I have to admit, my prayers the last couple weeks included Aurora native Brian O’Malley, who I wrote about last month as he prepared to climb Mount Everest.
So when the 61-year-old Navy veteran and retired pilot let me know via text a few days ago that his lofty goal of reaching the summit fell short, I was just happy to know the Marmion alum and all-around nice guy was on level ground again.
Even more grateful was his mother back home in Aurora.
Eddie O’Malley admitted she spent the last few weeks doing lots of praying, including rosaries and novenas. And she’s been very appreciative of all the other prayers and support offered by the community, convinced divine intervention played a big role in keeping her son safe.
Likewise, O’Malley credits help from above because he had a couple of real scares, including a near-fatal bout of high-altitude cerebral edema and, as he was being evacuated from the mountain, falling into an unseen crevasse that covered the climber up to his head.
Wife Shelley “said it’s a good thing I have a large brain and actually used it this time,” O’Malley told me, referring to his decision to abort the attempt when he knew he was in trouble.
According to O’Malley, the expedition team had arrived at Base Camp for the second time on April 19, where they trained until trekking through the treacherous Khumbu Icefall. They arrived at Camp 1 on April 25 and five days later left for Camp 2. But as they approached an “extremely dangerous” three-footbridge path about 30 feet long and between two huge crevasses, “I knew something was not quite right.”
Describing himself as “kinda in a fog but with-it enough” to realize this situation was “extremely dangerous,” he “bypassed my typical stubbornness” to tell expedition leader Daniel Mazur, “I think I should stop.”
Mazur agreed, not just because of the dangerous situation but because O’Malley was considerably weakened, having lost his appetite and 20 pounds – possibly due to side effects from the high-altitude medication – since arriving at Base Camp.
After hours of on-again/off-again dropped satellite calls, he was emergency evacuated via helicopter to a hospital in Lukla, Nepal. But even before getting on the aircraft – the Sherpas made a landing pad in the snow in about 10 minutes, he told me – O’Malley suddenly fell “straight through a completely unseen crevasse up to my head.”
Had his arms not stopped him, he added, it’s hard to say how far he would have dropped.
After two Sherpas pulled him out, O’Malley got into the helicopter covered in snow but “just glad at that point” to be on his way to medical help.
“So no summit,” he said, but “glad I got in the arena” to try. Survival, O’Malley added, is “much better.”
Now discharged from the hospital, where he was on an IV and oxygen, he felt “almost back to normal” when he first contacted me on Wednesday. Of course he’s “kinda bummed” about not reaching the top of Everest, “but there’s a tomorrow for me,” O’Malley said. “And it does feel nice to be in a warm room versus a freezing cold tent for the last couple of weeks.”
Once back on U.S.A. ground, O’Malley, who lives in Virginia, plans to undergo surgery for a torn meniscus, a procedure he’s been putting off until after this lofty adventure.
Like his mother, O’Malley is grateful for the prayers and support he’s received from so many. And he hopes his journey has not only inspired others “to go for their dreams,” but that it brought awareness and donations to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which builds homes for fallen first responders and military and is the main reason he attempted to reach the top of the world.
“Brian has touched a lot of people in his lifetime and will continue to do so,” said mother Eddie, adding that “it’s been quite an interesting time for all of us.”
And yes, those times got a little scary back home, particularly when satellite issues made contact difficult.
“But I prayed he would come to his own proper conclusions, which he did,” she said. “I thank God he was prepared for whatever could happen.”
dcrosby@tribpub.com
