Everyone dreams of living a fulfilled life. From the point of birth, it’s every parent wish that their child will excel in whatever they are meant to be in life. In this article, we become privy to a story of resilience, interesting facts of a lady whose life was going on so well until one fateful day, when her life changed forever, except it didn’t. Arunima Sinha beat all odds to emerge on top of the world.
7 Mind-blowing Facts about Anurima Sinha :
1. The Train Accident
Until this day Anurima was an accomplished volleyball player. She was part of the national team. On this fateful day, the train she was travelling in was attacked by thieves. They pushed her out of the train after resisting their attempt to rob her. Unfortunately, her leg was crushed by an oncoming train. The leg was amputated and just like that she became disabled. Through a court case, she managed to be treated, compensated and also got a prosthetic leg.
2. Achievements
Under normal circumstances, one would expect Arunima to give up in life go back home and wallow in self-pity, but this was not the case. Her new status and the negative stories about her accident being a lie did not deter her desire to be on top of the world. It motivated her even more to high achievement. Four months after the accident Anurima was able to walk using her prosthetic leg. In May 2013 she became the first female amputee to climb Mt Everest. Other mountains she has climbed include Kilimanjaro in Africa, Kosciuszko in Australia, Aconcagua in Argentina, Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia and finally on January 2019 she climbed Mount Vinson in Antarctica.
3. Her Greatest Inspiration
Anurima says that she was highly motivated by Yuvraj Singh who successfully battled cancer. She was also encouraged by her elder brother Omprakash. She got training from Bachendri Pal the first Indian woman to climb Mt Everest. They even scaled the Everest together.
4. Giving back to society
Anurima plans to set up an international sports academy for people with different kinds of disability. She already has land for its construction, and she is hopeful that she will be able to achieve it. She has adopted 120 children in Lucknow who she provides for.
5. Awards
Anurima has received numerous awards for her achievements. After scaling Mt Everest, she was awarded two cheques totalling to Rs.25 lakh by the then minister Akhilesh Yadav. She was given the Padma Shri in 2015, which is the fourth highest civilian award in India. She was awarded the Tenzing Norgay Highest Mountaineering Award in India which is the same as the Arjun Award.
6. Indian Flag at the Everest Summit
Anurima’s dream came to pass the minute she set foot on the Everest summit. She marked her presence by hoisting the Indian flag and said prayers which she put in the ice. She also put some pictures of her idol Swami Vivekananda next to it.
7. Challenges
Scaling all these peaks came with its share of problems. For example, when she was climbing, her prosthetic leg fell off severally, she fell, bled and had blisters on her leg, but that did not dampen her spirits. At the pick of Mount Everest, Anurima’s oxygen got finished. That did hinder her from enjoying the moment at the top. She even took pictures and started her way down. Lady luck smiled her way through; she found extra oxygen that had been thrown away by a British climber. That’s how she made it downhill.
Anurima is a brave woman who turned her lowest moment, into the most significant achievement ever made by an amputee. She dared to dream and worked towards making that dream come true. She is an inspiration to both the ability and the different -able people that all is not lost and with great determination, one can achieve just about anything. Remember to always make lemonade when life hands you lemons.
