From heart transplant to Sahara Desert: Fraser’s journey of a lifetime
When Fraser Wilson received a life-saving heart transplant at NHS Golden Jubilee, he never imagined that a few years later he would be trekking more than 110 kilometres across the Sahara Desert.
But that’s exactly what he did – turning his second chance at life into an extraordinary adventure, joining a group of 30 trekkers from Lloyds Banking Group where he works to raise funds for Crisis, the homelessness charity.
The challenge began with a flight to Marrakech, followed by a gruelling 10-hour minibus journey over the Atlas Mountains to the starting point and, from there, the group spent four full days and two half days trekking through one of the harshest environments on earth.
Fraser tells us: “The landscape was like something from another world – vast, empty and silent. We walked through deep sand dunes, rocky hills and endless plains. It was properly barren apart from a few scrubs and trees, there was nothing but sand and rock.”
Each day, a basic camp was set up for the group, complete with a makeshift ‘shower’, which was basically a basin and cup. Temperatures swung from freezing nights (0–5°C) to scorching days in the 30s, and sleep was hard to come by thanks to snoring tent-mates.
Fraser, from Glasgow, admits the trek was a huge physical and mental challenge, but his training and determination paid off.
“The hardest part mentally was walking in the middle of nowhere with no landmarks to aim for. Our Moroccan guides, Hussain and Radwan, were amazing at keeping us on track.
“I was walking in a group of 30 and our camaraderie kept us all going – we sang, talked, laughed and stomped our way through the desert in consistently high spirits.
“It was really emotional at two particular points – the second last day we did a steady 4km walk uphill on a huge plain away from camp. When we got to the top, I turned and looked back at camp, which was clearly visible but looked miles away, and I was overwhelmed by the awesomeness of the landscape, but also absolutely knackered from the long walk uphill.
“The second time I got emotional was when we were welcomed into camp on the last night at the end of another long day’s trekking – there were a lot of tears, hugs and relief from everyone in the group and the feeling of elation was palpable.
“I can still see the desert when I close my eyes and the memories of this once in a lifetime challenge will live with me forever.”
Fraser admits he was nervous about the trek due to doubts about being able to cope with the trek and whether it would affect his health adversely.
“My fears were completely unfounded because the trek was so well organised by Charity Challenge that we had first aiders and doctors walking with us and amazing support throughout.
“Everybody on the trek had their own personal motivation for being there. Mine was to challenge myself physically and mentally, to achieve something that I didn’t think I’d ever be able to do - and definitely wouldn’t have been able to do pre-transplant -as well as to raise as much money as I could for Crisis.
“I got the chance to share my transplant story and the benefits of organ donation to everyone I spoke to. There was an overwhelming feeling of support from the group and the number of people who said it had changed their minds and educated them about organ donation, so hopefully it’s had a positive effect on them from that point of view.
“This trek has energised me. I feel like I can do anything now.”
Fraser has smashed his fundraising target of £4,000, his total now sitting at more than £11,000. His fundraising page is still open and, if you fell inspired by his story, you can help him raise even more on the link on the below.
