Anchored in Trust

When Patti Hoddinott tried rock climbing with her husband, Terry, on a whim six years ago, it was love at first climb. But it’s a sport with an extra layer of difficulty for the couple. Terry is blind.

Hoddinott, a dietitian at St. Joseph’s Health Care London, is Terry’s caller. Using a two-way headset, she meticulously directs his hands and feet to find holds and climb the rock wall.  

The couple loves to be physically active and find activities they can do together. But what started out as a fun date night has turned into competing on the world stage.

“I’ve been telling him where to go and explaining things to him, in so many words, for our entire marriage so this is a natural extension of that,” jokes Hoddinott. “We love every minute of it.”

Terry and Patti are members of the Canadian Paraclimbing Team consisting of nine athletes across Canada. They are now working with a coach with a goal to compete on the Canadian Paraclimbing Team in the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles.

During competitions, Terry is tethered by a rope on a rock wall up to 50 feet high and relies on his wife’s precise instructions from the ground. She calculates her husband’s reach, directing every movement, which allows him to keep moving, even when in the most precarious positions.  

In a competition, your score is based on how high you climb. If you fall, the climb is finished.

“It’s like a puzzle you are doing on a wall, which foot you’re going to use, which direction you are going to go, which way your hips should be facing,” she says.

While Hoddinott herself finds rock climbing exhilarating, she finds greater joy in helping Terry achieve the seemingly impossible.

“It trains your mind to think bigger and it’s such a mindful activity, you forget it’s a workout,” she explains.

For Terry, the admiration is mutual.

“Patti has an entirely different set of skills to read the climb for someone else,” explains Terry, who is 5’10” compared to Patti’s 5-foot stature., “You can imagine my reach is larger than hers’. I’m stronger but she is more flexible. It all makes a difference in rock climbing.”

But the challenges of rock climbing pale in comparison to some of the obstacles the couple has faced.

Terry has been blind since the age of three after being diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a form of eye cancer. The couple’s two children had the same type of cancer, prompting Terry to bike across Canada in 2009 on a tandem bike to raise funds for paediatric oncology centres across Canada. Thanks to early detection and treatment, the children are now healthy adults and thriving.

Patti draws inspiration from all aspects of her life. As a dietitian for nearly 20 years in Geriatric Rehabilitation Unit at St. Joseph’s Parkwood Institute, she is inspired by the resiliency of her older patients as they regain strength and return home. That same spirit of determination motivates her as she watches Terry push past boundaries and defy limits, proving that even the most daunting heights can be conquered.