FORMER Queen Elizabeth’s School student, Hannah Morgan climbed Mera Peak in Nepal to raise money for Neverest Orthopaedics, to build a Spinal Rehab Unit.

The 30-year-old, currently based in the Middle East working as a paediatric Physiotherapist in a specialist children’s hospital in Doha, Qatar, has recently returned from summiting Nepal highest trekking peak.

Arranged by the westcountry based not-for profit organisation M2M, the expedition was the brainchild of two ex-professional rugby players, Ed Jackson and Olly Barkley. M2M was started after Jackson sustained a life changing spinal cord injury.

Six days after his life saving spinal surgery, having been warned he may never walk again, Ed was able to flick his big toe. He spent months undergoing intensive rehabilitation in the RUH, Bath, and Salisbury spinal rehab unit. He said: “The next few months became a series of moments.

“The elation every time you’d get a little win was more than anything I’d experienced in sport.”

Once Jackson could walk he decided to climb Snowdon to coincide with the first anniversary of his injury. He started fundraising to pay back the money charities had given him. He wanted to start helping and on the April 1, 2018 he reached the summit of Snowdon along with 70 supporters.

After this he was approached by a former teammate’s father who had worked with a Nepalese spinal charity for some years.

A year-and-a-half later Hannah joined Jackson as part of a group of 14 in an attempt to summit the Himalayas highest trekking peak. The group decided to take on the mountain which stands at 21,000ft (6476m) above sea level to raise money to build a spinal rehabilitation centre in Nepal.

Supporting the charity Neverest Orthopaedics, Hannah has so far raised more than £2,000 (GBP) as part of the teams goal of raising $250,000 which is required to purchase the land and build a second centre in Chitwan, Nepal, an 18 hour drive from the current facility which is located in Kathmandu.

Hannah explained: “As part of our trip, we were lucky enough to visit the current spinal rehab centre in Nepal, and I was really impressed.

"The centre treats 250 patients a year, and has 28 full time physiotherapist and occupational therapist along with medics, nurses and psychologists.

“There are multiple gym areas, outdoor mobility areas as well as a hydrotherapy pool.

“Really it is on a par with the therapy provided by most western centres. And it is completely charity funded.”

Hannah, who spent her 30th birthday on the mountain, has recently returned to Doha after the three week hike and reports it was the experience of a lifetime.

“Summit day, and the day preceding it, were by far the hardest things I have ever experienced, both physically and emotionally. But at the same time, it was absolutely incredible.

“On summit day we were faced with temperatures of -30’c and walked for almost five hours in the pitch black before watching the sunrise over the Himalayas.”

At 0900, six hours after starting, the group reached the summit and were left with incredible views, which included five of the six highest mountains in the world, Everest (8848m), Kangchenjunga, Lhotse (8516m), Makula (8485m) and Cho Oyo (8188m)

Hannah is still taking donations for Neverest Orthopaedics via her justgiving page at: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/hmorgs .

More information about the M2M group can be found on Instagram @m2mclimb or at: www.them2mgroup.com .