Latest news with #LukeTarrant
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Young man, 29, left 'traumatised' after 'quick trip' to the doctor overseas takes a brutal and terrifying turn: 'I need to get home urgently'
A popular UK adventurer, who previously lost his leg in a motorbike accident, has now experienced a devastating new setback after a bizarre hospital incident. Luke Tarrant quit his job as an investment banker in 2023 to embark on a motorbike voyage across the US and Antarctica. But only eight months into the trip of a lifetime, Luke's plan came crashing down in South America when he suffered a life-changing motorbike accident in Colombia. In May 2024, doctors confirmed that in addition to suffering numerous significant injuries, Luke's left leg was 'dead' and needed to be amputated. But instead of letting the loss of his leg become a setback, Luke has since gone on to inspire his enormous 500,000 Instagram following with his positive attitude and continued zest for adventure. Luke's latest goal was to climb one of the highest peaks ever attempted by a person with disabilities - by scaling a mountain more than 5000m high in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia. But all of that changed this week. The typically upbeat man took to his social media account to share a sombre and devastating health update. 'I'm gutted, traumatised and honestly just fed up,' he wrote in a caption alongside a video. Just days out from his ascent, which he'd planned to begin on August 22, Luke said he noticed a fluid build-up around the area where his leg had been amputated. Under the advice of his usual medical team back at home, it was recommended that Luke attend a hospital in Kyrgyzstan to have the cyst examined and drained by a doctor. But according to Luke, what should have been a simple fluid drainage procedure became a brutal act that defied explanation. 'I'm honestly completely traumatised,' Luke said in the video. 'Basically, I had an abscess in my leg or a slight inflammation. And I was advised by people in the UK that it was worth getting some fluid taken out of it.' Luke recounted attending the unnamed hospital and speaking to some of their English speaking medical staff. He claimed he was at pains to explain that he didn't want to do 'anything big' and just wanted them to use a 'small needle to get a bit of fluid out' before he commenced the climb. A heartbreaking video shared by Luke on August 13 saw him detail how his planned mountain climb in Kyrgyzstan had been derailed. A 'gutted' Luke alleged that a routine fluid drainage procedure in hospital was mishandled Despite the assurance that the medical staff understood his request, Luke alleged that what happened next was 'traumatising'. 'The doctor comes out and he's prodding around, prodding around,' Luke recalled. 'He gets a scalpel, he cuts right down my leg in front of me while I'm just there awake in my wheelchair.' By this point, Luke was demanding to know what was going on - all while the doctor was opening the wound with forceps. 'I'm like, "Please stop this". They're all speaking to each other in Russian. No one's telling me what's going on,' he said. 'Next thing I know, he's getting some tweezer things and he's pulling bits out and he's like digging around and cutting. I'm in absolute agony. I'm like asking him to stop. 'I'm now looking down [and] I can see the bone in my leg.' By this point, Luke recalled that he was 'in complete agony and shock'. 'I've gone pale. I'm trying not to pass out.' The disability advocate claimed the ordeal lasted 25 minutes and by the end of it there was 'a massive gaping wound in my leg.' After the procedure, Luke said he proceeded to inform his stunned doctors back at home. '[T]hey were like, "It's absolutely insane what they've done to you. You're a massive risk of infection",' he recalled. They advised Luke against completing the planned trek or even wearing his prosthetic. 'I'm no longer climbing the mountain. It was meant to be a world first for people with disability and it's just turned into this,' a downcast Luke confirmed. Luke had planned to complete the trek alongside former professional rugby player Ed Jackson, with the pair raising money for the charity Millimetres 2 Mountains. The video concluded with Luke saying that he was now urgently flying home to the UK to go to hospital. A subsequent update post showed pictures of Luke in hospital in his home country – but unfortunately the news wasn't great. '[T]he wound is down to the bone and infected,' he revealed. 'They did a procedure to clean it which was agony and may need to operate next week,' he continued. 'Worst case if it spreads to the bone, will need to have my knee chopped off… best case is weeks off my prosthetic in the wheelchair. 'They said what the guy did to me in Kyrgyzstan medically is insane,' he wrote, before concluding with a thank you message for all the 'support' from his followers. The subdued video and update posts were a marked change to Luke's normally upbeat and positive attitude. Accordingly, his fan base was quick to rally around him, offering not only thousands of likes on his Instagram posts, but also inspiring messages of support, encouragement, and resilience. 'Luke. This is part of your journey. It's not the one you asked for, but it's the one you got,' read the start of a lengthy message. 'A year from now you'll be on the top of that mountain despite all circumstances and you'll discover that it was never about the mountain. YOU are the mountain. You got this. You'll see,' the message concluded. 'Yours was never going to be a straightforward comeback story,' commented another person. 'But you eat setbacks for breakfast and there'll be bigger adventurers and more world firsts waiting.' 'Your sad face honestly breaks my heart, Luke! I'm SO sorry you're going through this nightmare,' read the start of another longer reply. 'Time to focus on your recovery, trying to be as positive as you can. You did it once, you can do it again,' they added. 'You're our mentality monster pal, life throws you speed bumps so you can show us how it's done,' explained another inspirational response. 'It's a hefty burden you carry, especially with only one leg, but you're doing a better job than any of us could have imagined despite all the odds. That's why we all find you so inspiring,' the reply continued. 'This is the real work, disappointment and readjustment is much harder to cope with than any mountain. You got this.'
