The story of Hugh Herr, a legless rock climber who turned out to be stronger than a stone

Many of us, when faced with life's difficulties, ask ourselves — "Why me?". The story of the American Hugh Herr shows that you can not only hold the blows of fate with dignity, but also take responsibility for others. Having lost both legs in his youth, this man not only did not abandon the conquest of steep cliffs, but also helped others to realize a dream that seemed hopeless.

Hugh Herr was born in 1964 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA. His parents were professionally engaged in rock climbing, so the boy's fate was sealed. Already at the age of 8, Hugh climbed Mount Temple, whose height is 3544 meters. At the age of 10, Herr was considered one of the most promising young athletes in America.

But in 1982, a misfortune happened to a young climber. Together with his partner, the 17-year-old Herr climbed a difficult mountain and got into a snowstorm. Two athletes spent many hours on a steep cliff, in the cold and hurricane wind. They were rescued, but Hugh frostbitten his legs badly, which had to be amputated just below the knees.

As soon as he was discharged from the hospital, Hugh Herr began to make plans for new ascents. He began to study different models of prostheses, hoping to return his legs to maximum functions. Unfortunately, the prostheses of the 80s could offer nothing to the guy. Therefore, the Herr decided to deal with the issue himself.

To create a universal prosthesis, school education was not enough. Therefore, Herr graduated first from the University of Millersville, then the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and then Harvard. As a result, Hugh became the owner of a doctorate in biophysics, and most importantly — the baggage of knowledge necessary to achieve the goal.

And the goal was not easy and very important. Herr decided to develop biomechanical prostheses that would allow people without legs to live a full life. He himself did not abandon his climbing classes and invented a whole series of specialized prostheses for trails of different levels of complexity.

The legless scientist organized the Center of Extreme Bionics, which was engaged in sports prostheses. In parallel, Herr lectured to students of different universities and constantly improved his knowledge. His determination, intelligence and desire to help people soon bore fruit.

Looking at Hugh Herr coming on stage in front of the audience, it is impossible not to be surprised by the smoothness of his movements. If not for the complex bionic prostheses that the scientist defiantly does not hide under his trousers, one would think that he is completely healthy.

During one of his speeches , Herr said about his work as follows:

Hugh Herr has already helped thousands of people to return to normal life. But he is not satisfied with his work and believes that he is only at the beginning of the path. I want to believe that someday he will create prostheses that will erase such a thing as "disability" from the lives of millions.

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