A Widnes man has described feeling 'blessed' to lose both his legs after being in pain for 16 years.
Paul Ellis, 56, broke his spine and was paralysed for six months after a fall in 1992.
He lived in pain for years, only able stand on his feet for five minutes at a time. His legs were fused at the ankles, which he described as 'horrendous'.
The dad of two told the ECHO : "I couldn't walk properly. I couldn't stand up properly. To me, it wasn't really legs. It was just a hindrance."
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In 2008, a doctor told Paul he'd be better off without his legs. Despite no guarantee he'd be free from pain, the Widnes man took the leap and decided to have the operation.
With the help of advancing technology and prosthetic legs, Paul is now 'more mobile than [he's] ever been'.
He took up wheelchair rugby and basketball after the operation that gave him a 'better quality of life' with his wife and two teenage children.
Paul said: "For me, it was a blessing really. With my legs, from 1992 to 2008, I struggled with them, I was in pain with them. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't walk or stand.
"I went from that to climbing mountains."
On Friday, Paul will begin a solo crawl up Mount Snowdon, using only his hands and knees to raise money for a group supporting child amputees.
He said the challenge is 'daunting', but he's rearing to go.
Paul told the ECHO : "I'm hoping to get up and down in two days. I'll be sleeping on the mountain. I'll just have to keep crawling, crawling, crawling."
He's been up Mount Snowdon before, walking with prosthetic legs up the highest mountain in Wales ten years ago. He's also walked the Yorkshire Three Peaks.
Earlier this month, Paul and a group of ten other amputees climbed Ben Nevis, the highest Scottish mountain, also to raise money for the group called Amp Camp Kids.
Walking is painful as the prosthetics put pressure on their 'stumps', meaning they have to rest and take off their legs on the way.
Founder of the group, Ben Lovell, told STV News: "Ben Nevis was hard. It's one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.
"But it’s about getting your head down – it's not physical, it's a mental battle so your body wants to stop but as long as your mind carries on you'll be all right."
Paul is taking it one step further by crawling up Snowdon in the hopes of raising enough money to send six children and their families to a Tenerife villa where they will meet other people with similar amputation experiences in February 2022.
The group has raised thousands of pounds so far, but there is still further to go before all the kids' trips are paid for.
Paul said meeting 'people who've got missing limbs and who are on the same boat' is important 'so you don't feel alone'.
He told the ECHO about the first time he met other amputees.
The 56-year-old said: "It was nice to see them walking about. It's inspiring to see people walking about."
Paul gets that same feeling now when he's walking up mountains.
He added: "It helps spur you on when you're out and about with them. Sometimes you're struggling and you look at them and they're doing amazing, you think, 'Well, I need to keep going'."
You can donate to Paul's GoFundMe here.
