Staffordshire stroke survivor in Everest expedition

A woman who has taken three years to regain her fitness following a stroke is taking part in an Everest trek.

Jeanette Mountford, from the Staffordshire Moorlands, collapsed at home in 2016 after a meal with her partner.

On Monday, the 47-year-old began a nine-day expedition to Everest's base camp to raise funds for the hospital which helped her recover.

While she will not climb the mountain, she calls her feat "astounding".

She said the trip followed a stroke that had given her a "completely different perspective on the world and life".

It was three years ago that Ms Mountford was at home, talking to her partner's parents, when she "froze".

She had partial paralysis and was taken to Royal Stoke Hospital where a blood clot was found in her brain.

She was treated and within hours regained mobility, which, she said, left consultants stunned.

But during monitoring it was discovered she had a hole in the heart, which was repaired in 2017.

It took her three years to get back to full fitness, she said.

Ms Mountford is raising funds for University Hospitals North Midlands, the trust which runs Royal Stoke.

Her trek has already raised about £2,000 for the trust's charity in honour of the "superstar" medics who treated her.

She said: "I don't do things by halves; whatever I tend to do, I put my heart and soul into it.

"I can do something astounding, at the same time raising a heck of a lot of money to give back to those who helped me when I most needed it."

After a seven-hour trek on Tuesday, she said: "It has been a hard and emotional day, but the beauty of this place is taking my breath away."

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