MARATHON VENTURE | | Marathon venture following Sir Ranulph Fiennes' heart by-pass
surgery |
Three months after under going heart by-pass surgery,
Sir Ranulph Fiennes is in training for seven marathons in seven continents in
seven days. There is something about the South West that seems to breed
great adventurers. From here many of them, like Scott of the Antarctic,
have headed out into the unknown. For the explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes,
though, life itself entered uncharted territory after it was almost snatched away.  | | Heart attack just before the aeroplane took off |
He suffered a heart attack, Britain's biggest killer. Sir Ranulph
Fiennes brush with death came on June 7 2003 after boarding a flight to Edinburgh
at Bristol airport. The 59-year-old record breaking adventurer collapsed
on board an easyJet plane which was due to take off from Bristol airport. After
leaving hospital, Sir Ranulph said: "I was lucky to get the attack
just after parking the car, and just before the aeroplane took off. | HIGHLIGHTS | | Sir Ranulph
Twistleton-Wykeham Fiennes is an aristocrat whose lineage can be traced back to
Charlemagne. He originally hoped to emulate his father's army career. A
poor academic record at Eton barred him from becoming a regular officer. The
army taught him such disciplines as climbing, skiing and canoeing. In 1968,
he led an expedition up the White Nile by hovercraft, recalling the days of the
great British Victorian explorers. He left the SAS after blowing up a Twentieth
Century Fox film-set in Castle Coombe, Wiltshire. He fought in Oman 1968-70. Led
more than 30 expeditions, including the first circumnavigation of the earth's
polar axis with Charles Burton, and the first unsupported crossing of the Antarctic
continent with Dr Michael Stroud. Sir Ranulph makes his money from writing
books about his trips, although only one out of five yields a book.If a journey
is cut short for whatever reason, the publishing contract is cancelled and the
lucrative lecture tours suffer too. Sir Ranulph was awarded the OBE for
"human endeavour and charitable services". |
"I
was also extremely lucky that a mobile defibrillating unit and the expert assistance
of the Blue Watch of the Bristol Airport Fire Station were immediately on the
scene." Sir Ranulph, praised the "expertise and care" of
the staff at Bristol Royal Infirmary. A spokesman for the hospital said:
"He spent one day in intensive care after the operation, then moved to a
high dependency unit and finally a normal ward before being discharged. Excellent
progress
So what hope for us mere mortals if a supremely fit man who
has punished his body to endure the world's most inhospitable environments suffers
a heart attack. Sir Ranulph returned to the Bristol Royal Infirmary for
a stress test of his heart to see if the emergency by pass surgery has done its
job. A procedure which itself carries a risk. The plan was to examine
his heart to see if the abnormal rhythms which caused the heart attack are still
present. Marathon objectiveMost people take it easy after heart.
Not Sir Ranulph. Doctors told him to not train for two months but a week
after being discharged he was doing 30 minute training runs. These are absolutely
necessary if he is to compete in October 2003, in what could be his greatest challenge! Seven
marathons in seven continents in seven days. His physician, Dr Cripps thinks
it is safe for him to take part but Sir Ranulph is taking no chances. His
companion, long time fellow explorer Dr Mike Stroud, will be carrying a defibrillator
throughout their global adventure. | 
