Kiko’s epic journey
One woman’s incredible transformation from survivor to record-breaker.
Eight years ago, Kiko Matthews was given a life-changing diagnosis when she found out she had Cushing’s syndrome. Cushing’s is a disease that can have a serious impact on the sufferer’s life; at times, Matthews was so weak she’d struggle to climb a flight of stairs. She was unwilling to let the illness change her life, however, and became determined that no challenge would be too big for her. So it was that on 22 March, Matthews arrived at the sunny island of Barbados, after rowing across the Atlantic Ocean on her own in record-breaking time.
To make things even more challenging, Matthews was also recovering from a brain tumour like the one that had triggered the disease that so disrupted her life back in 2009. Cushing’s took a terrible physical toll on her body, but after recovering, she says, she felt that she’d be “doing [her] body a disservice” not to push herself to go even further. “I’m going to challenge myself, mentally and physically,” she said before setting off. Matthews wasn’t just aiming to row across the Atlantic – a distance of 2,800 miles. She wanted to beat the fastest time for a woman. “You might as well have something to aim for,” she said. Matthews’ journey was also for a good cause – she wanted to raise funds for King’s College Hospital, in London, where she was treated for her illness. She rowed the distance in 49 days, eight hours and 13 minutes, smashing the previous record of 56 days. In doing so, she raised more than £80,000 for the hospital. These accomplishments are amazing, but Matthews remains modest. “Eight months ago, I was lying in hospital having my brain operated on,” she said when she made land, “and now I am here, having rowed the Atlantic. I guess I am a bit proud.”