Terje has a strong will – and a leg.
He does not accept that the prosthetic foot will prevent him from living life the way he wants it to.
Eight years ago, it was impossible for Terje to walk 250 meters from home to go to the cinema. Last year he went to Kjerag. This year we have gone from cabin to cabin on the Hardangervidda.
Going to Kjerag with prosthetic legs hurts. At the same time, it is a great personal victory to complete the trip.
But it’s about more than a man’s feat. It is also about a skilled surgeon who recommended reamputation in 2012, and about an outstanding orthopedic engineer from Moss who never considers himself finished with the prosthesis until Terje is satisfied.
Relatives
I’m the relative. The one who never goes alone with my husband on walks. There are always three of us on the trip – Terje, Beinet and I.
Whether the trip will be short or long, it determined for many years Beinet. Now it is to a greater extent Terje and I who decide where the journey goes.
The leg is not so fond of skiing. There is a lack of balance, and Terje can look like a drunk in downhills for confusion.
Terje has therefore replaced skis with fatbike, and now rides around the mountains all winter. Also in summer, the bike is used for recreation and training.
It’s about what you want
Recently, a three-day trip on the Hardangervidda was completed. Two days by bike and an eight-hour hike in the mountains, went well. Terje and Beinet were fine or in pain – all three of us were happy. The leg also became the main character at the tourist cabin in the evening.
A lot is about what you want. But with a leg smaller than the norm, it’s also a lot about what’s okay.
When what you want requires too much effort and pain, it is necessary to think alternatively. It can even be important to lower your ambitions.
After the trip to Kjerag, Terje said: Never again. It had required too much. After walking back and forth Gaustatoppen in a sea of fog, he said: We have to get up again once the weather is nice. After eight hours on his feet in flat terrain on the Hardangervidda, however, he said: Here we must soon again!
As a relative, I am happy for the will of the man. And then I am eternally grateful for the help from the surgeon and orthopedic engineer in Moss. The sum of professional competence and willingness to live, gives us an increasingly meaningful life.
The next challenge for Beinet is to walk from Bortelid to the tourist cabin on Gaukhei. When it will be I do not know – we have to take it a weekend The leg is in good shape.
Text and photos: Åshild Schmidt