Story of Arunima Sinha – World’s first female Mount Everest conqueror with a prosthetic leg
The story of Arunima Sinha is all about bravely facing the challenges life threw at her, the spirit of never giving up and to top it all showing the world that nothing is impossible. With her sheer grit and determination, Arunima Sinha became not only India’s but world’s first female Mount Everest conqueror with a prosthetic leg. She was born in 1988 in Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, India. Here’s the Story of Arunima Sinha, who is an inspiration for many.
On 11 April 2011, she boarded the Padmavati Express train at Lucknow for Delhi for appearing in an examination to join CISF. She was a level national volleyball player then. A few thieves tried to snatch her bag and gold chain. On her resistance, they pushed her out of the train. As she was thrown out of the moving train, she got hit by another train coming on a parallel track. The train crossed over her legs crushing them below the knees. Her whole body was injured. She tried to get up but couldn’t do so because of her broken legs. She called out to people for help, but there was no one around.
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She lay there on the railway tracks the whole night, for almost seven hours and early next morning some people from the nearby village saw her and took her to a hospital nearby. The hospital had very limited facilities and the doctor stood wondering what to do. Even at this moment, she pulled herself together and told the doctor that her legs are crushed and he should amputate them. As there was no blood available, the hospital staff donated blood for the operation. The doctor had to amputate her legs without anesthesia, the pain of which she says she can still feel.
She was later shifted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on 18 April 2011 for further treatment, where she stayed for almost four months. She was provided a prosthetic leg free of cost by a Delhi-based private company.
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Indian Sports Ministry offered her a compensation of Rs 25000. Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Ajay Maken also offered a compensation of Rs.2 Lakhs as medical relief as also recommendation for a job in CISF. Indian Railways also offered her a job. Allahabad High Court also ordered Indian Railways to give her Rs.5 Lakhs in compensation.
While still being treated in the hospital and listening to what people around were saying and writing about her, she determined to climb Mount Everest. She was inspired by cricketer Yuvraj Singh, who fearlessly battled cancer.
People were not supportive of her decision and tried to demotivate her. But she did not give up.
In 2011 itself, she contacted the first Indian woman to climb Mount Everest, Bachendri Pal and signed up for training under her at the Uttarkashi camp of the Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF) 2012. On 1 April 2013, Arunima and Susen Mahto, a TSAF instructor, started the journey to climb the Mount Everest under the guidance of Bachendri Pal. Sinha reached the peak of Mount Everest on 21 May 2013. She took 52 days to reach the summit.
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Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav honored Arunima Sinha, world’s first women to climb Mount Everest with a prosthetic leg for her exemplary courage and also gave Rs. 25 Lakh to her.
Arunima Sinha is now working for social welfare and wants to open a free sports academy for the poor and differently-abled persons. She also authored a book called “Born again on the mountain”, which was launched by Narendra Modi in December 2014.
In 2015, Arunima was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India. She is also Awarded Tenzing Norgay Highest Mountaineering Award.
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