Just one year ago today, Rob Hill stood on top of Mount Everest’s South Summit and became the first person living with an ostomy, the result of Crohn’s Disease, to reach the highest peak on each of the seven continents. Rob’s No Guts Know Glory campaign to raise awareness of intestinal disease and ostomy was a huge success. Together with IDEAS, Rob raised enough money to meet his research funding commitment to the University of British Columbia — which is already making ground-breaking discoveries about intestinal disease!
“I’m very pleased to raise money for research,” said Rob. “When we started IDEAS almost 10 years ago, we created a mandate to increase the quality of life for people living with inflammatory bowel disease in North America. Research plays a vital role in that mandate. We’re proud to be a part of the IDEAS research centre at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus.”
Rob’s No Guts Know Glory Everest Expedition was one of the first to leverage social media to share the climbing story online with a global audience. This was made possible through partnership with expedition partners Abbott Laboratories and ConvaTec. We used videos, photos and words to share the personal-side of climbing with an ostomy. You can read the summit day live blog here, and all of the expedition blog posts using the archives feature on your right.
Although the climbs are complete, the fundraising and awareness work of IDEAS continues. Please donate today to help IDEAS find a cure for inflammatory bowel disease and increase the quality of life for people living through these debilitating illnesses. Please donate online now, or if you’d prefer, send a cheque to the IDEAS office:
IDEAS
#521 – 119 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC, V5L 2N4
All donations over $20 will receive a Canadian tax receipt for charitable giving. For more information on IDEAS and its programs, please click here.
It’s hard to believe that we’re coming up on the one year anniversary of when the No Guts Know Glory 7Summits and the IBD Adventures Everest teams left North America and headed to Nepal to begin the long journey to the top of the world.
The story is still captivating audiences at home. Two publications with major reach recently retold our stories to their audiences and we’re delighted to share them with you today. Both are in PDF format. The first, featuring Rob Hill and Tony Bell is published here, through the Great Comebacks® website. And the second, is in the alumni magazine, Traditions, of Glenlyon-Norfolk School in Victoria, BC. This story is told through an interview with John O’Shaughnessy, the communications professional who went on the climbing trip, and gives a different perspective to the tale many of you are already familiar with. The story starts on page 32. Enjoy!
It’s been a very busy time post Everest climb. I’ve gotten married and spent some important time with my family. I’m still waiting for it to sink in that I climbed the highest mountain in the world-Mt. Everest-and I’ve finished my 8 year quest to climb the 7 Summits-the highest mountain on each of the 7 continents.
I’m still reflecting on that journey and traveling around the world talking to different groups about the climbs on behalf of my sponsors, ConvaTec and Abbott Laboratories. It’s been an amazing journey, not just the climbs but also the opportunities to meet other people living with IBD and/or an ostomy to hear them talk about their lives and experiences.
Before I start to tell the world of my next adventures, I want to introduce some friends of mine. During my travels I have met many incredible like-minded individuals taking on different adventures around the World. I’ll be updating the blog more frequently with posts I’m going to call “Knowing Glory,” sharing stories of other people who have committed to not letting their ostomy surgery or fight with intestinal disease prevent them from living really great lives.
First I would like to introduce Agust. Agust sent me an email a while back about climbing with an ostomy. In that email he shared a few of his adventures with me. We share similar passions so I checked out what he was doing right away. Check out his blog and you will see why I like him so much.
Rob Hill was busy in July volunteering at the Canadian Ostomy Youth Camp in Kananaskis, Alberta and the Ostomy Youth Rally in Cincinnati, Ohio. These two camps provide an opportunity for children and youth in Canada and the USA who have had, or may have to have, bowel or bladder diversionary surgeries an opportunity to get together with other kids facing similar issues. Rob has been a long-time supporter of both events. Recently, Rob’s charitable organization, IDEAS, has got behind these events in a big way and found a way to build on them.
It’s been almost a month since Rob Hill returned from his successful Everest climb and he’s been busy talking to media, appearing for sponsors and reuniting with friends and family. “It’s been an extremely busy last few weeks,” said Rob. “But it’s been worth it. We’ve been appearing in a lot of media articles and shows which has helped the No Guts Know Glory 7Summits awareness campaign greatly. We’ve got a lot of work to do and we need help to get it done. That’s why I’ve been trying to talk to as many people as possible and ask them to help us reach our fund raising goal of one dollar per foot of Everest elevation. We’re trying to raise $29,035 for a new inflammatory bowel disease research facility at the Okanagan campus of the University of British Columbia. I’m happy to report that we’re getting closer to our goal and we’ve raised over $19,000 to date.”
