Dad who suffered heart attack while climbing Ben Nevis finally conquers peak alongside woman who saved his life
16.08.2022 - 13:51
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
A dad has finally conquered Ben Nevis alongside the woman who saved his life after he suffered a heart attack on his first attempt.
Trevor Botwood was climbing the mountain - the UK's highest - with his sister Irene Metcalfe in August 2020. But roughly halfway up he collapsed due to a heart attack - just when physiotherapist Courtney Ferguson was descending.
She performed CPR until emergency workers, who arrived by helicopter, took over. Bricklayer Trevor, 63, was then rushed to hospital, where he was fitted with three stents.
Now, two years on and after making a full recovery, he has finally reached Nevis' peak. And he was joined on the climb by Courtney - with the pair sharing a well-earned pint at the bottom.
Trevor, from Bramley, Leeds said: "I always said I'm going back up that mountain one day.
"With the whole Covid thing, it put everything on hold, but it was a good thing really because last year I wouldn't have been ready, but this year I was. I was absolutely elated, I was confident I would do it.
"When I was walking up, I thought I've nailed this but I always had confidence in my fitness, because we'd done walks building up to it. I go out walking every Saturday.
"We were so prepped for it, everyone took it seriously, and it's a fair trek up there and you have to respect it. I respect that mountain."
Trevor and Irene, 71, had attempted to reach Nevis' 1,345m peak on August 8, 2020, as they had always said they wanted to do it together.
But he suffered a heart attack during the ascent. Luckily, Courtney was on her way down and passed Trevor and Irene as he was suffering.
She performed CPR - the first time she had ever had to use the skill in a real situation - and tended to Trevor until paramedics arrived.
Trevor's