What it feels like to be ... A NURSE IN A WAR ZONE

WAR is a terrible thing. I found myself in some difficult situations but that’s what I trained for. At night, helicopters would fly past and, if their rotors continued, it meant the soldiers onboard were alive. Everybody would wake up and listen for this – if they stopped for only two seconds, it meant they were dead.

I had trained as a psychiatric nurse and when my marriage fell apart it made me realise it was time to do what I wanted to do, which was join the Army. I joined the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps aged 29.

I was taught how to escape from a minefield, handle weapons, shoot live fire and distinguish between a friendly helicopter and an enemy helicopter. Although I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2004 during my training, I didn’t let it stop me.

It was winter when I arrived in Afghanistan in 2008, every night was austere as temperatures reached -10. There was no contact with the outside world. It’s only possible to go for three months, which is more than enough.

There was no permanent block when I arrived so there were 10 of us living in each tent. I was on call 24/7 working closely with the doctors and A&E staff at Camp Bastion; we dealt with everything that went on. It challenged me but I made friends for life.

One night a local driver in the area suddenly drove towards me with his truck and hit me and I had to have an operation. I woke up in the ward and was shocked to see a Taliban fighter in the bed next to me. It was difficult knowing that he could have killed one of my friends.

I was discharged from the Army in 2012 and found myself in a very dark place. I wasn’t sure where my life was going and my illness could have made me housebound. I decided I would get involved with sports. Because of the MS, I signed up for the Invictus Games 2014. I won two bronze medals for shot put and discus, a gold and three bronzes in swimming. Each sport had a captain and, to my disbelief, I was selected as the only female captain

for field athletics and met Prince Harry. I enrolled in a local badminton club. Soon I was representing Scotland. However, I struggled to find sponsorship for competing until I contacted my local butcher who agreed to produce a sausage called “Mary’s Smashers” to help.

This year is filled with touring; there’s a ranking system and if I can make the top six in the world, I’ll qualify for the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.

I believe in pushing myself and live every day by: “What have I done today to make myself proud?”

Visit: justgiving.com/crowdfunding/mary-parajust-giving Thanks to sponsors Crombies Butchers of Edinburgh and Path to Success