Moving mountains

Lifestyle — By Kathi Gadow

She had a big decision to make. Aside from the risk of suffering muscle spasms, dizziness or other symptoms during the ascent, climbers with MS, “deal with a heightened level of exhaustion,” Rick Clark, director of wellness and physical education at Milwaukee Turners Gymnasium, says. “There’s also a lucidity issue with semi-consciousness as you get into exertion at reduced oxygen.” He says climbers with MS often must exert much more effort to achieve the same goals as healthy climbers, especially since generally they’re carrying 65-pound backpacks and pulling heavy sleds.

At first, Winckler was convinced she couldn’t do it.

“I’m thinking… my MS must be different,” she recalls. “This is a disease that stays with you for your life. That has to sink in.”

But Winckler was torn. She felt a connection to Schneider, the first person with MS she met after being diagnosed with the disease. Winckler also understood why Schneider climbed the seven summits: it was a desire, Schneider says, born, “out of fear of not having the use of my legs much anymore.”

That same fear is what drives Winckler to continue working and exercising, even if some days are harder than others.

“It means a lot to me to stay functional,” Winckler says. “I’m afraid if I stop, then I won’t be able to [stay functional] anymore.”

Winckler’s husband, Patrick, encouraged her to take the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to climb Kilimanjaro. She told him she would try.

“At some point you have to get up, brush yourself off,” she says. “So I had to make a choice: are you done, or are you going to get up?”

To prepare for the climb next July, she’s taking small steps: swimming laps and going up and down stairs at a local park. “Having a goal can sometimes mean the world,” Winckler says. “At least you’re working toward something instead of sitting there doing nothing.”

About 30 people have signed up for the Kilimanjaro climb, Schneider says. Half the group has MS, the other half are supporters and medical personnel companions.

In 2008, Schneider founded Empowerment Through Adventure, which organizes mountaineering expeditions. She also started an “Adopt a Climber” scholarship program to help people with MS climb Kilimanjaro.

“The whole goal is to empower other people who have been diagnosed and remind them not to be afraid to try,” she says. “None of us know what we can do until we get out there and give it a shot.”

And Schneider says Winckler has been an inspiration. “She maintains this positive outlook, even on days that her disease gets tough.”

In the coming months, Winckler will continue to train for the July ascent. It is a process, she says, that is helping her see past the “label” of MS.

“MS is a label that will set you back all by itself,” Winckler says. “It will stop you from doing what you can do… I have to be who I am, not what the label says I am.”

And when she feels down, she thinks of Schneider.

“She got up,” Winckler says. “And not only did she get up, she went all the way to the top of a mountain. Holy smokes, she wasn’t messing around.”

Tags: Gadow, MS