His left big toe was amputated yesterday due to gangrene. Abenojar now feels guilty that his 21-year-old Nepali guide, Pasang Dorchi Sherpa, lost all his toes — not nine as initially expected — to gangrene also yesterday.
Abenojar and Pasang are both recuperating at Cardinal Santos Memorial Medical Center in San Juan.
"The pain from the infection was bad. I thought I was going to die from the pain," he told The STAR.
Abenojar said he started questioning himself after waking up from the surgery and learning that his Sherpa guide had lost all 10 toes, including one that didn’t seem infected with gangrene.
"I immediately asked about Pasang and I was told that all his toes were amputated — even the one that was not black with gangrene," he said.
Abenojar also thought of the financial and personal sacrifices his wife and children had to go through while he was away. He was also struck with self-pity because of doubts about his claim that he reached Everest’s summit two days ahead of celebrated climbers Leo Oracion and Erwin Emata.
"I’m overwhelmed by sadness and pain. I thought, all these sacrifices, all the pain I went through, are all these worth the fulfillment of my dream?" he reflected, adding that encouragement from his family, friends and supporters kept his spirits up. "I have to be strong for them."
Doctors amputated the toes of Abenojar and Pasang last Friday to prevent infection from killing them.
Abenojar claims he reached the summit on May 15, while Oracion and Emata got there on May 17 and 18, respectively.
Abenojar said he would present strong proof of his feat "in due time." He has been accused of presenting a fake certificate and bribing Pasang and two other Sherpas to back up his reported feat.
Oracion and Emata’s team have also expressed doubts that Abenojar could scale Everest via a more difficult route despite injuries and with very little alpine climbing experience.
Abenojar said he will make a public presentation and answer questions point by point after making his full recovery.
"Once we present our evidence, all their doubts will be erased. We want it detailed," he said. "What we want is to give closure to all these doubts, over the whole issue, so we can go on with our lives."