Amputee Man Completes 13-Hour Crawl on Highest Mountain in Wales and Raises Over £3,000 for Amputee Children

Paul Ellis, a 56-year-old man from Wales, had both legs amputated after a bad fall caused a devastating spinal injury in 1992. The father of two just climbed Wales’ highest mountain and raised over £3,000 to send amputee children on vacation.

Crawling up the mountain on his hands and knees took about 13 hours total — and while the first three miles only took him about an hour each, the final two miles took almost nine. He wore thick gardening gloves and protective knee pads, but still ended up with blisters after the 3,560-foot climb. 

“I’ve got a few blisters on my stumps, blisters on my hands, you’re putting your wrist down all the time so my wrists got quite sore,” Ellis told Wales Online. “But with all the support of the people on the mountain saying ‘come on you can do it,’ that spurs you on.”

His fundraising efforts will help send six amputee children and their families on vacation to Tenerife. “It’s a challenge and that’s why I wanted to do it — to raise awareness and funds for the kids. It’s a hard challenge but one that’s worth doing,” said Ellis.

Ellis had supporters cheering him on as he reached the summit, and people were passing him water throughout the climb. After reaching the top, he camped out at the peak overnight before heading back down the following day. Two members of the charity Amp Camp brought his prosthetic legs to him for the descent.

“I went from not being able to walk at all and only being able to stand for about five minutes to going to climb mountains,” said Ellis.

Image source: Daily Express