Mumbai man with a prosthetic leg has become the first Indian with an above knee amputation to scale the Mount Everest base camp. Lost his leg in a truck accident at the age of six, 49-year-old Vinod Rawat trekked for around 170 km with a prosthetic limb to reach the height of 5364 metres.
A native of Uttarakhand and born in Mumbai’s Bhandup, Rawat met with a truck accident at the age of six. The accident left his leg severely injured and the doctors had to cut his leg only because his family could not afford to pay Rs.25,000 for a surgery. With an entire lifetime ahead of him, Rawat was left on support of crutches which accompanied him till the age of 27, when he got a prosthetic leg.
For Rawat, who often received negativity about his ability from people around, riding a motorcycle and climbing mountains became his life’s mission, and the prosthetic limb was the ticket to his dreams. In October, 49-year-old Rawat became the first Indian with an above knee amputation to trek to the base camp of world’s tallest Mount Everest.
After crowdfunding and receiving support from social organisations, Rawat set out to fulfil his dream on October 1 from Lukla and in six days, he walked around 170 km to reach the base camp at the height of 5,364 mtrs. He completed the trek by October 9, after climbing down from the base camp with an able body.
49-year-old Vinod Rawat trekked for around 170 km with a prosthetic limb to reach the height of 5364 metres 49-year-old Vinod Rawat trekked for around 170 km with a prosthetic limb to reach the height of 5364 metres 49-year-old Vinod Rawat trekked for around 170 km with a prosthetic limb to reach the height of 5364 metres
Talking to The Free Press Journal, Rawat said, “People made fun of me in my childhood when I told them about my dream to climb mountains but today I feel proud that I did not pay heed to that negativity and completed my dream without any sickness. The trek had its own challenges which slowed me down and my fellow trekkers suggested me to leave the trek midway but my faith in myself and god helped me fulfil my dream.”
Climbing the base camp was just the first part of Rawat’s bigger dream of scaling Mount Everest. Rawat has been climbing various hills and forts of Maharashtra and wishes to scale all the 350 forts in the state. He has been organising treks for specially-abled since 14 years where every year a group of around 60 people trek to the peak of Kalsubai, Maharashtra’s highest point.
Yadav is also a biker who has completed all-India bike expedition twice on his motorcycle that he has since 24 years. Although a prosthetic leg manufacturer by profession, Rawat has acted in multiple commercials and was also a contestant of reality show MTV Roadies Season 2. Rawat quit his bank job to follow his dream and today he is a biker, mountaineer, actor, Paralympics fencing player and a marathon runner. From the last three years, he and his wife, who’s wheelchair bound, have been working for wheelchair accessibility and participate in awareness runs.
“People lose hope very easily. Difficult situations come in everyone’s lives but we should not give up so easily. It was not easy when people used to make fun of me in childhood or even feel pity on me, but I had faith in myself and today I am fulfilling every dream I saw in my childhood. If you don’t have faith, you cannot move a single step,” Rawat added.
