Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
YOU MAY RECALL the story of Nikki Bradley.
She’s a survivor of a rare form of cancer, known as Ewing’s Sarcoma. It’s afflicted her her entire adult life.
She is also someone who achieves incredible things.
Last time we spoke Nikki had just climbed Errigal, Donegal’s formidable mountain, in the first snow of the new year. On crutches. She told us she was next planning to traverse a glacier in Iceland for her awareness campaign Fighting Fit For Ewing’s (FFFE).
It had to happen quickly – Nikki may have to lose a leg to amputation later this year.
Well, it has happened quickly. She’s done it already. And the photos of her expedition are frankly awe-inspiring.
Deadline
“Well I had a bit of a deadline myself,” Nikki tells TheJournal.ie.
I don’t know what the future is for my leg. I may not have it later this year. And I wouldn’t be able to do what I just did without two legs.
At three in the morning last Friday Nikki and her team of four set out for Iceland from Donegal.
Her team consisted of herself, Donegal Ice Road Trekkers’ Denis Ferry and Leslie O Donnell, acclaimed photographer/film maker Paul Doherty, and industrial climber Ian Parke.
They began their trek on the forbidding Solheimajokull glacier early the following morning after seemingly endless safety briefings. A glacier is not a challenge to be taken lightly it seems.
“You can’t confuse a glacier with a mountain. It’s not an achievable goal, like a summit, it’s something you experience,” she says.
You have guides telling you to follow their footsteps, like their actual footsteps, because the snow is so treacherous, it can just drop into nothing. That’s not an easy thing to do on crutches.
As well as the breathtaking pictures by photographer Doherty, the whole trip was filmed for a forthcoming documentary.
During Nikki and her four teammates’ trek they twice came across abseiling opportunities. The first involved a 45-foot ‘rock of ice’. Nikki felt like she hadn’t done herself justice in descending it:
“I just wasn’t fully able and I was so disappointed with myself, I just felt that my leg had let me down, which was really deflating. I have very high expectations of myself,” she says.
Not to worry, a short time later the team came across an ice cave. Most trekkers apparently don’t bring ropes and climbing equipment – Nikki and her team had. So naturally she jumped straight in.
“I wanted to make it up to myself. And it’s one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done or will ever do,” she said of the descent.
I used my leg all the way down, and my leg is obviously very damaged, so it was very painful. It was so much deeper than we thought, but once I was close to the bottom the fear went away and it was so much easier. And then I could appreciate my surroundings.
When I got to the bottom I knew I was somewhere where very few other people would ever be. There was a chandelier of icicles beside me, a frozen waterfall. It was just absolutely breathtaking.
Trekking the glacier wasn’t all the team did. Later that evening they visited the ruins of a crashed US navy plane, and came across a group of youngsters from New Zealand who had become trapped in the snows. So they rescued them.
“They were so cold and so badly stuck – it ended up being a rescue mission. We got them to nearby accommodation and then the next day we saved their car – the display of teamwork I saw was really heartwarming, it really was,” says Nikki.
Finally, the day they were due to fly home to Ireland, Nikki and her team climbed 7km up and down a mountain to have a bathe in the natural springs at the top. She wanted the weekend to be a no-holds barred event, no stopping until she and her team had wrung everything possible out of their three days.
“You get nothing easy in Iceland,” she says.
You earn what you get, but it is certainly worth it.
She says she can’t do justice to the natural beauty she saw on the trek. Looking at the photos you can see what she means. They’re otherworldly.
“And now we’re back to horrible old Ireland,” she laughs.
On her terms
There are many reasons for Nikki’s exploits.
“I’m hoping to raise a little money for childhood cancer. I’m hoping to inspire others,” she agrees.
But mostly, I don’t know what’s round the corner for me. Anything that comes my way I have to grasp it.
The same week that Nikki and her team left for Iceland she had a letter from her specialist in Birmingham, England. The problem with her leg hasn’t gone away, and the process has just kicked off again.
“Like I knew that letter was coming, and that the ball would continue to roll,” she says.
I knew my focus would have to shift and I’d have to start thinking of my health again.
