A brave Irish mum has climbed Mount Fuji in Japan despite being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease four years ago.
Maura Ward, from Kilkeel in Co Down, was dealt a devastating blow after a tremor in her leg led to the diagnosis.
It came as a shock to Maura who had discovered a love for budget backpacking around the globe with her son Johnny as she entered her 60s.
But not one to let anything stop her, Maura decided not to let the disease define her and decided to use it as motivation to make the most of every moment.
And she decided to climb Mount Fuji in Japan to mark her 70th birthday after taking on a charity skydive for her 65th birthday, travelling solo to Africa, visiting Burkina Faso and Eritrea, and throwing her clothes in a backpack and taking a night train to Armenia.
Along with son Johnny, Maura has travelled to Afghanistan, down the Amazon in Ecuador, retracing the silk route through Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, eastern European adventures around Georgia and Abkhazia, long distance night-buses through Peru.
She keeps followers updated on her travels through her Facebook page Geriatric Traveller.
Maura has now travelled to over 60 countries but admitted the 12,390ft climb to the top of Mount Fuji was incredibly tough.
She told The Irish Sun: "That was my personal Everest and it will never happen again. If I have to walk up a hill again, it will be too much."
On the same trip, Maura also visited Taiwan, the Philippines, China, Vietnam and even North Korea.
Her next planned trip is a visit to war-torn Syria and she's also considering joining Johnny on a trip to Yemen.
Maura told Belfast Live: "I just get on with things and I have no qualms telling people about my diagnosis, I know a lot of people worse off than me," she said.
"That is just my mentality. I just have to know my own limits, also nothing that involves being in a box or confined, I am very claustrophobic."
