The restless ex-servicewoman, whowas severely injured when a helicopter crashedin Afghanistan in 2012, has been setting herself new targets as she pushes herself to new heights since scaled Kilimanjaro in Africa in 2017.
Ennis, who arrives in Nepal later this month to start her expedition up Everest, tells PEOPLE, “I want to redefine what it is to be disabled. When people say, ‘She’s missing her leg, that must be terrible,’ yes, it is hard – but I dictate what I am capable of. I want to encourage people to write their own definitions and chose how to live your life.”
Kirstie Ennis.Courtesy Kirstie Ennis
Kirstie Ennis.
She adds, “When I was in the hospital I didn’t have that role model to look up to. Whether it was from the self-esteem side of things, or the mental, physical, emotional side of my injuries. I want to be that for other people – for a young woman trying to embrace her differences and own some scars or whatever she has going on with her body.”
While she was recovering from some of her procedures in 2016, Harry sent flowers and cookies and she keeps people at the palace posted on her latest adventures.
“He is one of the few who are using his platform to truly make a difference to the lives of everybody,” she says. “As servicemen and women, we need someone to keep our feet to the fire to keep moving forward in our lives. Whether we are dealing with injuries of the transition from military to civilians”
As she makes the ascent – with climbing partner Christopher Pollock, a videographer, and some local guides – Ennis hopes to raise money and awareness forher foundation, which provides help for projects that target “education, opportunity, and healing in the outdoors.”
“Every mountain is so different and so special,” she explains. “Everest is the pinnacle of all – it is the tallest mountain in the world, with a 25 percent death rate.”
There are particular issues for a woman with a prosthetic – and she carries two different knees and three different feet for the varying terrain.
“Everyone on the mountain calls me the freak, because I move really well at altitude. I have to climb with people who can keep up with me,” she adds. “We have to listen to my body. When my leg feels good, we’re moving.”
“I’m not afraid of death, but I am terrified of getting frostbite on my residual limb as I don’t have much leg left,” she says.
“Things like this make me feel the most alive. Even at those moments when you’re in pain or things don’t feel right, you feel things. You feel the things you can’t see like color, feel sound. You are so present in those moments it makes it feel special,” Ennis shares. “I’m trying to write history and set a precedent for other people. I hope a little girl sees me and says, ‘I can do it – and I can do better than Kirstie.’”
source: people.com
