If I am in the mood I cannot stop writing, and today is one of those days, so if you enjoyed reading the rubbish I write (Like my recent G/TW-001 activation report) you might enjoy reading this.
If you have been SOTA activating for some years and have saved the GPX information from climbing up to repeat summits, you may like to compare what has happened to your body in that time, compared to what has happened to mine.
In September 2018 after a dreadful day strugglng walking solo around the summits of GW/NW-018 Moelwyn Mawr and GW/NW-025 Allt-fawr I went to the doctors and was diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation. On that walk I had to stop every few hundred yards to get my breath and for some strength to come back into my arms and legs so I could continue walking. This had never happened to me before. I had always been a strong climber. I was prescribed blood thinning medication which thins your blood and makes you feel the cold. Atrial fibrillation is when your heart rate fluctuates over and above a certain amount. It is best measured using ECG but a health care professional can detect it by listening to your heart with a stethoscope.
In autumn 2019 after a SOTA Expedition to Czech Republic I was struck down with heart failure. There was insufficient strength in my heart to move the fluid that was building up in my lungs. I had became a victim of heart failure with a blood flow rate through my heart measured with an echocardiagram of 32% - almost half of what it should have been for a man of 67 years. At this time my SOTA activation and outdoor activity career was over for a few months until I was diagnosed and went on the road to recovery during the period of the Covid Pandemic. I was prescribed 5 more types of heart medication in addition to the blood thinner and was fitted with a defibrillating Pacemaker in 2021 - the surgeon said I needed to have this due to my solitary walking as it would be a wise thing to do, in case I had a heart attack in the middle of nowhere. (Always let the doctor know about SOTA is my advice here!). The CRT-D pacemaker has only debrillated me four times, it comes as a shock (LOL) and this all happened on the same day whilst walking in the countryside with friends, but not when I was doing SOTA!
I started activating SOTA in 2005, and I made my first visit to G/TW-001 on 16th February 2006 as a fit and healthy man aged 53. Now I am 72.
I’ve taken the trouble to record a GPX track of my ascents from Clay Bank to G/TW-001 on five occasions over the years. I have approached the summit from other directions or not saved the data on seven occasions so I have discounted those GPX tracks. Assuming that I answered a short call of nature on each walk to the summit which I would have expected, and taken the occasional photgraph, these are my ascent times compared on each walk to the summit:
Distance from road to summit 1.82 miles - 650 feet ascent
Age 53 2006 41 minutes
Age 59 2010 42 minutes (Whilst walking Wainwrights Coast to Coast)
Age 69 2021 44 minutes
Age 70 2023 51 minutes
Age 72 2025 51 mnutes
So there you are, interesting don’t you think? I made a really significant recovery after the CRT-D Pacemaker was fitted in 2021, aged 69. My heart was measured then and showed a 50% blood flow through the relevant heart chamber then which was incredible and fantastic news fo rme - the best one can expect twhen you have been diagnosed with heart failure, which is also known as Cardiomyopathy.
Since 2021 is seems that my cardio-vascular performance has fallen off somewhat, but I am still able to enjoy to some extent, the SOTA side of the amateur radio hobby aas well as the other parts of it as well. Operating outside the UK on holidays in the spring, summer and autumn I find is the most interesting and several tours are planned this year to activate in France, Germany, Serbia and possibly Switzerland.
I know many other operators are challenged with the their health or their loss of sensory functions or neurological functions, but many of us with some condition or other are still doing great things in SOTA and long may this continue!
73 Phil G4OBK