Former soldier runs tohelp other injured 138 miles veterans
A FORMER soldier has opened up on the devastating injuries he suffered in an Afghanistan blast – and how he is overcoming that trauma 11 years on.
Anthony Lock suffered brain damage and life-changing physical injuries while on active duty in 2009.
He was fighting in Afghanistan when the armoured vehicle he was commanding was hit by a blast.
The explosion saw him having to undergo emergency surgery on board a helicopter after his spleen ruptured.
Two weeks later he woke up, dazed, in a hospital bed in Birmingham.
Anthony, originally from Newport, had been in the army for nearly 10 years at the time of the incident, the second blast he’d been involved in within six weeks.
He signed up to the Royal Welsh regiment when he was 17 and served in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. Suddenly, it had all come crashing down.
“I suffered spinal damage, a broken back, shoulder and skull, brain damage and muscle injuries. I was told pretty quickly that my job and career was over,” he recalls.
It marked the start of a long journey during which Anthony, now 38, had to cope not only with the effects of his injuries, but with complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which he said left him lonely, vulnerable and isolated.
“I spent about a year in hospital and in a rehabilitation centre, and then I was sent home,” he said.
“I only had my wife and daughter, who was very young at the time. They’ve kept me alive to be honest, they’ve been my rock. If it wasn’t for them, I’d probably be dead.”
With little else to do, Anthony spent long days coming to terms with his experiences, and thinking about friends he had lost.
“I’ve had 12 friends die, and witnessed three die in one blast. I’ve had grenades thrown at me, I’ve been shot at, had to open fire myself before, that sort of thing.
“You’re at home staring at these four walls, and you’ve got all these horrific thoughts and experiences going through your head...
“Your mind is constantly on your friends who never came home, whether you could’ve done anything to save them, all that kind of stuff. It eats at you, and it still does today.”
Anthony reached such a low ebb that a couple of years ago he contemplated taking his own life. “One day, in 2018 I think it was, I went up to the top of Penyfan to kill myself. I was at a loose end, I had no hope.”
Anthony managed to convince himself to come down. “Something stopped me and I couldn’t do it in the end,” he says.
“I came down and spoke to my wife for the first time about what was going on in my head. She kind of knew, but she never knew the facts and stuff.”
Having opened up, Anthony decided to write a book about his experiences of PTSD. It was then, he said, that he began to receive more support.
“I started PTSD treatment after that, and then a friend of mine told me about a charity called the Not Forgotten Association (NFA), which offers support to veterans who are isolated.
“I phoned them and they asked me if I wanted to come skiing this February. I couldn’t believe they had offered me hope straight away. They didn’t know who I was or what I’d been through, they just knew I was lost.”
Plucking up the courage to go on the trip, Anthony said, was difficult, due to his anxiety about being around other people.
“But when I got to the airport, I realised there were people just like me, guys in wheelchairs, with inju
I’ve had 12 friends die, and witnessed three die in one blast... Anthony Lock
ries, psychological issues.
“It was lovely to be able to be around them and talk to somebody who understood after all these years, share experiences, advice, and having someone putting their arm around you and giving you a hug.
“I felt appreciated for the first time since I’d been injured.”
Anthony, who now works for Torfaen council, said he felt much better in himself after the trip.
But when the UK went into its first lockdown in March, his PTSD and anxiety returned. Yet the support of the NFA made a crucial difference.
“They kept in touch with me all the time. They even sent me a puzzle one day to help. Just knowing they were there for me was amazing.”
When the most recent lockdown happened, Anthony had some annual leave coming up and decided he needed to find a way to keep himself occupied.
He had been due to march with the NFA in London for Remembrance Day but the event had been cancelled due to the lockdown, so he decided to jog the 138 miles virtually.
Over 13 days, Anthony pounded the treadmill at home before finishing the final leg at his local cenotaph in Newport,
where he laid poppy crosses for the Not Forgotten Association and his fallen friends.
Having set a goal of £138 for the charity, he has since raised more than £3,000.
“Within a few hours there was about £700 donated, it was amazing,” he said.
“I was getting emails from elderly people who said they’d donated part of their pensions to it. They were humbled by what I was doing. It spurred me on.
“I don’t do running outside, as I find it extremely difficult. But this wasn’t just about raising money, it was about raising awareness of the charity and challenging myself too.
“So I ran to the cenotaph in Newport and paid my own respects. It was emotionally draining, but I got through it because of the support.”
Anthony still suffers the effects of PTSD to this day, but said the support from the Not Forgotten Association has been “absolutely phenomenal”.
“PTSD can affect your mood quite badly – you feel miserable, constantly tired. You need to use the toilet a lot because of the anxiety.
“Little things like a car door slamming, a dog barking, an alarm going off, can trip you up.
“It’s particularly hard at this time of year, with the fireworks obviously. But doing this has given me so much confidence.
“I spent six years at home, learning to walk again and doing brain exercises on my phone. It’s been hard. But the NFA have been brilliant. They do much that you don’t hear about.
“They’ve been going to care homes across the country and putting on shows in the car park for residents, and keeping them going.
“They don’t get enough praise, so I’m really pleased to have been able to raise awareness of their work, even if it gives one veteran who is lonely or isolated some hope.”
To donate to Anthony’s fundraising effort, visit uk.gofundme.com /f/aworthy-cause-i-care-so-much-about
For confidential support the Samaritans can be contacted for free around the clock 365 days a year on 116 123.