But you see I just don’t know. My situation is unique, my consultant says I’m one of maybe 10 people worldwide experiencing this – I can’t just google it and find a solution.
Even if she does lose her leg, Nikki won’t stop.
“I’ll find a way, to live life on my terms, I’ll find a way,” she says.
But part of this experience is realising that I’m not a superwoman and that I do have limitations.
I couldn’t have done Iceland without two legs. A time will come when I can’t do what I can do now.
But I’m curious about my own abilities. I want to see what I can do.
If you’d like to know more about Fighting Fit For Ewing’s, or to get involved, you can email info@nikkibradleyspeaks.com for more information
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
I read this news to my dog – he wagged his tail
Leave the little doggies alone
And the big ones!
And medium sized
Tail docking is cruel and unnecessary. Personally, I think it’s evil to mutilate a dog like that.
Any decent vet would refuse to dock an animals tail anyway.
I doubt many people who do this will listen to it anyways
I also find it very disturbing the way some countries allow dogs ears to be cropped! I see pics all the time online of dobies with bandages on their ears!!! All because the owner wants the ‘look’! Love to crop the owners ears! Idiots!
I agree. If you are getting a pet for looks alone you shouldn’t have it in the first place.
I have a lovely rescue lurcher. She originated with travellers. They had cut the tail off her and broken her hind legs before we got her from ASH Animal Rescue aged about 10 weeks; horrific injuries inflicted on a beautiful and sweet-natured pup.
We’d had the dog about eight months when her tail began to bleed. When the vet X-rayed the tail, it turned out they had severed the tail mid-vertebra rather that at the joint and, as she grew, the jagged end had gradually grown out through the scar tissue.
We had no idea of the pain she must have been suffering all that time as they are very quiet dogs by nature.
Can’t imagine what the motivation could be to torture such a defenceless creature in such a barbaric way; makes me physically queasy thinking about it.
My point is tha, whilst it’s great that this practice is to be banned but all it amounts to is tokenism if the law is not enforced, as is so sadly the case with the vast majority of Ireland’s inadequate animal welfare laws.
Should be totally banned.. A dog needs it’s tail whether people think it or not. Not for us to decide what animal needs to be mutilated for it to be easier on the eye
Couldn’t agree more Ciaran. I remember some years ago a friend of mine told me he was helping his brother show boxer dogs at a well known dog show, their tails were the docked. At one point in the proceedings a judge inspected the docked tails with a ruler, they were expected to be 2 inches long exactly.
The point to this is there are those “dog lovers” out there who still expect certain breeds of dogs to look a certain way, regardless if it’s totally unnatural. To get this desired look they are quite prepared to dock a dogs tail or cut its ears or any other extreme measures. Barbaric, I can’t understand how these people can describe themselves as loving dogs.
Excellent news, it should be banned completely to the point where vets should not do it as well. A large fine with the chance of a prison sentence would be a good starting point for anyone who does this.
If you read the article, vets won’t be allowed to do it either unless it will benefit the dog.
Good news. Dew claw removal wtf is wrong with people? Why in dogs name would any monster think removing this is a good idea! Reminds me of a friend who rescued a cat in Kuwait who had its claws and voice box removed. Who does that. I hate people some times.
That cat story is extreme, no doubt. A dog’s dew claws don’t serve any purpose and can be hazardous to dogs with shallow eye sockets. Not really comparable.
‘Can be’ so remove it? I have three dogs now and over my life have owned many more. None of them (all different breeds with shallow and deep eye sockets) have ever had a problem with eye sockets or anything else because I didnt remove their claws? It’s a disgusting thing to do to an animal. People who do this sort of thing should at the very least receive a life time ban from ever owning another creature.
A dew claw, not their claws. Is there a confusion on this? I’m firmly against docking, but can’t see a problem with this if being cautious with certain breeds, done at an early age by a registered vet, of course.
Ps: Docking is largely done for aesthetic purposes (and we all know it), but the dew claw is meaningless this way; it is only done when deemed appropriate.
Yes the way it is these days it is done for aesthetic reasons but initially it was to prevent a dog from showing submission easily.
You mean docking, right? Why on earth would dew claw removal be done for aesthetic purposes?
