Going up against some of Australia’s tallest climbs, Canberra mum Belinda Lee is putting in the hard yards for people facing even bigger mountains, a diagnosis of Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes.

Over the span of a year, Belinda embarks on Eight Epic Peaks, which see her visiting each state and territory to traverse its highest mountain in a bid to raise awareness and funds for Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision. Maddie Riewoldt, sister of AFL champion Nick Riewoldt, died from complications of Aplastic Anaemia in 2015. The organisation is her legacy and has a vision of better treatment and cures for bone marrow failure syndromes.

“Her birthday is on 24 February and my daughter was born on 25 February and my daughter was born in 2015, it was a weird crossover,” says Belinda.

Through research funding, grants, funding for clinical trials and raising awareness for bone marrow failure conditions, the organisation may be small, but it is mighty. Belinda, knowing they don’t get as much support or recognition as the big medical charities, wanted to help in a way that she could.

“Not a lot of people have heard of it [Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision], not a lot of people have heard of bone marrow failure, they have no idea how important bone marrow is.”

Belinda says that most people don’t know that if you are between the ages of 18-35, you can take a simple cheek swab to go to the bone marrow donor registry. The vision of people having bones pierced by incredibly long needles, is outdated explains Belinda, she says the collection process is a lot less painful now.

“They do it the same way they would platelet donation. Sometimes they do it in the bone but that’s in rare cases, it is usually the same method as platelets. The only difference is it’s longer; it can take up to five hours depending on how your body reacts to it.”

In March, Belinda completed the 50 Peaks Challenge, which saw her take on 50 mountain peaks in the ACT and surrounds to raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Belinda saw a need for funding after she had to get checked when she found a lump in her breast.

“I found how expensive it was as a young person to get checked. My mammogram and all my doctor appointments left me about $1,000 out of pocket,” she says.

While investigating the lump, Belinda was diagnosed with a blood disorder. During a trip to the haematologist, she noticed an information poster for Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision. Seeing how children in particular were impacted, she wanted to do something to help the youngsters.

“I realised it affects children and it’s very rare… children have Aplastic anaemia more so than adults, it is very unknown.”

While completing the 50 peaks, Belinda, an avid hiker and adventurer, started looking for her next challenge. Having completed Mount Bimberi and Kosciuszko, she thought they could mesh into the Australia State 8 Peak Challenge. 

“They call it peak bragging, so if you do all of them, it is a big thing. Not a lot of people do it, sometimes you can’t get into South Australia, it is a challenging one just for geographical locations.”

Belinda has already completed two of the treks, Mount Kosciuszko in NSW and Mount Bimberi in the ACT. Next on the list is Mount Bogong in VIC before tackling the warmer climate mountains in the winter months; Mount Bartle Fere in QLD, Mount Zeil in NT and Mount Meharry in WA. There is only a small window before winter or just as it is ending to complete Mount Ossa in TAS.

“My most tricky one will be South Australia [Ngarutjaranya] because it’s in the APY Lands, so I have to get approval from the Indigenous Council… That will be the last one because I need a permit,” says Belinda.

Completing the tallest mountain on the list in Kosciuszko, Belinda says it was also probably the easiest as there was an accessible path the entire way. She predicts other mountains will have rockier or more difficult tracks.

“It’s mother nature at its finest…Mount Zeil in the Northern Territory, it’s going to be hot and it’s going to be rocky, it’s really just down the road from Uluru. Tasmania is going to be tricky, near winter the snow makes it more challenging.”

Prepared for all weather conditions, Belinda sets out with her satellite GPS map tablet, personal location beacon, backpack filled with food, water and camping gear. It is the mental hurdles that she anticipates will be the hardest.

“Sometimes it’s more mentally because you get to a point where you’re like ‘I can’t do this; this is so difficult’. Your brain just tricks you into thinking you can’t do it, you’re not capable,” she says.

Doing Mount Bimberi alone, she knows that she is capable, especially when it is helping children with Aplastic aenemia. She collects items to send back to them from each journey.

“I think a lot of them feel so alone because they are going back and forth from hospitals. I’ve done two peaks and I went and got things for them that I can send to Maddie’s Vision that they can send to them.”

The fundraising goal is $5,000. Belinda is grateful for any support she gets. For her, she wants to spread the word and hopefully inspire people to go on the donor registry.

“I know everybody is struggling with the cost of living, but for me, even $1 is great,” she smiles.

Support Belinda Lee in her Eight Epic Peaks for Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes here.

Canberra Daily is keen to hear from you about a story idea in the Canberra and surrounding region. Click here to submit a news tip.