Day 21: Egypt with 50% lung function
The Great Pyramid I walked around the base of the Great Pyramid. If tourists were allowed to climb it, I probably would have given it a go. Instead, I used the Robber’s Tunnel to climb to the resting place of Khufu. The Robber’s Tunnel is a narrow, airless passage. The air quality is extremely low. For most of the climb, I was bent double, barely able to breathe. At the resting point, where most people stayed long enough to catch their breath before they continued, I needed to stand, and just breathe for ten minutes. Even then, I could not properly regain my breath. A constant stream of people squeezed past me whenever I paused and tried to pull a little more oxygen into my lungs. But I had come many kilometres to climb this tunnel. And so I pulled air into my lungs and forced myself to keep climbing. It took me three times as long to climb than most other people, but I made it. Reaching the King’s chamber with a lung function of 1.6 litres remains one of my proudest achievements. Valley of the Kings My second challenge was at the Valley of the Kings — once again hot and crowded, but this time, the tombs had industrial fans to increase the air circulation. Increased air circulation sounds like a good idea in theory, but the tombs were also somewhat dusty. The fans created a whirlwind of dust. I pretty much sucked at breathing to begin with — so breathing through a cloth to keep the dust out of my airways was not my strong point. But I wasn’t going to let anything stop me.
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Written bySandi Parsons - Cystic Fibrosis Warrior. |