Lance Corporal
Matthew Wilson
I was injured in June 2009, when I was on a four-month tour in Afghanistan. I was a Section 2ic in the 2nd Battalion, The Rifles, which meant I made sure the blokes were well supported and well stocked, and ready to take over Command position as and when needed.
The day it happened, we were out on a routine foot patrol in Sangin. We were only a couple of hundred metres outside of camp but in a bit of dead ground so we couldn’t see where the camp was. I stood on a pressure pad IED, did a back flip, landed and had a quick look and didn’t realise it was me at the time. I then realised I had lost my leg and that my arm was not in the best shape. The lads jumped on me quickly. They managed to save my life: I could have bled out very quickly, but good training kicked in and I was casevac’d. Once I was stabilised on the ground, I was returned to my Forward Operating Base. There was a Medical Officer on standby there, and she managed to give me some more life-saving treatment. Then I was medivac’d out to Camp Bastion, where I spent two days in hospital. They performed a lot of surgery and got me ready to fly back to Selly Oak Hospital, in Birmingham. I was conscious up until the point I was put onto the helicopter, when they pumped me full of some nutty drugs and that was me in la-la land. I do believe that being conscious up until that point allowed me to deal with the situation a lot more.
I woke from a forced coma after seventeen hours of surgery. They had managed to save my arm: that was a massive, instant plus because—given the state of my arm on the ground—I thought I was going to lose it. The days in Selly Oak were definitely the longest days of my life. My body was injured in so many different places; the only movement I could make was to turn my head a bit from left to right. I got about three hours’ sleep a day. I was in Intensive Care for ten days and then managed to become well enough to go up on the Military ward. That’s when the banter started and it all became a lot easier.
I just felt very lucky to be alive. Given how close the IED was, to only lose my left leg and basically damage my left arm was a miracle. From then on, I knew there was nothing else I could do about the situation so I just got on with it. I was at Selly Oak for eight weeks, and I was really determined to make progress with my recovery. I went from Selly Oak Hospital straight down to Headley Court and spent twelve months down there, where you do get vigorously rehabilitated, as they say. On and off, four weeks on, four weeks off. It’s a little bit too much for your body to handle really, but once you’re down there you get the best of care. They work you well and get you up and walking as soon as possible.
I feel as though I’m the same person, just missing a few limbs. From this experience, I’ve learnt that anything can be pretty much overcome. I thought I’d never walk again but six months later, I’m skiing, I’ve been scuba diving and I’m now learning to fly a plane so it’s pretty good. I’ve learnt that if you can get your mind round a situation, you can conquer it.