Walkie Talkies to tackle five mountains for Cathy

Walkie Talkies to tackle five mountains for Cathy

8 June 2016

COMBER woman Cathy Reavy is climbing five mountain peaks in one weekend in a non-stop race to raise money for charity.

Cathy has a severe heart condition but with the help of four friends she is taking on the challenging road trip to raise money for the Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke Association (NICHS).

Teams taking part in the ‘Step up Trek’ event in September have to tackle five mountains, including Slieve Donard and Slieve Gullion, in a non–stop weekend of navigation and trekking. 

Each team needs to check in at each of the summits and return to the finish line within a maximum of 40 hours. Janette McCleave, Christina Gibson, Lynne Peoples and Karen McConnell will be making up team ‘Walkie Talkies’ with Cathy.

Cathy was 26 when she was diagnosed with a hereditary condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is essentially thickening of the heart muscle. 

“It’s a condition that runs in my dad’s side of the family and it was 50/50 if me or my brother would get it,” she explained. “Most of my family carry the defective gene but none have shown any symptoms so we did not need any treatment. Unfortunately I did develop symptoms in 2002, which is typical because I was the only really sporty one amongst us.

“My diagnosis came very suddenly. I was working as an air traffic controller at the City Airport, my dream job, and at the time I was probably the fittest I had ever been.  

“I was feeling light headed and went for tests at the hospital only to be told I wasn’t leaving the hospital because I had a severe heart condition— you can imagine my shock.

“So I had to advise my work of my condition and unfortunately lost my medical which resulted in me losing my job. That was a blow. So not only did I have to deal with the fact I had a heart condition, but also the loss of my job and the loss of the active life I that I had up till then.”

Nine weeks after her diagnosis Cathy was fitted with an ICD — implantable cardioverter defibrillator, which is a pacemaker and defibrillator in one.  

“I have had two box changes since my initial fitting as a result of the battery running out,” said Cathy. “The defib has ‘shocked’ me two times which was quite horrific.

“The condition I have can cause sudden adult death without warning, so I consider myself very lucky considering all the sport I do and have done all my life. I played all sports when I was at school and was Irish javelin champion.  I also competed at International level and three-day eventing on my horse.

“But that all said, I feel blessed to be here and now I have the back up with my ICD to do all the things I want to.  I think it has changed my whole outlook on life. Life is for living and there is a big world out there to explore and enjoy. Never let anyone put limitations on you. You know yourself better than anyone.”

Among Cathy’s recent challenges was the Dirty Rat Race in Burghley, which is the Worlds Longest Obstacle course — 20 miles and 200 obstacles. She also plans the Mourne Wall and the Mourne Way Marathon in July.

“I turn 40 this year and it’s going to be my biggest year for challenges and achievements,” she said. “I will have ticked four things off my bucket list in three months. I did a tandem parachute jump last year, which was really scary.  

“So as you can see I do not let my condition hold me back. I regularly go up the Mournes with my two dogs and do boot camp every morning.  I would like to encourage as many readers as possible to give the NICHS’s new event a go.  I know you won’t be disappointed.

For more information on entering a team in the event, organised with 26 Extreme, visit www.nichs.org.uk/stepuptrek or call Cheryl Brown on 02890 266740.