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SALT LAKE CIY – A Utah man was supposed to be climbing mountains in Peru, but instead, he spent a month in a South American hospital where he almost died. Thanks to a huge community outpouring, Bryce Astill is celebrating the fact that he didn’t.
The 35-year-old crossfit trainer returned from Peru two weeks ago. For now, he’s not climbing more mountains, but that didn’t stop family, friends and even strangers from climbing Salt Lake City’s Mt. Wire in his name Saturday to raise money for medical and travel expenses.
In February, Astill was on an adventure in Peru, planning to trek through the Andes. He was healthy and fit, with no indication that anything could go wrong, until it did.
“I got sick pretty quickly,” remembered Astill. “I started coughing up blood.”
Astill went to the hospital. He’d caught the H1N1 flu virus. That turned into pneumonia and then developed into acute respiratory distress syndrome. Astill couldn’t get the life-saving treatment he needed without an up-front payment. So a close friend put together a fundraising page and quickly raised thousands of dollars.
“I was going to die there,” said Astill. “To all the people that donated, they literally saved my life.”
One month later and 40 pounds lighter, Astill came home to Utah. While he’s expected to make a full recovery, he still has a ways to go before he can get back to doing what he loves.
“I feel super weak outside, but couldn’t feel better inside,” said Astill.
While friends and family hit the trail Saturday to raise money, Astill hopes one day soon he’ll be lacing up his running shoes to join them.
“There’s nothing more beautiful to wake up to,” said Astill. “And knowing that I got to wake up.”
The GoFundMe page to help with medical and travel expenses has raised about $57,000 so far.
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