Kevin Francis, a tax senior at Larking Gowen’s Norwich office, had his right leg amputated in 2005 but has been determined to not let this hold him back.
Since losing his leg the 43-year-old has taken on swimming, canoeing, paddle boarding, skiing and hiking over a glacier – then he got interested in long-distance walks.
Originally Kevin was due to tackle Kilimanjaro in October 2022 but a Covid infection forced him to cancel, so he will now be taking on the challenge next month.
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With only a month to go until he scales Africa’s highest peak, Kevin has been practising including summiting Snowdon twice and his biggest worry at the moment is blisters.
He said: “Whilst my crutches are essential to being able to walk and complete these challenges, they also give rise to most of my problems.
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“Previous challenges have left my hands extremely blistered and it was only on my most recent challenge that we were able to prevent blisters with the right combination of tape and padding
“Temperatures will be below freezing at the summit so I will need thicker gloves than I’m used to, potentially creating friction points which I’m not expecting.
“My crutches can slip very easily on wet or muddy ground, and there hasn’t been a challenge this year when I’ve not slipped.
“Whilst I can – and do – always get back up again, the crutch slipping through my hands will produce friction, putting me at greater risk of blisters.”
Kevin is flying out on September 14 for the seven-day hike which will include a 14-hour hike on summit day to see the sunrise.
Kevin has already raised almost £4,000 for Parkinson’s UK at justgiving.com/kevin-francis14 as he has seen the “toll this disease can take” since his uncle’s diagnosis.
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