Seizures won't stop survivor's climb for cancer

Ran on Thursday, June 26, 2007

Seizures won't stop survivor's climb for cancer

By Keighla Schmidt
Leader-Telegram staff

To attempt to fight breast cancer, some people get mammograms, conduct monthly breast exams or take note of their genetic history of the disease.
Jo Lindoo will climb a mountain.
The Eau Claire resident had planned to climb Mount Shasta in California with WQOW-TV 18 news anchor Brooke Allyson on July 6 through the Breast Cancer Fund.
However, Lindoo won't be able to because she has seizures resulting from the removal of a cancerous brain tumor 12 years ago. Because the Mount Shasta climb is very technical, Lindoo's application was denied.
"I wasn't too sad I couldn't climb with them," she said. "I just decided to climb one on my own."
Instead, Lindoo will climb Mount Quandary, near Breckenridge, Colo., on Thursday, July 5, with her friend, Gretchen Beckstrom, also from Eau Claire. Sonja Gilbertson from Strum will go along to photograph the seven- to nine-hour climb.
They left Wednesday to get acclimated to the environment.
"Since I had brain cancer, that's what motivated me," Lindoo said. "When you're preventing breast cancer, you're preventing all cancer."
Lindoo has suffered from secondary seizures since the brain-tumor removal. When a seizure is approaching, Lindoo is aware and does not lose control of her body.
The duration is typically 15 seconds, and she usually makes an audible sound while her head jerks to the right.
The frequency varies and is not related to stress, sleep deprivation or elevation, but it can range from once a day to once a month.
Because she always maintains control, falling off the mountain is not a fear.
Despite the tumor being near the area of the brain that controls motor skills, the occasional seizures are the side effect, Lindoo said.
The Breast Cancer Fund annually organizes "Climb Against the Odds." Forty participants each try to raise $5,000 and climb a mountain.
"When I first heard about the climb," Lindoo said, "I thought it would be a huge commitment but a great way to challenge myself to get up that mountain."
The climb blended with her routine as a personal trainer. She has trained alongside her students.
Because of the seizures, she can't drive. She bikes year-round.
To prepare for her climb, she has been running a steep hill in the country near Eau Claire Orchards.
Beckstrom climbed Mount Quandary about 15 years ago.
"I very much admire Jo's drive. She is a survivor herself. I really respect her gung-ho attitude," Beckstrom said.
Lindoo, who has climbed three other mountains, began raising her $5,000 in January and reached her goal by the end of March. She then increased her goal to $8,000. To date, she has raised $6,500 through 93 donations from friends and family. Donations can be sent even after the climb.
Schmidt can be reached at 833-9203 or keighla.schmidt@ecpc.com.