This Saturday, November 4, is a big day. A huge day. In fact, you could call it the “Everest” of calendar days.

Our story begins in North Yorkshire, a hamlet in Northern England that looks like it came straight out of a BBC Christmas special. The rural village is named Embsay, and it’s about the size of a guest bathroom, only with less legroom.

There isn’t much going on in Embsay, unless you count the thriving knitting scene. It’s a village of a few old ladies. Some fishermen. A couple farmers. Lots of old English houses, perched on sloped cobblestone streets. Two pubs, an inn, and the arts and crafts store which is, of course, constantly on call and ready to furnish all your yarn intensive needs.

The town’s most identifiable feature is that it lies nestled at the base of a large hill. Embsay Crag, a 656-foot miniature mountain that stands watch over the local resevoir.

The most notable person to ever come out of Embsay, aside from its knitters, is a world-famous rock climber named Ron Fawcett who was born here. In the rock-climbing world, Fawcett is a demigod. He single handedly transformed the sport of rock climbing in the ‘70s and ‘80s, setting records by completing some of the world’s most difficult and treacherous climbs. Many of which are still tightening the sphincters of today’s rock climbers.

I bring this up because, as of right now, there is another world-class climber from Embsay, about to set a big record of his own.

Which brings me to the main thrust of this column.

Meet Luke Mortimer. Luke is 10 years young. He lives here. He is a quadruple amputee.

He was only 7 when he contracted a bacterial infection that led to the loss of all four limbs.

Luke Mortimer spent six months in the hospital and nearly died from meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia. Whereupon he underwent 23 surgeries over a 10-week period to replace his missing skin and address his wounds.

His legs are now knee-length, and his arms end just below the elbows. But he is still able to walk on his residual limbs. Which makes him, literally, a walking miracle.

After marathons of physical therapy sessions, painstaking stints in rehab, and years of enduring his own private hell, Luke is alive and well. Living in Embsay.

And right now, he is looking at that mini mountain. Which he looks at almost every day.

In the mornings, sometimes Luke stands out in the garden of his countryside cottage, staring at Embsay Crag in the faroff. This big hill just stares back at him.

One day, Luke made a decision. He announced that he wanted to climb that hill. And he wanted to do it to raise money for the same charities that once helped him.

At first, nobody really knew what to think about this idea. It is not every day you see a 10-year-old quad amputee climbing a miniature mountain. Was it even doable? Wouldn’t it be dangerous? Perhaps even borderline insane?

Luke’s dad didn’t think so. Neither did his mom. They told Luke that, yes, it would be tough. But it couldn’t be any tougher than the last three years.

And so, as you read these words, a not-so-average boy is gearing up to hike. Other kids his age will be stuck indoors playing Minecraft, scrolling TikTok, or thumbing away on their phones and sending texts to people in adjoining rooms. But Luke will be climbing.

He will be wearing knee-length prosthetics called “stubbies.” He will be placing one leg in front of the other. Every mile he hikes will feel like double the distance, because of his shortened strides. But his dad will be beside him the whole way. And so will others.

“For Luke, this is a huge thing,” says his dad. “It’s above a normal walk for even me, so for Luke, it’s quite a tough challenge. It is kind of his ‘Everest.’”

So if you have a moment, please send prayers across the globe to the small, North Yorkshire village of Embsay.

If for no other reason than because it’s there.