still there at 30% of the original size; the final treatment was November 2015. However after Christmas 2015 she became increasingly unwell culminating in three weeks in QEHB in May 2016. Her brain had swelled so much following the radiation that it was touch and go for a few days and many months of rehabilitation with the support and expertise of Dr Soryal, Neurologist. Happily, with Dr Soryal’s careful monitoring of the situation, Jess’s brain swelling gradually reduced and the seizures she had been experiencing became less frequent.

At the start of the challenge Jess was still experiencing side effects of the swelling and unfortunately had a seizure on her first walk. Over the course of the 16 other walks she battled blurred vision, dizziness and headaches with determination and the continued support of many friends old and new who joined along the way. The final walk was back home in Clent, where over 50 villagers and friends joined her in the final push to the top of the hills and enjoyed a party afterwards.

Jess will always be grateful for the support of Dr Soryal, whose expertise has helped her recover to the point at which she has now returned to Bristol to continue her studies. She hopes to use her experiences as a patient to better inform her in the care and support of patients of her own in the future.

if you would like to support Jess and her dad then go to their JustGiving page here.

Jess has also written a Blog covering all the walks which you can read here.

Back to news