INDIA: In May 2015, Vikram Jeet Singh Parmar had a near-fatal car accident. The accident left him with life-threatening injuries. He had four broken ribs, had a damaged spinal cord, and the bones in his legs were completely shattered. Doctors told Vikram that he had less than a 5% chance of getting out of the surgery without being quadriplegic. Vikram was devastated after hearing this but he didn’t lose hope. That day, he made a promise to himself that changed his life.
“My four-hour operation was successful but I had to spend many months recovering from the surgery to replace a shattered C2 bone with a platinum screw. Till now, I have that screw in my neck. This was the lowest point in my life but I promised myself that I will get through it, learn to walk, jog, and climb the highest peaks in the world,” Vikram said.
When he was on bed rest for 3 months, Vikram read many mountaineering books and planned his training and seven summit climbs. After undergoing extensive rehabilitation, Vikram started to walk. After a year, he trekked to 5000m.
“It was a very important point for me, that’s when I realized that I will be able to chase my dream of climbing mountains.”
Now with his survival story, Vikram wants to inspire people especially the youngsters. “Firing this dream is a cause that is close to my heart.”
Early Life
Born in Kiccha, a small town near the foothills of the Indian Himalayas, Vikram has always been a nature lover. Since his childhood, he aspired to climb high mountains but he soon got involved in his life and forgot about his dream.
With a Master’s degree in Computer, Vikram has donned multiple hats throughout his life. He has been a professional photographer, a filmmaker, and now he works as a producer. He has produced several prominent videos for corporate giants such as Facebook, Slack, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc. Along with this, Vikram also takes on commercial and documentary film projects under his production house –RR Films.
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Passion for mountaineering
Vikram has now planned to attempt seven summits and climb many 6000m peaks. The producer cum mountaineer also wishes to build a mountaineering school in Ladakh with his colleagues.
“I am planning to build a mountaineering school in Ladakh with the support of my colleagues to teach and inspire our younger generation.”
Adversity causes some men to break, and others to break records but Vikram faced every adversity in his life with a brave face. Vikram thinks that regardless of what happens in our lives we all need to find a way to move on.
“I didn’t want the neck disability, the scars, the pain, the deformity to be the defining moment of my life. One shouldn’t let just one mistake define their future, nobody should define themselves by their mistakes and let that be the end of their story.”