If it is meaningless then why are little puppies born with them? You are talking nonsense and trying to rationalise a brutal primitive practice. Cop on to yourself.
Why are we born with an appendix and why do we necessarily do a barbaric practise of removing that from ourselves?? The dew claw is a hangover from the wolf which uses its dew claw to lock onto its prey.seeing that most dogs dont need to hunt down their dinner anymore it has become as needful to them as we need our appendix.In fact with certain breeds or dogs that are boisterous the the dew claw can be a hazard and get hooked into whatever they are jumping on and cause themselves very nasty injuries .
I Ve had two dogs that managed to literally rip their dew claws off by getting them caught in fences.
Picture taking the top off your finger in the mess to have them repaired.Vet had to remove them in the end anyway.
Simon, you are the judge of evolution I think. Sorry for your dogs, but honestly its unspeakable that anyone would mutilate the body of a defenseless animal because they think they know better than nature. Get a grip.
But that’s just it, it’s not brutal. To lump it in with tail docking is irresponsible.
And Paul, your defence of dogs is admirable but in this case, unnecessary: I’m sorry, but you really don’t know what you’re talking about.
By your rationale, neutering and spaying is a barbaric practice.
I’ve heard of dew claw removal in some dogs to prevent it catching on furniture and clothing, in this respect the removal of the dew claw is an even more unnecessary decision than tail docking. If nobody can put forward a compelling reason for doing this, then don’t even contemplate it.
Bronagh, sweetheart, I know exactly what I’m talking about. You are the person who is trying to defend mutilating an animal because you think you know better. Dun do bheal!
Paul,
Sorry but you are wrong. Dew claws can and do damage dogs, just like the human appendix they do not perform any function whatsoever. Removal as puppies causes no more pain than your toenail being stripped.
I remember one of our first dogs catching a dew claw somewhere and coming back with the area dripping in blood and his obviously being in pain. Since then after being reassured by a vet always had dew claws removed.
Im not. Have a read of this, it might help you to understand – http://www.examiner.com/article/the-truth-about-tail-docking-and-dew-claw-removal
Tails are there for a reason
Only knackers get this done, so they’re hardly going to obey the ban on it.
Happy Day
Great news
I know how I would feel if my tail was docked, I certainly wouldn’t be happy about it!
This is wonderful news! I’d like to see severe penalties being brought in for people who dock tails from now on. Maybe they should have their own “tails” docked? ;)
Great. Can we ensure we get more of the same for other animals, including piglets, who often have testicles and teeth ripped out with no anaesthetic. Or birds who are debeaked. To mention but a few…
Surely circumcision needs to be banned also
Ban these activities altogether. See the vets kept their financial interests intact.
“See the vets kept their financial interests intact.”
You mean the stuff that requires a qualified vet to do? Yeah, I’d prefer that was left to the vets to be honest.
Vets don’t want to do this work at all. Vets actually want it specifically prohibited that **anyone** – vet or otherwise – can do these procedures, except where there is a medical need.
Banned, it’ll make no difference whatsoever, the law in this country is there be be abused, now pass me over that scissors.
Dog tailing is being banned, but circumcision for non-medical reasons is still permitted. Hum, some cruelties based on tradition are ok and others are not. If only infants had 11,000 signatures supporting them.
I don’t see the problem with docking tails. I’ve done loads of them. Now I’m off to remove my sons appendix on the sitting room table. What’s the big deal?
Under ground as normal so be it..
Tail docking shouldn’t be allowed by anyone unless it was for some kind of medical issue. It’s cruel and unnecessary.
Hopefully, we’ll see a ban on cropping next. Also change in KC standards to allow any colour in breeds. Although this may have already happened. In referring here as an example to the standard of no more than 1/3 white or black in Boxers which resulted in numbers of pups put down at birth.
If you read the dspca’s letter on fb it sits on the fence doesnt support or reject the regulations so i dnt no why they getting praised here dogs trust done more advertising trying to get it stoped than the dspca did
Ah Jim- do u not know u are supposed to give ur comment an explanation saying :’clearly I’m being sarcastic ! ‘…. Well read red thumbers…
have your say