26 May 2023
Nurse Ali to climb Kilimanjaro
This June, Nurse Ali, accompanied by Gina the giraffe, will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in support of Southampton Hospitals Charity and the Paediatric High Dependency Unit. This is the highest mountain in the world and will be a truly memorable adventure to take on for their patients.
Ali Boeree is a nurse on the Paediatric High Dependency Unit (PHDU) at Southampton Children’s Hospital. Southampton is the lead centre for intensive care across the south coast, caring for critically ill children who require a higher dependency of care due to complex illness or injuries, and has increased nursing support.
Ali says, “After the pressures of the last few years, I decided to take a year off work to travel around the world and thought it would be perfect to finish the journey by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro for my patients.
Accompanying me step of the way is Gina the giraffe. Thanks to the generosity of a past family who raised money for the unit following their child’s long admission, every child admitted to PDHU receives a small giraffe teddy.
They hope this will make their hospital stay a bit less scary, providing comfort during what is an inevitably stressful experience.
I knew that I had to do something special in support of my patients, which is why I chose to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. The climb starts on 30 June, and we should summit on 7 July.
Rising to 5895m above sea level, it is the tallest mountain in Africa and one of the infamous Seven Summits. Training is crucial for a challenge like this so Gina and I have taken on some demanding treks throughout our travels including The Annapurna Circuit in the Himalayas, The Lost City Trek in Colombia and the W-Trek in Patagonia.
Help us support the inspirational and lifesaving work being done by the team on PHDU so they can continue to improve children’s experiences in hospital in the future.”
Follow their journey here.
