I met Felix in the virtual environment, on the Spondilita Romania group. There he made several posts in which he narrated his ascent in the Himalayas, where he reached Everest Base Camp in Nepal, 5364 m. In a few words and a few pictures, he very naturally related how he, a man with spondylitis, diagnosed almost 20 years ago, he climbed the highest mountain in the world, side by side with healthy and trained people. He mentioned in passing that he had some pain, but with some anti-inflammatories he solved that.
He did not reach the top, 8848 m, because only professional climbers with years of training can reach it. But it wasn’t easy either, trekking 140 km, with the backpack on his back, the lack of oxygen and the accumulated fatigue. He lost 5 kg in those days, sometimes he had nowhere to take a shower, but he is grateful, this experience changed him for the better, he sees life differently now.
I sought him out and asked him if he would like to share a little about himself, his autoimmune life and his Himalayan adventure for the readers of this blog. He immediately agreed.
As he himself says, what helps him the most is daily exercise and a winning mentality. “I never think that I am different from others. I always think that I’m just like the rest of the people.” I was impressed that he makes everything seem so simple: climbing Everest, living far from his homeland (he lives in Germany), living with an autoimmune disease… Life in general.
Hi 😊. Who is Felix?
Hi, that’s a tough question, I’ve never liked talking about myself.
I am 39 years old, married, I have two children. Since 2011, I live with my family in Germany. I was born in Baia Mare, but I spent 14 years of my life in a village called Băiuț, located at the foot of the Țibleș mountains.
I graduated from the Polytechnic University of Timișoara. I work in the Automotive industry at a car manufacturing company.
When did your disease started? Which were your first symptoms? How did you get to a diagnosis?
The disease started when I was a student. In 2004, I was on spring break, when suddenly great pains appeared in the groin area. At first the doctors told me I had a muscle strain, but the pain was getting worse and worse, so I went back to the hospital a few days later, where I was scheduled for a CT scan and the diagnosis was confirmed: ankylosing spondylitis.
What treatment were you prescribed? Did it help you?
The first treatment was with sulfasalazine. Honestly, I don’t know how much it helped me, I stopped the treatment after 6 months. I haven’t had any other drug treatments. I only take anti-inflammatories when needed.
Did you also try a diet? Did it help?
I tried to eliminate gluten for 2 weeks. That’s all I could do. However, I am careful about what I eat, I try as much as possible to have quality food. I eat very little bread.
 I try not to eat between meals and often skip lunch and only eat dinner, but no later than 7pm. It is important for us with spondylitis to maintain an optimal weight.
What else, aside from medication and diet, did you try and found it working for you?
I have tried, and still do, physiotherapy, medical water gymnastics, massage and Reiki. Every year I go to the sea, swim and, of course, once a year I climb the mountain for 2-3 days.
There can be many causes to auto immune disease. Which one do you think have triggered yours?
In my case, was found the gene believed to be responsible for the disease, HLAB-27.
Probably the bad diet during the student period, as well as the stress of the exams, also contributed to the onset of the disease.
Do you have an equilibrium by now? How does a day in your life look like, what do you eat and what is your lifestyle?
Nothing special, I have a normal life like everyone else, work, home, children, shopping, only that every day I make time for myself. I go out in nature, in the evening I watch a good movie or read a few pages from a book.
I have never slacked off, I am always in acceptable physical shape. There are times when it hurts a lot. I’m taking anti-inflammatory and I’m patient. The psyche plays the most important role in life.
What do you find the most difficult, talking about a healthy lifestyle and a functional life?
I think we have less and less time for ourselves, we live in an alert world, always on the run. If we also have children, things get even more complicated, because we have to divide our time between work and children.
We work very hard and have no time for our hobbies.
Another problem is that the food we eat is of questionable quality, even the ones labeled bio.
Tell us about your Everest adventure. Since when do you climb the mountains?
 The experience in the Himalayas was one of the most beautiful of my life.
I had been planning this adventure for several years, but didn’t have the courage to go until this year. My wife was the deciding factor, she encouraged me to make the decision to leave. I decided quite late, at the beginning of March, and on the 13th of April I was already in Lukla, the starting point of this adventure.
I contacted a tour company in Nepal and they took care of everything: accommodation, meals, guide, porter, domestic flights, transfer from airport to hotel, etc.
The prices are acceptable, it costs you less than a holiday in Mamaia (resort on the romanian seaside).
 The adventure lasted 14 days: 9 days ascent, 3 days descent and 2 days in Kathmandu.
The landscapes are splendid, the people smiling and very welcoming. Those days were like a fast for me: no meat, silence, prayer. That’s what I think helped me succeed the most. Someone once said: “if you are a Christian and believe in the Bible, then why don’t you believe that a miracle can happen to you?”
I had unique experiences in this adventure, I will list only a few:
The meeting with one of the greatest climbers, Kami Rita Sherpa, who holds the world record for ascents on Everest, 26 times. (First photo in the gallery at the end of the article)
Another exciting moment was the purely coincidental meeting with a climber from the same region as me. We both have parents from Băiuț Village. (Second photo)
A mini piano recital given by some tourists at Hotel Everest View. The atmosphere, the place, the music… were wow. I actually cried, luckily I had my sunglasses on. We sat, we ate, Everest was looming behind us, 3880 meters, cool people around… how can anything hurt? The next day I climbed like an elite athlete. I was full of energy.
Regarding the question of when I climb the mountain: since I was a small child, I grew up in the mountains and I climb the mountain every year.
What advice would you give to people who have just been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease? How would you encourage them?
Be optimistic, enjoy life, exercise a lot. Everything is possible.
