Ben Lovell is 42 and he had never climbed a mountain before he had his right leg amputated below his knee due to a blood clot.
This strain on his leg means that he’s able to walk 20 minutes before he has to take off the prosthetic and rest before he continues.
A former road worker, he successfully scaled Helvelyn in seven hours, the Scafell in nine hours, and the Scafell Pike after 11 hours.
Lovell’s Inspiring Journey
Lovell says that it’s never been about how long he needs to climb mountains, but it’s just about finishing it.
He adds that Helvelyn was really difficult and even scary since they lost the track and climbed the side of the peak. He recalls being in a lot of pain, but he says it’s a mental thing and you need to get past it.
He had no man-made pathways and walked through stuff and boggy fields because with a prosthesis, you don’t feel if the ground is uneven or not. And, he also can’t adjust it in the same since he doesn’t have an ankle joint.
He said how it puts strain on the other joints and other leg and he had to use crutches which tends to be hard on the shoulders and back.
Ben who’s the dad of a seven-year-old boy Midas and an 11-year-old daughter Twinkle worked tarmacking roads before he lost the leg after a blood clot behind his knee happened in November 2017.
He dealt with depression and anxiety in the beginning, but today, he heads to the gym five or six times per week.
Married to Laura, 35 and a salon owner, he has completed his climbs in three weekends in April 2021. He succeeded in walking around a mile before the rest of the amputated leg went white from insufficient blood so he rested for ten minutes.
Ben also did a sponsored 13-mile walk round a reservoir on crutches as well as a 15,000-ft parachute jump.
He Founded AmpCamp, a Retreat for Amputees
Lovell managed to raise thousands of pounds to pay for children with prosthetic limbs to become part of his fitness boot camp and holiday retreat that’s called AmpCamp and scheduled to happen in Tenerife.
The ten-bed villa will house the children hopefully next year. He raised the money through his climbs so the families of the kids will only need to cover the expenses for the flight.
Ben says that there are numerous children who’re in need of this opportunity and he wants to keep on doing his challenges.
He adds that having prosthesis doesn’t make everything same as it was before. He actually knows people with limb loss who’re still embarrassed about it, even six years later.
He confesses people stare a lot since it’s so visible. He therefore wants to use these holidays to give people a place to feel confident and safe and where there’s no stigma.
They will be able to take their leg off if they need and no one will judge because everyone understands.
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