Paraplegic to Climb Mt. Kili
There are a lot of unsung heroes out there. Without a doubt, I would venture to say that Chris Waddell is one of them.
Chris is leaving the U.S. on Sunday for Africa. He’s going to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. Not so special until you know that Chris is a paraplegic. If he succeeds, he’ll be the first paraplegic to climb the 19,340 foot mountain unassisted. He’ll be climbing using a one-of-a-kind four-wheel handcycle that is propelled only by arm power.
Chris was injured in a skiing accident in 1988. Determined to continue his athletic lifestyle, he joined the U.S. Disabled Ski Team just two years after becoming a paraplegic. He went on to become the most decorated male ski athlete in Paralympic history.
Not only does he keep an active athletic lifestyle, Chris is a motivational speaker, encouraging the disabled as well as the able-bodied with his inspirational stories.
You can donate to help support Chris in his efforts. In addition to helping pay for the cost of his journey and documenting it with a film crew, Chris will be donating wheelchairs to the needy in Tanzania.
“I am climbing Kilimanjaro because I want to shine a light back on the disabled community,” says Waddell. “To show that if you really take the time to look at us, you might be surprised.”
I hope you’ll join me in supporting Chris with a donation of whatever is comfortable for you wallet. Large or small, all donations add up to help this inspiring man continue his great work.
Travel Well!
Beth
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9 comments
Beautiful! Thank you for sharing this, Beth!
Beth,
Thank you….3 days to Kili, but the project has just begun! Again, thank you!
Actually Chris Waddell will be the second paraplegic to successfully climb Mount Kilimanjaro unassisted.
Darol Kubacz was the first to do it in August last year.
http://fflblogg.blogspot.com/
All the best to Chris, it’s an amazing challenge.
An Australian guy (Warren McDonald – double keg amputee) did this same climb around five years ago with a local Tanzanian, who had lost both arms. Hearing them speak is inspiring with each small uneven “bump” in the path a far more major obstacle. You can read briefly about Warren at http://7summits.com/forum/index.php?topic=147.0
@ Andy – I could be wrong, but I don’t think Darol made it to the top though he definitely made a valiant effort.
Whether he is the first or not, it’s certainly an awesome challenge. Good for Chris!
Trivia point – Kilima means ‘mountain’ in Swahili so it’s just Kilimanjaro not Mount Kilimanjaro. Otherwise you’re saying Mount Mount Njaro!
TOO cool.
Super story to follow! Hopefully he’ll do better than I did!
Inspiring! wish i could go along.