Double Amputee Soldier Aims To Conquer Mt. Kilimanjaro

posted on Aug 19 by Lauren in the Disability News, Veterans, Wheelchair Sports category

Three years ago Corporal Mark Fuchko had a bleak outlook on his future after losing both his legs in an explosion while on duty in Afghanistan. Today, the soldier is preparing to climb Mount Kilimanjaro on two artificial limbs.

In the months following his injuries, Mark endured months of difficult rehabilitation that gave him doubts of reaching his goal of walking much less climbing a mountain. However, his determination and ambition paid off as he was walking by Christmas of that year.

Mark decided to join the group of 37 people set to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds for the Orthopedic Surgery Centre at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Mark states, “I don’t care if I have to climb on all fours with two broken artificial limbs, I will make it to the top.”

The feat of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is not one for the faint of heart. This climb involves eight hour days of climbing, altitude sickness, and exposure to the elements. Corporal Fuchko’s prosthetic limbs will make this feat even greater.

However, Mark is confident as he is not the first amputee to dive into accomplishing the seemingly impossible. Other soldiers — some of them amputees, others in wheelchairs — have accomplished the climb of Kilimanjaro. The climbers strove to raise over 500,000 before their climb began this year.

“When I lost my limbs, I thought my opportunity to do cool things like this were definitely out of the picture, and now I’ve been given this opportunity and I do want to make the most of it,” he said. Corporal Mark Fuchko is truly an inspiration to all of us. He has overcome all obstacles and will let nothing stand in his way to reach the top of this mountain.

Sources:
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/canada-in-afghanistan/story.html?id=5048808
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2011/07/05/18375496.html
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/canada-in-afghanistan/Soldier+another+mountain+climb/5049401/story.html
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/health/Corporal+Mark+Fuchko/5072574/story.html
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/canada-in-afghanistan/Soldier+lost+legs+determined+climb+Kilimanjaro/5048808/story.html
http://www.metronews.ca/edmonton/local/article/908337–wounded-soldiers-join-kilimanjaro-climb
http://kilimanjaro.royalalex.org/index.php/climbers/44-mark-fuchko
http://www.strathconas.ca/content.php?secondary_id=362&id=751