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The husband of a Melbourne woman who died in his arms on Mount Everest has vowed to bring home the body of his beloved wife.
Monash University senior lecturer Maria Strydom died from altitude sickness in Nepal on Saturday afternoon after she and her husband, Robert Gropel, descended the mountain when she began to feel ill.
"All I am thinking about is I want to get her home," Mr Gropel told ABC radio in his first interview on Friday, nearly a week after his wife's death.
"I'm just trying to be strong, I'm learning to cope and block out what causes sort of, breakdowns and trying to get the job done of bringing my wife home."
The veterinarian said the efforts of sherpas who tried to get Dr Strydom down the mountain after she fell ill were "fantastic" and described his wife as a tireless advocate for women, animals and the environment.
"She was my motivation idol, my hero, she was a very strong advocate for women, she was the perfect person," he told ABC radio.
Mr Gropel said he and his wife had been together since 2003. He also said they had trained for a year and planned to climb the highest peak on every continent as vegans.
He said that he and Dr Strydom set out from Camp Four on Everest on Friday night. But at about 8000 metres Dr Strydom began to feel ill, and although she was "not a quitter" he said she made a brave choice to turn around.
He said she was without oxygen for up to 20 hours because it took her so long to get down the mountain.
As they descended, 36-year-old Mr Gropel also suffered from a lack of oxygen.
Battling the affects of the high altitude himself, Mr Gropel said it took a while for him to realise that he had medication in his pack.
As soon as he remembered, he said, he gave her a dexamethasone injection.
Extra oxygen from the sherpas and the injection seemed to help, he said, but then Dr Strydom collapsed suddenly and died.
@mmmhotbreakfast our NetballClub is trying to collect cash to help bring our friend Maria Strydom home. Please visit https://t.co/Q7U3G4SKqD— Scott Toniazzo (@scotty_ton) May 26, 2016
On Wednesday evening, Dr Strydom's best friend, Carly Moulang, confirmed that a rescue team had reached her friend's body and had managed to take her 300 metres down the mountain, to about 7400 metres above sea level.
She said the short journey was the most difficult of the retrieval.
"They had to stop at that stage due to exhaustion and weather, but they expect to continue her recovery," Dr Moulang said.
Family and friends are tirelessly working to raise the $35,000 needed to get her body off the mountain, with the St Michael's netball club setting up a webpage to help collect the funds.