A British war veteran who lost both legs and right arm when an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded during the Iraq War delivered a hamburger to the highest place in the world to raise money.
According to the British Guinness World Records on the 6th (local time), Andy Reed, a British disabled soldier who participated in the Iraq War, started delivering hamburgers to Mount Kilimanjaro, one of the highest mountains in the world. From the ground to the summit of 5895m above sea level, he succeeded in his ascent while relying on two prosthetic legs.
Andy Reed served as a British soldier in the Iraq War. On October 13, 2009, while on patrol in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, he stepped on a Taliban IED and suffered serious injuries that required the amputation of both his legs and right arm. Andy was in a coma for about a week and was able to wake up in the care of his family.
When asked how he felt when he woke up at the time, he replied, “The first thing I thought after getting out of bed was, ‘I am not a victim, but a survivor. .
Andy, who became a disabled soldier in an instant, did not get frustrated even in the hospital bed and made plans for a new life that would unfold in the future. He laid out his life’s master plan in bed. Andy’s first thought was to propose to his girlfriend.
To achieve his goal, he asked the doctor, “When can I go home?” “You can leave when you can get in and out of the wheelchair yourself,” the doctor replied. Andy started practicing getting in and out of the wheelchair from that day on. And he was able to go home 10 days after waking up from the fire and coma.
After going home, Andy did not give in to his obstacles and did not stop all challenges. He has broken down his plans to achieve his goals. And he just tried. Andy cycled over 400 miles (about 650 km) around the UK, skydived and kayaked.
In 2011, Andy married Claire, the girlfriend who kept him bedridden, and they have two children who look just like him.
He decided to use the attention and help he had received so far not for himself, but for others. Since then, Andy co-founded the StandingTallFoundation in 2020 to provide mental health and well-being through physical activity to those in need, including veterans, homeless people, and suicide attempts.
Andy has challenged himself to push his limits each year to raise money for this charity. Last year he took on a new challenge. Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, one of the highest mountains in the world, as an amputee without both legs.
To achieve this goal, Andy was supported by Uber Eats, an American restaurant delivery brokerage app that supports the Standing Toll Foundation. With the help of the company, he took on the challenge of delivering hamburgers at the highest altitude in the world.
Mount Kilimanjaro, located in Tanzania, is a stone mountain with an altitude of 5985m, and it was a difficult place to climb, especially for the general public. He was joined by 22 other volunteers.
Mount Kilimanjaro was a familiar place to Andy too. He conquered Mount Kilimanjaro in 5 days in 1999 at the age of 21 while he was already serving in the military.
But unlike then, Andy had been hit by the storm of the years, and of course he was missing two legs and an arm. For this climb, he has built up his stamina by climbing the mountains of England every weekend for the past two years. “Climbing Kilimanjaro was difficult even when I had two arms and legs,” said Andy. “It will not be an easy challenge.”
Andy climbed the mountain steadily for about 10 to 12 hours every day with 22 friends helping him climb, and finally reached the summit of Kilimanjaro in about 15 days. The hamburger he brought to the top was a vegan hamburger from Ernest Burger, a famous British hamburger chain.
This hamburger was vacuum packed for long delivery. Some crew members who ate the hamburgers spent the rest of the day in the bathroom the next day.
In an interview, Andy said of this challenge, “A lot of my colleagues suffered from altitude sickness near the top of the mountain,” and “I also passed out twice.” He continued, “Numerous people congratulated us on our challenge,” and expressed his aspirations, saying, “We will challenge Everest climbing in the near future.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.