Kelly Cartwright in action before taking on Humpty Dumpty's Ultimate Burn (pic by Geelong Advertiser)
World champion sprinter and Paralympian, Kelly Cartwright, has broken her foot while climbing Mt Kilimanjaro for an Australian children’s charity.
The 20-year-old from Victoria was on a six-hour trek to the Karanga Camp 4000m above sea level on the highest peak in Africa on Monday when the foot on her prosthetic leg, which has been fitted with a hydraulic knee for the trek, snapped on a difficult part of the climb.
The mishap did not stop the courageous athlete, who lost her right leg to cancer at the age of 15, according to the founder of the Humpty Dumpty Foundation, Paul Francis. Nor was she physically hurt.
“Twenty-four hours later, she’s got a new foot and is ready to go. She came prepared and it’s just amazing what can be done,” Francis said in a progress report from Kilimanjaro.
Cartwright is one of 21 people climbing Kilimanjaro for Humpty’s inaugural “Ultimate Burn”, the brainchild of Liberal politician and Federal Shadow Treasurer, Joe Hockey, who is leading the team with Francis. They hope to raise $2million for the children’s charity which buys vital medical equipment to save children’s lives in hospitals around the nation and in East Timor.
The climbers, including David Koch from Channel Seven’s Sunrise show, began their trek last Friday and hope to reach the 5895m summit sometime around midday, Sydney time, on Wednesday August 5.
According to Francis, one of the Sunrise crew has succumbed to altitude sickness – which usually affects about 40 percent of climbers taking on Kili – and was walked down the mountain earlier today under the care of two doctors. He is recovering at base camp.
Click here to see who else is on the Humpty Dumpty Foundation’s Ultimate Burn.
