Everest diary/Grania Willis: The twists of fate can be incredibly cruel. Noel Hanna and Lynne Stark, two of the fittest people in Northern Ireland, set out in early April to attempt the north side of Everest with every hope of success.
Now, just as their fellow climbers are gearing up for the final push on the world's highest mountain, Noel and Lynne are heading home to Co Down, their dreams in tatters.
The supremely fit pair, who both push their bodies to the extreme on the international adventure racing circuit, have been thwarted by a rare condition that has put Noel's eyesight in jeopardy. Not surprisingly, he isn't prepared to risk his sight, even for a crack at the summit of Everest.
Apparently, 30 per cent of the climbers that attempt the 8,000-metre mountains will suffer haemorrhages in the peripheral area of the retina, but without any permanent damage to their sight.
Noel, however, has had bleeds in the macula area of both eyes and, although it has manifested itself only as blurred vision so far, he has been warned that further exposure to extreme altitude could result in permanent blindness.
"It's a bit like Russian roulette," he said to me at base camp yesterday, "except that there are four bullets in the gun, not just one." The problem arose at advanced base camp (6,400 metres) three weeks ago, with his right eye affected on the first day. Twenty-four hours later, his left eye followed suit.
A return to base camp failed to have any positive effect, so Noel and Lynne were taken down to the Chinese border town at Zangmu, where treatment at the brand-new hospital was promised. But the hospital had no brand-new doctors or any facilities.
A phone call to a fellow adventure racer at home prompted a follow-up call to a specialist at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. The specialist felt that, with no other symptoms, it might simply be temporary shortsightedness brought on by exposure to altitude and that it would resolve itself.
A waitress in Zangmu offered Noel her glasses and, although the prescription was too strong for him, at least Noel could read the menu. It seemed things might come right after all.
There was no change after three days in Zangmu, but Noel and Lynne returned to base camp and went up from there to interim camp, ABC and the North Col. His vision was still blurred.
So it was back to base camp, and then last Sunday Noel, Lynne and their Dutch guide Harry Kikstra, who runs the Seven-Summits website, headed down to Xashigum for some R and R.
"It was great sunbathing on the mud roof of the hotel," Lynne said, "but it was like being deep-fat fried. We were coated in dust." Neither the dust nor the sun had any beneficial effects on Noel's eyes and, when the pair returned to base camp on Wednesday, Noel decided on a more proactive approach.
British doctor Julian Thompson, a Canadian medic and the doctor with the Indian air force team were called in. Thompson and the Canadian both examined Noel's eyes with an ophthalmoscope. The news wasn't good.
Haemorrhages in the macula area of both eyes. It was either go home or risk blindness.
Climbers have been known to risk losing a finger or a toe for a chance of summiting Everest. But Noel wasn't prepared to risk losing his eyesight.
And Lynne, general manager of Clarins Northern Ireland, had no intention of continuing without Noel. "I couldn't go on without him," she says. "We're a team. It's just not our time."
So Noel's plan of running back down to base camp after summiting, and cycling to the Bay of Bengal as part of his challenge for the fastest return to sea level from the top of the seven highest summits on the seven continents has been temporarily shelved.
The pair leave for Kathmandu on Monday and, once they're home in Dromara, Noel is going to seek the best treatment available.
He's determined to return to Everest with Lynne next year, but is planning a slightly smaller climb - possibly Cho Oyu - in the autumn to make sure there'll be no recurrence of the eye problem.
Even though they've missed out on one of their big targets for the year, the pair are still hoping they'll have achieved their other target of raising £10 for every child in the care of Barnardos Northern Ireland. So the twists of fate may not be quite so cruel after all.
The Grania Willis Everest Challenge 2005, supported by The North Face, SORD Data Systems, Peak Centre Ireland and Great Outdoors, is in aid of the Irish Hospice Foundation and the Friends of St Luke's Hospital.
Donations to the fund can be made to The Grania Willis Everest Challenge, Permanent TSB, Blackrock, Co Dublin, account number 86877341, sort code 99-06-44. Visa card donations to 01-2303009