Turning Points: Feb 06 - Jade Richardson

Overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges can result in a new and fulfilling way of life, beyond anything you could ever have dreamed of.

Jade Richardson, 35, was chronically ill for years, until she forced herself to get back into the world and went trekking and mountain climbing. Now, her life’s work is guiding others on transformational adventures.

“In my early twenties I got very sick; I was fainting all the time and my hands and feet curled up like claws. I was diagnosed with everything from leukaemia to Ross River Fever, but no-one could work out what was wrong with me. I had to leave work and convalesce for months. I was looking at these beautiful trees in the garden one day during that time when I heard the breeze whispering through the leaves. I really seemed to hear the breeze; it was telling me to get out into the world and get my life back.

“Two weeks later I flew to Sulawesi, Indonesia, and trekked eight-hour days for twelve days straight. The first few days were hard as I was terribly unfit, but I just put one foot in front of the other. Over the weeks that followed, I transformed from unfit and sickly to healthy and happy. After Indonesia, I learned to surf in France, went climbing in the Pyrenees, Scotland, Ecuador and Peru, and finished that journey in the Amazon. When I returned to Australia I thought, ‘How do I capture the  power of that experience in my city life?’

“The answer, as it happened, took years to crystallise. In 2000, I was struck with another mysterious illness that left me bloated, arthritic and covered in welts. I was so fragile that even putting a sheet over my legs hurt. Specialists all over Sydney were fascinated by my inexplicable illness, but I was seriously depressed. I lived in a horrible flat, had an awful flatmate, and my boyfriend was a complete bully. I remember thinking I was at a total dead end. So, this time, I listened to my body. For too long I had been living the wrong kind of life.

“As I was recovering, serendipity came through a friend who asked for my help to raise funds for an orphanage in Zimbabwe. Before I knew it, I was one of three women planning to scale Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa! We got corporate sponsorship for our climb, as well as holding fundraising events, and in this way we raised about $15,000 for the orphanage. We called ourselves Girls on Top and all three of us reached the 5,895 metre-high summit – an amazing result. After that, I realised I had found my true purpose in life.

“Now, Girls on Top [see ‘Taking it to the top’, below] invites a new team of women to join a journey each year. Participants are expected to train for the physical challenge, and to raise funds for a specifically chosen charity in the country that we visit.

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