No mountain too high: Amanda (second from left) did not let her health condition stop her from scaling Mount Kinabalu with Hafizuddin (left) and Noah Rizqullah. Seen with the family is their mountain guide. — Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR: Despite leaky heart valves, Amanda Omeychua conquered Malaysia’s highest peak, Mount Kinabalu, while carrying her two-and-a-half-year-old son in a backpack.
During the two-day one-night climb up the 4,095m peak, Amanda, 30, took turns with her husband, Muhammad Hafizuddin Mustapa, 31, to carry Muhammad Noah Rizqullah, who weighs 25kg, in a backpack along with the necessary gear.
Sharing her story, Amanda, who is from Kudat, Sabah, said she wanted to create as many memories as possible with her son before undergoing her second heart operation.
Diagnosed with two leaky heart valves at the age of 14, Amanda had her first procedure to replace the faulty valves with plastic valves in 2020.
“As a patient with leaky heart valves, I was not allowed to get pregnant. So, since we wanted to have our own child, I underwent surgery to insert the replacement valves that can last for 10 years,” she told Bernama.
Amanda said after the birth of Noah Rizqullah in 2021, she was told that she would have to undergo another procedure to replace the plastic valves with mechanical ones.
“If I had opted for the mechanical valves in the first surgery, I wouldn’t have been able to get pregnant because I would need to take warfarin (a blood thinner) daily,” she said.
Amanda, who is a tour guide, said her doctor informed her that she could still engage in strenuous activities, including hiking after she fully recovers from her procedure.
Recounting the climb with her son, Amanda said she had no issues because she has been actively hiking for over 10 years and conquered almost all the mountains in Malaysia. She has also trekked to Annapurna Base Camp and Everest Base Camp in Nepal several times.
Noah Rizqullah, she added, is “rather familiar with mountain climbing” as she took him along with her when she climbed Mount Angsi in Negeri Sembilan and Mount Merbabu in Java, Indonesia, earlier.
Describing their Mount Kinabalu experience, Amanda said their ascent started at the entry point at Timpohon Gate.
“We stopped at Laban Rata for an overnight stay and our ‘summit attack’ started early the next morning. Later, we proceeded to climb downhill, following which we immediately conducted a health check on our son. Everything was fine,” she added.
Amanda said little Noah Rizqullah did not fuss or cry much during the expedition. In fact, he enjoyed being carried in a backpack and even encouraged his parents to keep walking whenever they made brief stops to ensure he was safe.
However, Amanda advised other parents not to bring their young children along on their mountain climbing activities if “they are not mentally and physically prepared”.