BBC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
One-legged Bedford climber's record ascent called off
An adventurer who lost a leg in an accident said he was "traumatised" to have to call off his attempt to climb one of the highest peaks ever attempted by people with Tarrant, 29, from Bedford, had been due to scale a mountain more than 5,000m (16,500ft) high in Kyrgyzstan, in Central Asia, but said there had been complications with draining fluid from one of his legs, meaning he would be unable to wear a a post on Instagram, Mr Tarrant said: "I'm trying to wrap my head around it, but my trip is over."He lost his left leg in a motorcycle crash in 2024 while travelling solo through Colombia on his way to Antarctica from the US. His planned ascent, alongside former professional rugby player Ed Jackson, 36, from Bath, was due to begin on Tarrant explained he "had an abscess in my leg or a slight inflammation and I was advised by people in the UK that it was worth getting some fluid taken out of it".He said that despite "making sure" a llocal doctor "understood what I was asking for" his leg had been "cut open".The disability activist said doctors in the UK had advised him he was now at "massive risk" of infection and that he would be unable to wear a prosthetic for "maybe weeks". Mr Tarrant and Jackson had expected the climb to take 10 days but have set three weeks aside in Kyrgyzstan for the were raising money for the charity Millimetres 2 Mountains, an outdoor- focused mental health Tarrant said: "It [the climb] was supposed to be a world first for people with disability and it's just turned into this. "I had a whole month planned here and I'm returning tomorrow [Wednesday] to urgently go to hospital. I'm just disappointed." His mother had hoped his motorbike crash would be "the end of him doing stupid things" but it has instead motivated him to keep challenging explained: "Initially after my injury, I thought I want to make sure this this doesn't hold me back and it doesn't mean that I can't complete things I would have done before. "Now I've kind of gone full circle where I'm actually going to try and do things which I would never have done if I hadn't had my injury. "It almost makes the whole thing worth it. It's like I need to try and make the most out of the cards I've been dealt to the point where I actually have a better life than I would have had before the injury." Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
04-08-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
One-legged Bedford climber in training for record ascent
An adventurer who lost a leg in an accident is preparing to climb one of the highest peaks ever attempted by people with Luke Tarrant, from Bedford, was in a motorcycle crash in 2024 while travelling solo through Colombia on his way to Antarctica from the 15 August, alongside former professional rugby player Ed Jackson, 36, from Bath, he will attempt to scale a mountain more than 5,000m (16,500ft) high in the ranges of Kyrgyzstan, in Central Tarrant said: "It was not really my thing, climbing mountains before my accident, so now I'm trying to sort my head around doing it with one leg." "I'd like to think it's risky but not reckless," he laughed. "It just depends whether we're up to it, I think it's possible"The pair expect the climb to take 10 days to reach the summit but have set three weeks aside in Kyrgyzstan for the are hoping to raise money for the charity Millimetres 2 Mountains, an out-door focused mental health charity. Mr Tarrant explained training sessions in the gym are great for cardio preperations but make his prosthetic "awful to wear" for days said: "It's kind of a balancing act between prosthetic wear and fitness, which has been pretty tough."When they reach the top of the mountain they will be allowed to name it, as it has previously never successfully this happens the duo will instead allow a local children's charity in Kyrgyzstan to pick a name for the adventurer said: "I'm not a huge fan of people from foreign countries turning up in other people's lands and just going and being like 'this is called this now'."We'll let them name their own mountain but hopefully we're the ones who climb it first." His mother had hoped his motorbike crash would be "the end of him doing stupid things" but it has instead motivated him to keep challenging explained: "Initially after my injury, I thought I want to make sure this this doesn't hold me back and it doesn't mean that I can't complete things I would have done before. "Now I've kind of gone full circle where I'm actually going to try and do things which I would never have done if I hadn't had my injury. "It almost makes the whole thing worth it. It's like I need to try and make the most out of the cards I've been dealt to the point where I actually have a better life than I would have had before the injury." Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
30-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Ex-Bath Rugby star to attempt world record mountain climb
