UPDATED Tuesday, August 25, 2009 --- 7:50 a.m.

BAYFIELD, Wis. (AP) -- The Wisconsin woman who became the first person with multiple sclerosis to climb Mount Everest begins a speaking tour this week.

Lori Schneider reached the summit of the Nepali mountain in May, standing more than 29,000 feet above sea level. She had already scaled the tallest mountain on every other continent.

She is scheduled to speak in Bayfield on Wednesday and in Washburn on Thursday. Schneider hopes her exploits will inspire other people to move forward with their dreams.

Schneider was a special education teacher for 20 years. She was in her early 40s when she woke up to find half her body numb in 1999.

She says her diagnosis only fueled her determination to climb the tallest mountains.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

________________________________________________

Posted Thursday, July 2, 2009 --- 10:00 p.m.

"I was officially diagnosed about 10 years ago," recalls Lori Schneider, "Literally the right side of my body, half of my body, was pins and needles numb.

"It was devastating," she says with a long, thoughtful pause, "Devastating to me.

"I ran away from my life. I left a 22 year marriage. I quit a 20 year teaching career and I panicked."

1999 was a year Lori will never forget.

She was preparing for her second climb: Aconcagua in South America.

She summited with her father on the millennium after keeping her diagnosis a secret for months.

"I thought, 'If I'm strong enough to stand up here on top of this mountain, I'm strong enough to tell people that I have a disease, and I'm strong enough to face those two little letters, MS, and move on with my life," recalls Lori.

Her journey to beat the disease took her to Mt. Elbrus in Europe, Denali in Alaska, Kosciuszko in Australia and Vinson Massif in Antarctica. Yet one summit remained: Everest.

"I planned to never do Everest, which is why it was the last one," says Lori, "I just thought that one is out of my league. And then, about a year ago, I call it my leap of faith day. I thought, 'If you don't believe in yourself, who will?'

"I've been wearing these since I made that decision," says Lori as she touches the two bracelets she wears on her arm, "One says DREAM and one says BELIEVE. Every time I thought I was crazy I would rub these and think, 'What have I got to lose?'"

Lori took out a loan for $90,000, trained for 9 months and in March, she began the two month journey to the summit of the world's highest peak.

"You arrive at base camp at 17,600 feet and you begin a process of going up the mountain and then back down, up the mountain a little higher, then back down," she explains.

Lori and her group of 14 climbers and 5 guides made 3 approach climbs as they tried to get their bodies used to the lack of oxygen.

"I tried not to let fear in on days that it was a harder part of the climb," she recalls.

Two climbers had to be airlifted out. One had frostbite on 8 fingers and the other had fluid in the lungs.

"One morning we heard an avalanche, and it didn't stop. We looked out and there was a waterfall of ice and snow coming down," she says with a sad undertone, "We could see climbers in the ice fall. One of them didn't make it out."

Still, they pressed on.

The group climbed 1500 vertical feet a day or about 8 or 9 hours.

Finally summit day arrived.

"The weather turned very bad. [There were] 60 mile an hour winds, snow blowing and the visibility was getting bad," remembers Lori, "My thought then was, 'Don't turn us back this close to the top!'"

With an hour and a half to go, each step was slow and steady.

"Then you take another step and another step and another and they're so slow and difficult and I thought there are so many people with MS that this is the reality of their life right now," says Lori, "They're not climbing a mountain, they're walking from the kitchen to the bedroom."

After 11 hours, they reached the summit!

"We were only there for a few minutes and the head Sherpa said, 'The weather's getting bad, everybody down now!'"

They snapped a few photos and began their descent.

"I woke up in the morning and I realized that I had just climbed Mount Everest," says Lori with a big grin, "I called dad and said, 'I can't believe it! I really did it!'"

And she learned some valuable life lessons along the way.

"You are who you are inside and that's what makes you strong. The MS diagnosis was a catalyst to make me stronger in my life. I think that we all need to believe in ourselves and to live our dreams."

-------------------------------------------------------------

Lori is one of only 200 people worldwide to complete the seven summits. Only 20 in that elite group are women.

She has a website dedicated to her adventures and has already set a new goal: to inspire and empower others to believe in themselves and live their dreams.

To learn more, visit www.empowermentthroughadventure.com

-------------------------------------------------------------

There is still time to ride in the MS 150 Bike Tour and raise money to support Multiple Sclerosis research and those living with the disease.

It takes place August 1 and 2.

This is my third year riding, and 'd love to see you join my team, the Sonic Streamers, or make a donation.

Go to www.wisms.org for more information on the ride or to pledge a participant.

To join the Sonic Streamers, go to www.sonicstreamers.org.