Three women have just summited Europe's tallest mountain in a bid to raise funds for the recovery of a three-year-old Maltese boy who suffers from cerebral palsy.

Tezara Camilleri, Celine Xuereb and Sofia Sarkas reached the peak of Mount Elbrus in Russia on Tuesday at the end of a gruelling five-day climb.

After weeks of training around Malta's hills, the three friends packed their gear and headed to the foot of the 5,642 metre mountain.

They left their base on Friday and after climbing through the slippery, icy slopes of the mountain, amid freezing temperatures, they planted their flags at the top of the mountain.

"The greatest challenge was after the saddle, the part between the two peaks. The wind was strong and the steps of previous climbers were being covered by the snow. We had to clip onto a safety rope," Ms Xuereb said. 

Julian with the three climbers before his operation.Julian with the three climbers before his operation.

But their quest to help the child who captured the hearts of many provided them with the necessary fuel to complete their mission.

“We were inspired by Julian's strength and we thought it would be great for us to challenge ourselves and use a blessing we have which is often overlooked: our legs. When we met Julian before his surgery he kept asking his mother whether he will get new legs. That touched me deeply,” Ms Sarkas said.

Celine Xuereb.Celine Xuereb.

Born prematurely at 32 weeks, Julian Camilleri started tilting and falling sideways whenever he tried to sit up at age six months. Within four months, he was referred to the Child Development Assessment Unit, and soon after the child was diagnosed as having spastic diplegia – a form of cerebral palsy.

He has just undergone life-changing surgery in the US and will now spend years in intensive therapy.

Read: Young Julian soldiers on as parents keep pushing for progress

"I feel not enough attention is given to children with disabilities and special needs, more so for the recovery period after surgeries, when the expense is never-ending,” Ms Sarkas added.

Their mother Tanya Camilleri Haber said: "Doctors told us that he will continue to improve till he reaches age 10. So he has to work hard to gain the strength needed, through intensive physio therapy, hydrotherapy, hippo therapy. I can never thank these girls enough for their nobel initiative. They left us speechless."

Tezara, Celine and Sofia after scaling the summit.Tezara, Celine and Sofia after scaling the summit.

The three women said the climb was tougher than Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, which they scaled together in 2016.

Ms Camilleri admits she struggled especially towards the end of the mission.

“I kept spotting Celine's Maltese flag ahead of me and that gave me the push to keep climbing. But the plus point is that we reached the summit during daylight."

The struggle was not simply trying to scale the mountain, but in actually trying to get accustomed to mountain gear.

“The guides just couldn't understand that we didn't know how to wear crampons (footwear to improve mobility on ice during climbing). And I kept repeating – we're Maltese and the only ice we see is in a cocktail,” Ms Camilleri said.

The three are expected back in Malta next week.

Donations for Julian are accepted via https://gogetfunding.com/recoverjulian/

 

 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.