A former professional rugby player turned disabled adventurer is set to take on his biggest challenge yet in a world-first mountain Jackson played for Bath and Wasps before his career ended when he broke his neck in a swimming pool accident in 2017 and was told he would never walk then he has taken on climbing challenges around the world, launched a charity and had a film made about his with a team, Mr Jackson will attempt to reach the highest peak undertaken by people with disabilities - a feat he hopes will "plant a flag in the ground for accessible adventure". "We're not just climbing a mountain — we're shifting mindsets, breaking barriers, and opening the door to future explorers who've been told they don't belong here," he added. The two-week expedition will see Mr Jackson, disabled adventurer Luke Tarrant, and their team explore the remote Tien Shan mountain range in basecamp, they will aim to summit a previously unclimbed peak of more than 5,000 metres (16,404 ft). Mr Jackson hopes the world-first challenge will "rewrite the rules of who gets to explore, and prove that with the right mindset, innovation, and support, anything is possible".He admits that that there may be a "less than 50%" of reaching the peak of the mountain but says it will be an adventure. The team will be fundraising for Millimetres 2 Mountains, the charity co-founded by Mr Jackson to support "others overcoming adversity through adventure".If they are successful, the team will have the chance to name the mountain."This is Kyrgyzstan's mountain, whether we get to the top first or not. "We want the kids of Kyrgyzstan with disabilities to name the mountain, so that they have got something to inspire them," Mr Jackson said.
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Yahoo
"The crazy part is a year ago he had two legs, and a month ago he'd never worn crampons" – adventurer who lost his leg in a motorbike crash hopes to set new record with the first ascent of a previously unclimbed 16,000ft peak
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Back in 2024, Luke Tarrant from Bedford in the UK had taken a break from working as an investment banker to go on a trip of a lifetime, riding a motorbike through the Americas. However, he was left fighting for his life when, in May, he was involved in a crash in Columbia. He had to have his leg amputated, and then contracted sepsis. Luckily he survived, and today is determined not to let his disability stand in his way. Just over one year on from the crash, Luke is now hoping to summit a 16,400ft (5,000m) never-before-been-climbed mountain in Kyrgyzstan. He will be taking part in the remote expedition with adaptive mountaineer Ed Jackson. Ed is a former professional rugby union player and lifelong outdoor enthusiast. In 2017, when he was 28, he fractured multiple vertebrae in his spine and doctors warned him that he may never walk again. Since then, Ed has defied the experts and returned to the mountains. He uses kit modified by Berghaus to help him climb and started the charity, Millimeters 2 Mountains, which supports individuals to overcome adversity through adventure. In an Instagram post announcing the expedition, Luke said: "I've done tons of crazy things in my life but this is without doubt the most mental yet. "[Ed] told me just after my crash that one day we'd climb a mountain together. I thought, 'alright mate, maybe a local hill in five years time'. But no, just half a year after I got out of the wheelchair and started learning to walk again, we're attempting a world first." The expedition, named First Ascent, will kick off in mid-August and Bergaus says it intends to "rewrite the rules of who gets to explore, and prove that with the right mindset, innovation and support, anything is possible". The project has these key aims: Access: Using customized kit, including gear from the Berghaus Adapts initiative, they hope to drive innovation in the outdoor industry to make mountaineering more inclusive for people with physical impairments. Education: The adventurers will share insights and unfiltered stories from the mountain to paint a picture of what it's like living with disability. Science: The team will be helping researchers study how disabilities affect individuals in different environments by tracking their biometrics. Legacy: Ed and Luke hope that their successful ascent will allow them to name the mountain, making mountaineering history and inspiring future generations. In an Instagram post revealing how the idea of the expedition came about, Ed says: "In three weeks I'm heading to Kyrgyzstan to attempt a true first ascent, a 5,000m giant that no human has ever stood on, one of the last unnamed peaks on Earth. Still wild, still completely untouched. "Luke and I bonded over similar attitudes and a lust for adventure, so six months ago I asked him to come to K with me, but just to base camp. But, plans have changed. He's trained, he's transformed, to the point where I asked if he'd consider joining me for the summit push. "The crazy part is a year ago he had two legs, and a month ago he'd never worn crampons." The expedition will be broadcast in real time through satellite links and via social media. Ed and Luke will be fundraising for Millimetres 2 Mountains. Donations can be pledged at First Ascent: Ed & Luke take on a World-First climb. Take your own adventure to new heights with the best approach shoes Keep sure-footed on the summit push with the the best crampons Solve the daily Crossword
