They are Harry’s Heroes: servicemen and women injured in the line of duty. And 130 of them are in the British military team at the inaugural Invictus Games — the brainchild of Prince Harry.
They will compete in London this week against wounded personnel from 13 other nations. Here, five of them share their stories with KATHRYN KNIGHT.
My arm was sewn into my stomach
John ‘JJ’ Chalmers, 26, was serving in Afghanistan as a Marine Reservist when he was injured by an improvised explosive device (IED) in May 2011. He lives in Edinburgh with fiancée Kornelia Chitrusko, 27, and will compete in a cycling event in the Games. JJ says:
‘When I woke in hospital in Birmingham ten days after the attack the problem was that while I was intact, nothing worked: the blast crushed my face, broke my neck, injured both legs and smashed my arms to pieces.’
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John 'JJ' Chalmers, 26, was serving in Afghanistan as a Marine Reservist when he was improvised by an improvised explosive device (IED) in May 2011
Doctors saved JJ’s right arm — from which a large chunk had been gouged — by using skin from his midriff. They cut open his abdomen and folded the loose flap of skin over his arm before sewing it in place inside. ‘It was like a sling created out of my own skin,’ JJ explains. The damaged arm remained there for six weeks, attached to the blood supply of the abdomen.
‘Over the weeks they cut small sections of the flap away and each time, my body learned to pump more blood directly into my arm, and a bit less to it through my abdomen. At the end of it, they separated them completely, and the wound on my arm is covered with skin from my abdomen.’
I lost three limbs but cycled to Paris
Josh Boggi, 28, Corporal (rtd) 9 Parachute Squadron, Royal Engineers lost his legs and his right arm when he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan. He lives in Salisbury with girlfriend Anna, 27. He says:
‘I’d done three tours to Afghanistan when I stepped on an IED on New Year’s Eve 2010. One minute I was on the floor, the next I was in a ditch, but it wasn’t until the lads started applying tourniquets that I realised I’d been injured.
Josh Boggi, 28, Corporal (rtd) 9 Parachute Squadron, Royal Engineers, lost his legs and his right arm when he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan
‘I lost three limbs, but from the start I knew acceptance was the key to moving forward. Life goes on and you have to make the best of it. I spent the first year adapting to what had happened, but by last year I knew I needed something else — the question, with my injuries, was what?
‘Then I discovered cycling. Six weeks after I first got on a bike I cycled from London to Paris for Help for Heroes. Being part of a team was the best part — it replaces some of what you lose when you leave the Army.
‘Now I’m training to be a Paralympic cyclist and I see a wheelchair as a set of handcuffs.’
I'm back to being the man I used to be
Craig Gadd, 41, Sergeant, Royal Engineers. A reservist, Craig lost his left leg after being hit by an IED on his second tour of Afghanistan in 2010. He lives in Hull with his fiancée, Dolly Dalton, 45, and their child. He says:
‘I had convinced my family my job was one of the safest — I wasn’t poking about looking for IEDs but making tactical decisions about the best way to move our men. But it still took me out into the field and I was unlucky.
Craig Gadd, 41, Sergeant, Royal Engineers. A reservist, Craig lost his left leg after being hit by an IED on his second tour of Afghanistan in 2010
‘Coming round in hospital was a culture shock. I loved skiing, riding my motorbike, and you think all this stuff has been ripped away from you. I remember taking a shower and looking in a mirror for the first time at where my leg had been and there were a couple of tears. After that, though, I just got on with it — my fiancée was seven months pregnant and we had a baby to think of.
‘Now I’m part of the cycling team for the Invictus Games and I’m part of the Combined Services Disabled Ski Team. It’s helped take me back to the person I was before.’
The doctors thought I was dead
Derek Derenalagi, 39, Lance Corporal 2nd Battalion Mercian Regiment, became only the second soldier to lose both his legs in Afghanistan when his vehicle detonated an IED in July 2007. Originally from Fiji, he remains in the Army as part of their Elite Sports Regiment and lives in Hertfordshire with wife Anna, 23, and their two children. Derek says:
‘After the explosion I looked down and saw I was lying in a pool of blood with both my legs gone. I thought I would go home in a coffin — and I nearly did.
Derek Derenalagi, 39, Lance Corporal 2nd Battalion Mercian Regiment, became only the second soldier to lose both his legs in Afghanistan when his vehicle detonated an IED in July 2007
‘I was pronounced dead at the hospital in Camp Bastion, until one doctor detected a tiny pulse. Somehow, I got a second chance.
‘It took me a while to accept I had lost my legs. Back in 2007 my injury was rare: there was no road map, no one to inspire me.
‘Watching the Beijng Paralympics in 2008 was a turning point. I realised I, too, could be an elite sportsman if I found the right discipline. I bought a discus, trained myself in the back garden and four years later I represented our country at London’s 2012 Paralympics.
‘The pride you feel is immense, and I believe it will be similar at the Invictus Games.’
This shows there's life after injury
Vinod Budhathoki, 29, Gurkha (rtd) First Royal Gurkha Rifles, lost his legs and an index finger in May 2010 after stepping on an IED while on patrol in Helmand Province. He lives in Maidstone with wife Sanita, 26 and their two children. Vinod says:
‘Although what happened to me was horrendous, in some ways it was harder for my wife.
Vinod Budhathoki, 29, Gurkha (rtd) First Royal Gurkha Rifles, lost his legs and an index finger in May 2010 after stepping on an IED while on patrol in Helmand Province
‘My mind had already accepted that something bad might happen, but she was back at home, four months pregnant with our first child. However, when our daughter came along, we were so busy there was no time to dwell on what had happened.
‘Of course, part of me misses my old life, but sport has been a huge positive — it shows you there is life beyond injury. Now I ride a hand-bike, powered by my arms, and play sitting volleyball. Sometimes I miss my legs — I know I won’t be able to climb mountains in Nepal again — but in a funny way what happened opened up a new world of opportunities.’
You can still buy tickets for the Invictus Games at www.invictusgames.org. To support Help for Heroes funding our heroic men and women on their sporting journeys, please text SPORT to 70900 to donate £5 to the charity.
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