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HomeSPORTDefying odds at dizzying heights: How paraclimbing transformed Anoushé Husain's life

Defying odds at dizzying heights: How paraclimbing transformed Anoushé Husain’s life

Being born without her right arm below the elbow, surviving cancer and living with multiple health conditions has not stopped Anoushé Husain ascending Hackney’s climbing walls.

“Climbing is my escape from the world. No matter how my day is going, if work is stressful or I’ve had some news about my poor health, if I can get to the climbing wall, the world is a little bit better that day,” says Anoushé, 31.

“It is a mentally engaging sport, which means that if you’re not fully engaged you wouldn’t manage the climb once it gets hard. You force yourself to take a break from the world and then you can come back refreshed to deal with what you need to deal with in your life.”

When Anoushé was diagnosed with cancer, her friend suggested that she try climbing to rehab her left arm, which was heavily damaged during her treatment. With limited mobility in her left arm and a partially missing right arm, Anoushé struggled doing routine tasks such as putting on socks and opening jars. To Anoushé, climbing seemed the perfect exercise to help her regain mobility in her left arm.

“I’ve got five chronic health conditions. I also have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which means my tendons and ligaments are really loose and stretchy, so things can spontaneously dislocate. I could pop a hip out walking. I could sneeze and pop my shoulder out. It’s really fun, but it’s also very painful and exhausting,” Anoushé says with a smile.

“The first time I tried climbing it was painful and exhausting, but the few seconds that I was on the wall I actually forgot I had so many health issues. I was fully mentally engaged in trying to work out the vertical puzzle that climbing effectively is,” says Anoushé.

“It felt really liberating because I just felt normal. I felt like I was a completely normal person,” she says.

After recovering from cancer, she continued to climb on and off for four years before moving to London.

“I really missed being on the wall so me and my friend, who was new to climbing, decided that we would go to Castle Climbing Centre and be new and bad together.”

It was at Castle Climbing Centre where she learned that you can compete nationally as a paraclimber.

“I picked a coach three years ago and that September I was competing for the first time. By the end of that season I was ranked second in the UK in my category. Since then, I’ve competed for three years in a row,” Anoushé says with pride.

At the competition Anoushé met other paraclimbers for the first time. She was intimidated at first, but after getting to know the Paraclimbers she decided to set up Paraclimbing London, an organisation which helps remove the barriers that differently-abled people may have in accessing climbing in the capital.

“We help a variety of people, whether you’re missing a limb or you’re visually impaired or you have invisible conditions like cancer or mental health issues, Paraclimbing London wants to remove the barriers you face and help you get into climbing,” says Anoushé.

“We train up our volunteers because it’s not just teaching a climber how to climb, it’s teaching a paraclimber how to climb, so there is a disability sensitivity about that, so how do you encourage without being patronising?”

The organisation also runs social sessions and welcomes those who do not want to climb but want to be a part of a community of those dealing with disabilities. As the programme co-ordinator, Anoushé has seen other paraclimbers improve their outlook on life.

“I’ve found that when people start climbing they become more energetic and physically independent. A year and a lot of hours on the climbing wall later, I’m the one in the house that everyone calls to help them.

“It definitely helps them [paraclimbers] mentally. Their confidence improves and they start chasing the jobs they want and pick up volunteering opportunities. They also become part of a community that can understand their experiences and support them on their bad days.

“Paraclimbing London grew to over 160 members with absolutely no cash. We run it entirely on a dedicated team of paraclimbers and volunteers. We are trying to get more volunteers, because we want to take on more paraclimbers. We are literally full at the moment!”

Anoushé is currently taking a break from competitive climbing due to her ill health.

“What I’m doing is using this year to come back stronger. I plan to come back next year in full season. This year I’m consolidating all of the strength and all of the gains and trying to settle the health down a little bit,” she says.

Having already overcome her disabilities, multiple health conditions and cancer, pushing beyond what she thought was possible for her, the next barrier Anoushé wants to overcome is getting into Team GB’s World Championship team.

“I am not on Team GB, but I would love to get healthier again and make the team. So I’m focusing on trying to become a badass climber.”

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