Wheelchair Bound Woman’s Life Dream Fulfilled When Team Carries Her Up a Mountain

Imagine spending your life thinking you could never fulfill your lifelong dream because of a medical condition. That is exactly how Susie Twydell felt. The 40-year-old, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2012, never thought she would have the chance to see the endangered mountain gorillas of Rwanda due to her illness.

Flash forward to 2017 when Susie learned that staff at the Rwandan Wildlife Park could carry her up the mountain on a stretcher to experience the once in a lifetime event. Susie signed up without hesitation. Twydell, and her husband, David, immediately began raising funds for the trip, even selling clothes and furniture.

Twydell was met with a team of porters upon her arrival where they carried her through a half mile climb that took around 45 minutes to get to a clearing where the rare gorillas reside. “It took me by surprise, but it was the No. 1 experience of my life,” Twydell told Inside Edition. "I have been to 81 countries in my lifetime but I thought this trip was impossible. It was such an amazing privilege — what they've done in Rwanda to help this critically endangered species is incredible."

Take a look at Susie's amazing journey:

Just how rare was Susie Twydall’s interaction with the endangered mountain gorillas?

It was alarmingly discovered in 1967 that there were only 240 mountain gorillas left.  Over the past 50 years, the wildlife parks have worked to conserve and grow the population despite regional instability and habitat loss.

The mountain gorillas of Rwanda share 98% of our DNA and as of the last count in early 2017, there were just 880 left on the planet.