Dollars and ascents

June 30, 2011

Doctors among Kilimanjaro climbers raising funds for hip, knee health

EDMONTON — Not every fundraiser takes you to the rooftop of Africa but Kilimanjaro Climb 2011 will see a dedicated crew of climbers trek 19,340 feet to the peak of the fabled mountain on behalf of the new Orthopedic Surgery Centre at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.

“We were looking for something new and unique for a fundraiser,” says Sharlene Rutherford, Vice President of the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation, which hopes to raise $575,000. “I thought it might be difficult to find people to participate in this climb. Just the opposite — the response was quick and enthusiastic.”

Rutherford signed onto the 37-member team that comprises doctors, professionals and business owners from the Edmonton area, as well as Alberta Health Services Board Chair Ken Hughes. Team Kilimanjaro.

“I don’t have experience in alpine climbing at all,” she admits. “My first climb was earlier this month (June 18) when our team made a practice climb up Morro Peak (5,506 feet) in Jasper National Park.”

The Kilimanjaro climb will take place Aug. 8-19. Albertans who wish to support the fundraiser can give through the foundation website: kilimanjaro.royalalex.org

“On a very personal level, we’ve always wanted to climb that mountain,” says Debby Carlson, foundation chair when the decision was made to tackle Kilimanjaro, who will also hike to the heavens with her husband Mike Percy, former business dean of the University of Alberta.

“A few years ago, we camped at the base, looked up and knew we had to come back. We’ve been training mountains and stairs. And also drinking less red wine. Don’t forget about that,” she says, laughing.

Expedition team members pay all their travel expenses; plus each has pledged to raise at least $5,000. The money will be used to buy a third computer navigation system for the Orthopedic Surgery Centre, which guides surgeons with absolute laser precision in the cutting of bone and placement of artificial hips and knees.

“I’ve done some climbing before but never high-altitude climbing,” says Dr. Don Dick, medical lead of Bone and Joint Health in Edmonton, who will also lace up his mountain boots. “I’m excited by the place. Phenomenally interesting. It has charisma. Travelling there as a student, I always looked up at the mountain and wondered, ‘Some day?’ Now is my opportunity.”

Of the new technology, Dick adds: “Navigation offers a more precise way of putting the implants in the patients. It’s more accurate; we can use a smaller incision. There’s less trauma at the time of surgery; the patient can mobilize more quickly. Over the long term, when the (joint) is inserted more precisely, it lasts longer.”

Leading the expedition is Ben Webster, who’s fronted more than 30 major expeditions on five of the world's continents. Webster will also head a team of documentary filmmakers who will chronicle the climb and emotional journey of the Edmonton climbers as they ascend Mount Kilimanjaro.

Long-time foundation supporter Burke Perry, president of Burke Homes in Edmonton, intends to mark a milestone birthday on the slopes of Kilimanjaro on Aug. 13.

“Turning 55? Yeah, rub it in. The big five-five,” he says. “Climbing Kilimanjaro is something I never would have done on my own. But it just seemed like a great opportunity.”

Also joining the climbing team are four Canadian Forces soldiers — Warrant Officer Quinn Beggs, Corporal Mark Fuchko, Corporal Lucas Mullens and Corporal Dallas White — who are currently recovering from injuries sustained while serving in Afghanistan. Fuchko says he’s really excited to be a part of Kilimanjaro Climb 2011. While on duty in 2008, he was wounded and later lost both legs below the knee; today, he’s up for the climb of a lifetime.

The newly opened Orthopedic Surgery Centre in Edmonton — a 56-bed, stand-alone facility dedicated solely to hip and knee replacements — will serve as a hub of orthopedics excellence in northern Alberta but its impact will be felt across the province as part of an integrated, provincewide network of bone and joint care.

Together with the Alberta Bone and Joint Health Institute – the provincial organization for bone and joint health and research – and its partner, the McCaig Institute in Calgary, this innovative network will create a new standard of bone and joint health excellence for all Albertans.

As a leave-behind gift to Africa, Kilimanjaro Climb 2011 will also give $50,000 to the Canadian Network for International Surgery (CNIS) to enhance surgical and obstetrical training at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Moshi, Tanzania.

“Africa is helping us raise money,” says Rutherford. “We want to leave something there besides our footprints.”

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