Before she left to climb Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro, Janene
Corrado made sure to ask for a blessing from her pastor, Father Ramel O.
Portula of St. Ann Church in Arlington. With daily devotions and about “1,000
Hail Marys,” Corrado kept her faith close as she and five companions summited
the 19,000-foot peak. “It was an experience of a lifetime,” she said.
For many years, Corrado has participated in marathons, triathlons
and other feats of endurance to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. “You
realize you can do something really important for these cancers,” she said.
Then, in 2011, her father was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. He beat the
cancer, and she continued raising money for the cause, about $30,000 in total.
This year, she decided to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Through the society’s
Team in Training, she connected with others affected by the cancers, and began
planning for the 10-day hike. Though she tried to prepare, reaching the top was
the hardest thing she’s ever done physically, said Corrado, a mother of three.
She hadn’t met any of her teammates, but each had been touched by
cancer, and they soon bonded. “I totally believe God orchestrated this thing,”
she said.
Corrado also was deeply
touched by the Tanzanians, who served as their guides up the mountain. “(The
country) has poverty like I’ve never seen before,” she said, but the people
were incredibly happy. “It was very humbling,” she said.
As they climbed, one man fell sick and had to be brought down the
mountain. Everyone else made it to the top, though Corrado felt exhausted,
hungry and oxygen-deprived. At one point, she thought they had made it to the top
when they still had an hour left to go. “It was awful,” she said, and a guide
had to help her every step to the summit.
Reaching the peak was surreal and emotional, she said. It was
sunny and bright above the clouds, and she could see glaciers from the top of
the dormant volcano. Before they made the descent, the young Tanzanian guide
gathered them all in a circle and led them in prayer.
