Rolling with the punches (pt 2)

Thanks for coming back to part 2. If you missed part 1, please click here, although your world won't end if you don't :)

So we talked about some tough breaks and coming back to win. Some of you will know that recently some of my plans to take part in some marathon running events have gone awry due to injury. Nothing too desperate but enough to stop all running and the need to engage a sports physio. A little sore, but actually more annoying than anything else.


Imagine how I felt when, whilst at a country park with my family at the weekend, I met a guy who had had his sporting endeavours brought to an abrupt end through real injury. I'd mistakenly thought he might be an ex-serviceman. I asked him what he'd been doing to himself as it looked as though he'd been more than a little careless with a can opener. This was his story..


He had been a climber and was very experienced. He and 2 friends had decided to climb a mountain and as it was no mean feat (4,400ft), they had to do it in sections. On the day of the last section, one of the guys dropped out as he wasn't feeling well. The other 2 pressed on. Having gotten through the worst of it, they arrived at the approach to the summit, which having already scaled the ice and rock, was easy in comparison as it was a case of ridge walking to the top. All was going well and the atmosphere was jovial, as you'd expect between 2 friends.


At one point one of them cracked a joke and the other turned around to look at this friend. At the same time a huge gust of wind swept one of them from the ridge. They were tied together. They lay at the bottom of the precipice for 16 hours in -20C conditions. He was found suffering from severe hypothermia and clinging to life. 13 days later, one of them was lucky enough to wake up in hospital. His hands were covered in vaseline and in plastic bags. This was to allow the nursing staff to try to massage the blood into this fingers to combat the 3rd degree frostbite. Looking further down the bed, he realised a leg was missing. His remaining ankle had been so badly damaged that if the operation to fix it had failed he would have lost that leg also. He'd also suffered a fractured skull.

He also discovered that when the rescue services had found him, his friend and climbing partner had lain dead by his side.


Today he has only half of his right hand remaining and fingers of his left hand only to the first knuckle. He has a false leg. There are various other scars and injuries as a result of the fall and due to frostbite damage.


He was also a talkative happy sounding guy who was there with his wife and 3 children and having fun. I looked him up. He runs his own business in a similar field to mine.


Despite everything that has happened to him, he appears to have not only got on with his life but is winning. Nobody knows what goes on on the inside of course but I know this. I'll think twice before I whinge and whine about a minor ailment again. This man was a true inspiration to me.