Double Amputee Climbes Almost 3 Thousands Steps for Veteran Suicide Awareness
Sonny Joy Nelson
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An Army veteran performed an impressive feat to bring awareness to veteran suicide.
Army Staff Sgt. Travis Strong climbed 2,744 stairs at Manitou Incline in Colorado with just his arms. Losing both of his legs in 2006 in Iraq when his Stryker vehicle was “hit by a projectile that went through the truck and through my legs,” Strong has not let that slow him down. Strong climbed the almost three thousand stairs in about five hours along with a group of Fort Carson soldiers.
This is the second time Strong has made the climb. His first trip up the mountain took nine total hours but when he did it again in early March, Strong trimmed almost four hours off his previous time.
KRDO reports that Strong was inspired to make this trek after learning about another double amputee who made it up the stairs.
“He saw another double amputee military veteran, Mandy Horvath, who became the first female to climb the Incline Gains and Pike Peek last summer. Inspired by her climb, he decided to follow her steps. Strong and Horvath are the only two double amputees known to have scaled the incline,” according to Rare.
Strong is full of determination and motivation. While he has already broken his personal record, he wants to push himself even further so that other’s can see the reality of veteran suicides. Liftable reports, “Twenty-two veterans die by suicide every day in the United States. Strong plans to eventually climb the trail twice in one day, planting a marker emblazoned with “22” on every 22 steps.”
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