A 45-year-old British-Indian doctor climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak, to raise funds for a hospital and thank its staff for the care they gave to his friend during his last days.
Dr Ash Patel decided to scale Mount Kilimanjaro in order to raise funds for the Royal Stoke University Hospital where his friend Mahesh Patel was admitted after a heart attack in early September.
Dr Patel wanted to thank staff at the hospital for their efforts and started climbing the peak from September 12 until September 22, the Sentinel reported.
However, his friend Mahesh, 54, died on September 21, the day before he got back.
"I have known Mahesh for 30 years, he was a friend as well as my patient. The hospital did an excellent job in taking care of him," Dr Patel said.
The efforts of Dr Patel, who works at Longton Health Centre, raised 1,001 pounds for the hospital, which will be spent on the intensive care unit, where Mahesh was treated.
"Everyone at the hospital really did everything they could do to help Mahesh. They are all hard working and caring staff. As a doctor myself I could tell they did absolutely everything they could to help Mahesh," he was quoted as saying by the daily.
Dr Patel said the trek to the top of Africa's tallest mountain was an incredible challenge but worth the effort.
"I think the fact I was doing it to raise money for the hospital really got me through it. Sadly, Mahesh died on September 21, the day before I got back," he said.
