Hi.
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the thing is about this whole kerfluffle, is, getting to base camp was an achievement personally for the kid and dad and probably a very unique and enriching life experience. It was not an achievement objectively if you understand that people with Down’s Syndrome are perfectly capable of walking uphill unassisted. Plenty of disabled people have actually summitted Everest, including a single amputee, a double amputee and a totally blind guy. Other actual summitteers include a 13 year old kid, a two men over 75, and a woman who summitted twice in one weekend.
Considering all that, “I got to base camp!”… well, it’s a little comical trying to make it out as more than it is - - a great personal accomplishment but one within the grasp of almost anyone who wants to do it. Hopefully they made some money for their cause - that’s great. People with Down’s Syndrome are very capable, it’s almost insulting to act like this is the most impressive physical feat a person with DS could accomplish. He probably could have summitted if he wanted to. I don’t fault him for not wanting to, I do fault the media – ad his father – for puffing the story and making a good kid out to be a supercrip as if that’s the only way he can be any good at all.
Actually they ripped off the blind guy. He never actually summitted - they just left him on a treadmill in the freezer for the weekend, and then lied to him.
Regards,
Shodan
LOL, yeah sorry, posting fail. I had edited out my original response and by the time I did, I only had a few seconds left to type anything in its place. I was hoping a simple “Hello” would be enough to convey my point but I guess y’all aint mind readers. My point was that my presence here at the Dope is a reminder that such beliefs regarding the disabled are complete nonsense. 
Exactly. Now if Gangster Octopus had quit at Mile 16 and had told people anyway that he ran the marathon, that would have been analogous to describing this kid’s feat as climbing Mt. Everest.