Vadodara Everester Nisha Kumari aims for Seven Summits after losing 8 fingers to frostbite

Speaking to The Indian Express, Nisha said, “After nearly seven months of treatment and wait for the frostbite to heal, I went with the advice of most doctors, including a vascular surgeon, who suggested that I must undergo the amputation… I have now undergone amputation for eight fingers, up to one and a half upper phalanges. One of my thumbs was unaffected and the other is healing.”

“Doctors had advised me that if I delay the inevitable, the lifeless tips of my fingers will fall off after a few months and I would still have to undergo a procedure to close the wounds… I chose to complete the process earlier.”

Stating that it has been a “painful” decision, Nisha said, “It was not easy but there was no choice… My first finger was amputated in August following an infection and seven others were amputated on November 21 in Mumbai… The pain I experienced post-surgery was indescribable. Even high-powered analgesics could not help me sleep for the first two days.”

“But 20 days later, my stitches were removed and I am now finding some grip. I have even begun riding my two-wheeler after getting enough grip to use brakes. I feel blessed I got away with just fingertip frostbites… One of the other Everesters from Nepal from the same expedition is slated to undergo amputation of his hand starting from the wrist.”

Her eyes set on the Seven Summits, Nisha is preparing to begin her rehabilitation and physiotherapy.

“It has been nearly seven months since I have used my hands much… So, I have to first build strength in my hands. I am planning to start my physiotherapy in a couple of days and then I will train to grip the mountaineering rope…”

“This setback cannot stop me from chasing my passion and dream, which is mountaineering. In fact, I am planning to scale Mount Elbrus or Mount Kilimanjaro of the Seven Summits by 2024. My family is supportive of my decision and never asked me to back off,” she said.

Nisha, who has been interacting with youth at various events since scaling Everest, attended her first public event on Wednesday in the form of an annual sports day of an Anand-based school, where she advised students keen on mountaineering to be “mentally prepared to witness death”.

Nisha said, “I believe youngsters who want to take up mountaineering should know the real story and understand what difficulties they will face. I always tell them the facts to prepare their mind. I tell them that mountaineering is a sport, which involves a definite risk to life, more than any other game.”

“When I was descending Mount Everest in May, I saw people pulling down bodies of my colleagues, who didn’t make it. Even at such a time, one has to be spirited to go on… losing a colleague can be very difficult but it should not deter you or make you step back…”

Nisha, who comes from a military background, is a 2017 alumnus of MS University with an MSc in Industrial Mathematics. In 2019, Nisha first scaled the Mount Friendship Peak (5,370 m) and thereafter, Mount Nun (7,100 m) and Mount Satopanth (7,000 m). Last October, Nisha conquered the Manaslu peak (8,163 m) and thereafter signed up with a Nepalese agency for the May expedition of Mount Everest.