Getting There One Step at a Time: Part 2 – Love in Every Step
By Day 3 of hiking Kilimanjaro, altitude sickness hit me hard on the slow climb from Shira II to Lava Tower to reach 15,000 feet in elevation. From the start that morning, I was sick, weak, and at times unsure if I could keep going. I felt like the flu had reached up, smacked me down, and taken over my body.
But the team at Seven Summits Kilimanjaro (https://www.7summitskilimanjaro.com/) gathered around me. The owner and expert climber, Respicius Baitwa, hung back with me and kept his medic nearby to provide treatments when needed. Both Respicius and Dr. G. slowed their pace, carried extra weight, and even held my hand as I took painfully slow, weak steps up that final ascent to our meeting spot for lunch at Lava Tower.
In those moments, I learned a truth more fully than I had ever experienced in my life—to be taken care of so fully was a gift that both overwhelmed me and expanded who I was as a person. I have always been “a giver.” And, I have experienced the full love of being a mother, a leader, and a healer. Yet, to be loved and cared for so fully was both a gift and a moment of growth for me. I had to truly honor both myself and those who were caring for me and acknowledge that I was worthy of insurmountable love, help, and support to make it up that mountain. It was both humbling and beautiful!
Along the trail, I also met Tanzanian families who dream of better education and brighter futures for their children. They pursue growth while keeping family and love at the center of their life and daily work as porters and guides. That reminder grounded me. I could release old resentments and hold onto what matters most—connection, kindness, and love.
Climbing Kilimanjaro became more than a mountain. It became a place to practice love and belonging, to trust in others, and to see myself as part of something larger. It offered a vista of a culture that embraces empathy like no other I have seen or experienced before. It gave me the experience of feeling small in a vast world. While it offered the biggest physical challenge of my life, it reminded me of the small moments of human connection that make life worth living.