We need your help to achieve Rob’s fund raising goal. Please donate online to IDEAS now, or if you’d prefer, send a cheque to the IDEAS office:
IDEAS
#521 – 119 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC, V6B 1S5
All donations over $20 will receive a Canadian tax receipt for charitable giving. For more information on IDEAS and its programs, please click here.
Whether it is reaching a personal goal – starting a business, making the varsity basketball team, teaching kindergarten or participating in activities with your family – your story can be an inspiration to others. You have the power to provide hope and encouragement to those looking to connect with someone who truly knows their situation.
We encourage you to help in our mission of providing support to those living with serious intestinal diseases like Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, colorectal cancer or others conditions that can lead to ostomy surgery — by submitting a Great Comebacks® application for yourself or someone you know who is living their life with passion.
Now in its third decade, the Great Comebacks® Program, founded in 1984 by legendary San Diego Chargers placekicker Rolf Benirschke, aims to raise awareness about living with serious intestinal diseases and the quality of life that is possible with an ostomy. By educating patients, their families and friends as well as the general public we can help remove the stigma associated with these diseases and having an ostomy.
The deadline is fast approaching for this year’s applications, but there is still time to enter. If you would like to share your story or you know someone who would like to share their story, please visit www.GreatComebacks.com and submit a nomination for yourself or others by July 15, 2010.
Rob Hill is the Great Comebacks® Global Ambassador and his charity IDEAS is proud to be part of this great program. Tony Bell, IBD Adventures Everest trekker is the most recent recipient of the Great Comebacks® Award.
If you have any questions, please contact Etanjalie Ayala at 212-445-8225 or eayala@webershandwick.com.
Rob and Tony are raising funds for the Intestinal Disease Education and Awareness Society. They need your help to reach their $29,035 goal. To help them, please donate online now, or if you’d prefer, send a cheque to the IDEAS office:
IDEAS
#521 – 119 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC, V6B 1S5
All donations over $20 will receive a Canadian tax receipt for charitable giving. For more information on IDEAS and its programs, please click here.
“When I was originally diagnosed, I went from being really active running, skiing, climbing, doing the things I love, to next to nothing. It was totally debilitating. I lost 60 per cent of my body weight and went from 185 pounds to 105. After that I wouldn’t let them weigh me anymore.”
Rob Hill reached the South Summit of Everest on May 25, 2010
Rob Hill’s No Guts Know Glory 7Summits campaign has brought awareness to inflammatory bowel disease around the world. His story has been heard, watched and read millions of times on television, radio, in newspapers and on the web.
As part of Rob’s recent Everest expedition, a dollar per foot fundraising campaign was launched to raise funds for a new IBD research facility under construction at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus in Kelowna, BC. Mount Everest reaches 29,035 feet into the sky – Rob aims to provide $29,035 for IBD research. He’s reached high up on Everest. Can you help him reach his fundraising goal?
To date, thanks to generous donors, IDEAS has received almost $13,000 for this project. We need your help to climb to $29,035. To help Rob reach this lofty goal, please donate online now, or if you’d prefer, send a cheque to the IDEAS office:
IDEAS
#521 – 119 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC, V6B 1S5
All donations over $20 will receive a Canadian tax receipt for charitable giving. For more information on IDEAS and its programs, please click here.
“It was really nice to be greeted in the airport by friends and family,” said Rob. “Coming out of the baggage claim area, seeing my parents and seeing Clinton with some of the other IBD Adventures trekkers was great, but the best for me was seeing the smiling face of my daughter. I’d been looking forward to that moment the whole trip home.”
The No Guts Know Glory team separated in Kathmandu for the flights home, though Darrell, Rob and John O were on the same itinerary through Hong Kong back to Vancouver. Travel back took the better part of three days. We’re all home safe, catching up with friends and family and sharing stories from the mountain while we recover from the jet lag. Rob will be busy over the next week appearing on the news and meeting with reporters to share his experiences with intestinal disease, life with an ostomy and climbing the highest mountain on earth. In the next few days, we’ll have links to many great stories written about the IBD Adventures trek and No Guts Know Glory Everest expedition.
Welcome to the No Guts Know Glory Expedition blog. NGKG is an IDEAS awareness program. In 2010, Rob Hill successfully reached the South Summit of Mount Everest completing his 7Summits campaign. Subscribe to the RSS feed to receive the latest updates as we prepare new adventures to raise awareness of intestinal disease, ostomy and IDEAS.
