Lianne Henri went to new heights in December to honour her late cousin.
Anne Henri died in December 2015 from complications associated with lupus. She was 42 years old and a nurse with NEOKids.
Since her death, a number of family members have taken some of Anne's ashes and spread them in different locations around the world.
When Lianne was contemplating where she wanted to take ashes, she came across information for a trek to the base camp of Mount Everest.
"After Anne passed away, I thought about living my life every day to the best of my ability," Lianne said. "I came across this idea, of putting her ashes at the top of the world, the most beautiful place the world.
"Anne wasn't only my cousin, she was my big sister, and one of my closest friends. She was my confidant, and for as long as I can remember, I've always looked up to her."
She booked the trip at the end of August last year, and planned her trip for Christmas.
"I thought, 'Oh my God, what have I done? I don't know the first thing about climbing a mountain,'" she said.
She trained for her trip by climbing 200 flights of stairs daily in her condominium building in Toronto. She left on Dec. 12 for her trip, and spent 12 days traversing Mt. Everest to its base camp, 5,100 metres up the mountain.
"It was really tough, but the whole way I thought of Anne, and that I was happy that I was able to do this. There were days I wanted to quit. Almost every morning, I woke up thinking I can't do this, but then I'd think about Anne and why I'm here, and just because I can, I will, I soldiered on and pushed through."
Long days of eight- to 12-hour hikes is what it took to get to base camp, she said. That's where she placed Anne's ashes, and marked them with a pile of stones.
There were many highs and a few lows along the way, including the death of another woman who had become so stricken with altitude sickness, she died on the trail before a helicopter could take her to a hospital.
The negatives were far outweighed by the positives, though. The view at the base camp was astonishing, she said. She also got to watch the sun rise over Mt. Everest after she reached Kala Patthar.
"It was truly the best moment on the trip," she said.
Oh, she also fell in love with a man from London, England.
Lianne was the only Canadian in a group full of people from the UK. Among her group was Simon, a man from London, England. They noticed right away there was chemistry between them.
"When you're trekking for eight or 10 hours a day, there's nothing left to do but talk to people and really get to know them," she said. "It was on Christmas day that we officially told everyone else we were a couple.
"I 100 per cent believe Anne brought Simon and me together. I know she was watching over me.
On Friday, Lianne presented a cheque for $2,175 to the NEOKids Foundation. Before she set off on her trip, she requested people donate money for NEOKids, because she knows how much it meant to her cousin.
Her family gathered at Health Sciences North to greet her. It was the first time many of them had seen her since she arrived home at the beginning of January.
Anne's mother, Gisele Henri, said she first thought Lianne was crazy for wanting to climb Mt. Everest, but now that it's done, she's overwhelmed with emotion.
"Lianne has an unbelievable strength, and I know Anne was with her the whole time," Gisele said. "Anne's ashes have been going all over the world, because lots of family members are taking them and spreading them, but I never would have thought they'd be on Mt. Everest. I think it's wonderful. Anne's love and determination in life needs to be spread around the world. She was an amazing girl."
As for Lianne, making trips like this and maybe raising money for charitable organizations “might just become a thing,” she said. It would literally be difficult to top a trip to the base camp of Mt. Everest, but she is a SCUBA diver.
