Paralympics countdown: Magnificent seven ex-military members eyeing Rio gongs after Help for Heroes assistance

TEAM GB’s 264 athletes will strive for Paralympic glory when the 2016 Games get under way in Rio on Wednesday.

Among them looking to top the 120 medals won at London 2012 will be seven former members of the military who have been assisted by the incredible Help for Heroes charity.

Sunsport’s MARK IRWIN  brings you the inspiring stories of our Magnificent Seven.

JOE TOWNSEND

Para-triathlon

ROYAL MARINE Joe lost both legs after  stepping on an IED in Afghanistan in 2008. He spent 14 hours in  surgery in Camp  Bastion and has had 50 operations to date.

There was a huge explosion and I was thrown into the air. I was  thinking ‘Someone has been hit’ . . . then the reality struck it was me. I could see one of my legs was missing and the other was really badly damaged.

As I was getting patched up I was thinking about the stress I had just put on my family. I remember thinking ‘My mum is going to kill me!’

Hospital was really degrading. You go from being a Royal Marines Commando to like a new-born child. My body wasted away to nothing and I was relying on other people to do everything for me.

So I set myself small targets. Today I’m going to feed myself, or drink from a cup  or wash myself. Gradually, those goals got bigger and now they’ve led me to Rio.

I was injured just as Help for Heroes was being set up and it was through their support I tried sport for the first time.

They started a little fire. Once you’re on a piece of sports equipment, your disability is irrelevant.  I can go out with able-bodied friends on a bike and leave them for dust.

NICK BEIGHTON

Para-canoe

ROYAL ENGINEERS Captain Nick lost both legs when he stepped on a landmine in Afghanistan and was put in an induced coma before undergoing 25 operations.

I’ll never forget that split-second when it dawns on you that your life has just changed forever. You just try to stay calm and stay alive.

You’re almost euphoric you’re still there but there are occasions when you’re staring at the abyss because it’s all too much.

You lose your legs and you lose part of your identity, especially being a fit young male in a military environment. It takes a big chunk of you away and you have this identity crisis about ‘If I can’t do that, what am I?’

Sport has been a great way of getting my confidence back. It’s also payback for the support and sacrifice of my family.

Of course I want to win a medal in Rio. But if I don’t, it doesn’t mean it’s been a failure.

This is about having a reason to get out of bed and push myself, to say ‘I’m a British Paralympian’ and proud of what I do.7

JON-ALLAN BUTTERWORTH

Cycling

THE RAF weapons technician was caught in a rocket attack in Iraq in 2007, losing his left arm below the elbow.

I was just unlucky. Wrong place at the wrong time. A bit of shrapnel tore through my left arm but somehow missed all my vital organs. I walked away with what I thought was only a scratch.

They did X-rays, I went into surgery and woke up without my arm.

I started cycling shortly after I got injured and have had support from Help for Heroes throughout my career. I love cycling mainly because of the speed — getting over 70kph on the track can be scary but it’s addictive.

Not a lot of people can go back to active service and fight for  their country after injury. The Paralympics is another way to fight for respect and honour.

I’ve won world titles and three silvers at London 2012. It would be great to finish off with a gold in Rio.

MIKEY HALL

Archery

A LANCE CORPORAL in the Dragoons, Mikey was paralysed from the waist down in a training accident in 2000.

I was with the lads, having a laugh. We worked hard and played hard. I fell off a rope bridge, broke my neck in two places and fractured my spine. I spent nine months in hospital — two on my back when I couldn’t move at all — and four learning how to walk again.

There were a lot of down days and depression knowing I was going to live in a wheelchair for the rest of my life.

So I would drink and drink until one day I woke up and said ‘There has to be something better than this’.

The Dragoons was a very sporty regiment. I was fit and loved running so I took up all sorts of sports —  and when they asked if I fancied doing archery, I loved it from the first arrow. Help for Heroes have given me the drive and courage to get up again and have the determination to be No 1.

Being in the military, you get up, put your uniform on and know you’re doing a job. This is the same thing. You put your GB kit on and go ‘Yeah, I’m part of a unit again’.

DAVE HENSON

Track athletics

ROYAL ENGINEER Dave lost both legs stepping on an IED in Afghanistan in February 2011.

It was just a normal day clearing the compound, I turned around and I was blown up.

They loaded me on to a helicopter and the next thing I knew I was awake in Camp Bastion hospital and that was it, legless.

The first interaction with Help for Heroes was when I was on sick leave at my parents’ house. I couldn’t get up the stairs so I was sleeping on the floor.

Help for Heroes provided me with a new sofa almost without question. That was a huge relief for my family. It made them aware that I was going to get looked after.

I lost my legs at 26 and that’s ten years of getting used to the fact that I have to do something else now.

I love athletics because  I didn’t think I’d ever be able to go this fast again when I lost my legs.

There will probably come a time when by body says ‘Dave, you’re got to take it easy’ because the blades have a big impact on my body. But I’m OK at the moment so my aim is to go as fast as I can while I’m still smiling.

We’re fortunate as injured soldiers to have this public support.

I still haven’t got to grips with the fact that people have put all this money in a pot and they’re giving it to me. I find that quite humbling.

JO BUTTERFIELD

Field athletics

JO was working alongside the British Army when a tumour was found on her spinal cord.  She was left paralysed from the chest down following her operation.

All four limbs are affected. I have a bit of movement in my thumbs but not much more than that.  I tried every sport, from swimming to bowling, and one day in the spinal unit we had a group of volunteers to do wheelchair rugby.

That was the first moment I realised I could do something dangerous and  I didn’t have to be wrapped in cotton wool.

“I got accepted on a Girls4Gold programme with UK Sport and British Athletics and they looked at a talent transfer to seated throwing and within 18 months I was competing at world level.

MICKY YULE

Powerlifting

A STAFF SERGEANT in the Royal Engineers, Micky lost both legs when he stepped on an IED in July 2010.

It was just another red-hot day in Afghanistan. I initiated a pressure-plate IED and instantaneously lost my left leg.  Subsequently, they amputated my right leg above the knee.

I never went unconscious with the blast and never looked under the duvet in hospital . . . I knew my legs had gone.

I’ve had 46 operations since then so going to the Paralympics now means everything to me.

I’ve had the Brazilian flag flying above my weights bench for three years now as a wee reminder of what all this is for.

If you’re going to do something, why    not be the best in the world at it?

Help for Heroes were there from the very start. They were emotionally invested to try to get somebody who had been through a bad time just a bit better.

Now I want to show everyone that just because I got injured in Afghanistan, I’m not ready to get thrown on the scrapheap.