‘We’ve been to hell and back and put our lives back together... our stories can help children build resilience’
AMPUTEE veterans are reliving their traumatic injuries and battles to recovery to inspire a younger generation blighted by soaring levels of mental health distress.
The ex Forces’ team are delivering inspirational resilience sessions to help youngsters deal with the pandemic’s impact.
Research has shown that many young people, from their teens into early 20s, struggle with selfimage and the negative effects of social media which have been intensified by isolation from schoolfriends, the exam grades chaos, university lockdowns and dwindling job prospects.
The veterans have joined forces in a programme run by Blesma, the limbless veterans’ charity and The Drive Project social enterprise, which gives them professional training to tell their stories and discuss coping strategies.
Former Royal Engineer Josh Boggi stepped on a homemade bomb in Afghanistan on New Year’s Eve, 2010, two months into his third tour of duty. “There are a lot of us who have been to hell and back and put our lives back together and we have found that our stories can help schoolchildren build resilience,” he says.
“They need help now more than ever and, although we can’t physically get into schools, we hope our videos help. It’s just 20 minutes of our time but if it helps kids deal with the pressures of this strange existence we
are experiencing then it is well worthwhile.”
Josh, now 33, lost both legs, had part of his right arm amputated and faced a battle for survival. Yet he rebuilt his life, winning five Invictus Games medals.
“The main point I make is that if you need help, ask for it. Talk to your friends or your teachers. Our stories show them that no matter what happens in life, you always get another choice. As long as you are resilient and you have the willpower, you can change your life,” he says.
“We also get a lot from these sessions and connecting with
teenagers because it is something positive coming out of a dark moment. It demonstrates that you can overcome adversities with resilience,” he says.
Jack Cummings, who lost both legs to a bomb when he was 22, delivers spellbinding webinars that bring the moment the bomb was triggered to life.
The bomb disposal specialist was flung 10ft in the air and was in a month-long coma as medics stabilised his wounds after amputating both legs above the knee.
“I joined the Army at 16 and loved it. It was my career for life as far as I was concerned. But then it was gone,” he says. “I was 22 and had lost both my legs. My life had been flipped upside down.
“Every day since the age of 16, I had a structured routine and now I had nothing to look forward to, no purpose. So I understand what
‘It was my career, then it was gone’
kids must be going through today – their structure and routine have gone, everything’s gone. They are thinking, ‘What do I do?’.
“Those feelings of being adrift are similar to what I and others experienced so maybe how we dealt with them will help this generation.”
Jack, 32, from Didcot, Oxfordshire, who was on his second tour in Afghanistan with the 101 Engineer Regiment, went through a rehabilitation programme but his discharge from the Army in 2014 plunged him into depression and poor health.
“I was just lost. I was eating too much and drinking a couple of beers most nights so the weight piled on. I wasn’t looking after myself,” he says.
“It was only when my wife had a real go at me and said I needed to get a grip that I started to turn with dramatic impact as part of Blesma’s Making Generation R (Resilience) programme.
“Not being able to socialise is unnatural and could have a massive impact when they are older,” says Luke, 32, from Stamford, Lincolnshire, who was injured while with the 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment in 2011.
INSPIRED: Main picture, Josh Boggi; top, Jack Cummings now and, above, with makeshift bombs similar to the one that maimed him
“That is why we need to pay attention to their mental health.
“I’ve always been a positive person and even after the injury I had a positive mindset. If that inspires them in day-to-day life or dealing with tougher stuff, it’s worthwhile.
“I’ve been around other injured veterans with worse injuries who are getting on with life really well and that reminds you that your problems are not half as bad and gives you a bounce. If you stay positive and talk to people, then positive things can happen.
“Seeing people with get up and go, with a smile on their face despite horrendous injuries inspired me, along with the knowledge that we were in it together.
“I think that is a strong message to get across; you may feel isolated and life may be a struggle but loads of other people are experiencing the same feelings so