Meeting The Challenge

"People who were injured physically, mentally in Afghanistan, they will see what we can do.  I won't say it's like Terry Fox, but they will see that even if we are injured the sky is the limit.  I think, maybe, this will be the challenge of my life.
"I was really badly injured.  My jaw was broken in ten places, I lost my right eye and my left arm is half paralyzed.  I have no dexterity in my hand."
Cpl. Francois Dupere, 32, Montreal

www.cbc.ca/marchtothetop/2012/04/first-entry.html

The suicide bombing that caught Cpl. Dupere in Afghanistan in 2011 saw shrapnel from the bomb cut the jugular vein in his throat.  Four litres of blood seeped out of him before his condition was stabilized and he lived to see another day, out of the combat zone.  And, for the last while he, like his team mates, all determined mountain trekkers in the making, are set for a mountain adventure.

They are en route to the Himalayas.  Their intention is to raise awareness of injured soldiers.  Their exploits in challenging a mountain in the most famous range in the world that has attracted the most adventurous athletes and fit mountaineers is meant to draw attention to the fact that though suffering from physical and mental scars, life is worth carrying on, meeting new challenges, proving oneself to oneself.

Not everyone needs a challenge like climbing a mountain height.  Not everyone is capable of surmounting the difficulties.  These particular individuals are going on the venture called the True Patriot Love expedition comprised of 13 soldiers, a doctor and ten civilians, to pay tribute to their fallen comrades or those whose injuries were so severe they cannot join in an adventure of this nature.

They are doing this, trekking into the unknown, not only to battle their own demons, but to raise funds for a foundation that helps injured soldiers.  They expect to climb to a height of 6,183 metres, to Island Peak.  But first they will trek to the Mount Everest base camp.  And they will jointly experience a monumental personal feat, one that able-bodied people in full possession of all their physical attributes have barely managed to succeed with.

 In the summer they took part in a one-week training course in Alberta. There they learned the soon-to-be critical skills of ice walking and fitting on crampons.  "We're going as a group of soldiers.  We met in [Alberta] and we already have a team spirit and we know each other, even though it was only a short time, one week, for everyone it felt as if we worked together for a long time.  We're really a team", explained Master Cpl. Peter Burcew.

"I think that comes from our military experience.  They taught us in the army to get used to working with people you don't know really fast.  I'm trying to do this for everyone, not just soldiers.  But for those who have an injury of any kind, or a problem in life that a person thinks is very difficult.  They should know they aren't the only ones that have a problem and I'm trying to encourage those people to [overcome] those problems."

 Some of them may experience the debilitating effects of altitude sickness; as oxygen becomes thinner the higher they climb, they will have to acclimate themselves at a succession of base camps they and their guides will establish to have their bodies become accustomed to the thinner atmosphere.  They will be subject to weather conditions that will make their journey even more difficult.

Accidents may occur, and challenges will be plentiful.  They will have to use supplemental oxygen when they rise at a steep enough level to enable them to carry on with their plans to reach the summit they have set for themselves.  They will have to time their summit celebration so that they do not exceed a time limit giving them ample time to return to their last base camp before darkness falls.

Keith Morison for National Post  pl. Neal Carman shows the piece of shrapnel, from an attack in Afghanistan, he found in his backpack. He was taking part in a training session in Jasper National Park as a part of the selection process for the True Patriot Love Expedition to the Himalayas

National Post

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