FORT DEL PILAR, BAGUIO CITY — Jeanette Belarmino-Sardenta, Carina Dayondon and Noelle Wenceslao may have won their spurs as the first Filipino women to reach the summit of Mt. Everest, the world’s tallest peak, but their expedition leader said what the three women accomplished was even more valuable to medical science.
Art Valdez said international doctors were astonished by the physiological feat achieved by the all-Filipino women Mt. Everest team, particularly Sardenta who had given birth to a son just five months before the climb.
‘We all come from a tropical country, with no experience in high altitude environments that affect blood flow, so when we allowed Jeanette to climb, [the medical field] was amazed,’ Valdez said.
He said the experience gave Filipino doctors some insights into changes in the team members’ menstrual cycles, the alterations in their blood sugar with each step of the way up Everest, as well as their psychological condition before and after the historic climb.
Wenceslao’s mother died while the expedition was midway through their mission. The daughter decided to continue the trek, ‘with mama beside me.’
Valdez said the slew of medical information gathered from the expedition inspired the team doctor, Ted Esguerra, to compile them into a medical journal and a book on Asian physiology and high-altitude weather.
The world has also taken notice of the other experts on the team, Valdez said. Filipino climatologist Voltaire Velasco was able to get a job at the US National Aeronautical and Space Administration (Nasa).
Sardenta, Dayondon, Wenceslao and Leo Oracion, the first Filipino to reach the summit of Everest in 2006, were honored with a parade by Philippine Military Academy cadets here on Saturday.
At a Friday news conference, Sardenta said giving birth forced her to confront the psychological terrors of the climb.
The worst they could imagine occurred on the way to the summit, she said.
Mindful of the physical trauma they would have to endure, the three women decided not to take medicine to suppress menstruation, Dayondon said.
The trek was not conducive to women as there were to be no bath facilities for at least three months.
Sarmenta said they were more concerned about being perceived to be ‘kikay’ (girly) than the actual climb.
Valdez said the toll from breathing the thin air and the cold climate had real medical risks that made the team’s feat important to science.
‘Cells die due to oxygen deprivation,’ because the thin air impedes the body’s natural capacity to produce blood oxygen, he said.
He said the first Filipino expedition to conquer Mt. Everest in 2006 also provided valuable medical information.
One of the team members collapsed, despite the fact that he was Ifugao and grew up in a mountain environment, he said.
Tags: Carina Dayondon, Jeanette Belarmino-Sardenta, Noelle Wenceslao, Proud to be Pinay, Science
