Real Life Heroes: Rick Clement
Rick Clement is an incredible man. While serving in Afghanistan he was cut in half by an IED. This is his story.
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00:00We knew that he stood on an IED but we didn't know whether he was going to survive.
00:05It never for one minute crossed my mind that it would be me.
00:08And then I was at work and I got home and it's actually the first time I'd ever seen my dad cry.
00:13So I knew obviously something wasn't great.
00:20Grew up in Clitheroe. I lived in a small village just outside
00:25and it's sort of Ribble Valley countryside. So as a child it was an amazing place to grow up with
00:31fields and trees to build dens and all the stuff kids should be getting up to I suppose rather than
00:37computers like these days. I sort of took to school well. Academically I passed my 11 plus
00:43and ended up going to Clitheroe grammar school.
00:46I used to live in a pigsty whereas Rick used to live in an immaculate bedroom
00:52to the point where he would quite frequently empty the whole bedroom out
00:59into my parents' bedroom, clean it all to the nth degree and then
01:07put everything back in the same place very regimentally.
01:12There was a computer programme at school where you type in a few of your interests
01:18and it was designed to pop out a list of suitable jobs from that.
01:22And it was literally I think it was Army, Navy, Air Force sort of one, two, three.
01:27And I think that was because one I'd put travel, two fitness. So you think of those
01:33two things and the military is sort of right at the top of the list aren't they?
01:38Well he didn't really know much about the army at that point so I think
01:41as much as mum didn't kind of want him to flee the nest at such a young age it was probably
01:47the right, we could understand the kind of routine and the regimental side of it appealing
01:52to him so and you know he was adamant that that was what he wanted to do so you know
01:57full support in that respect.
01:59Basic training which whether you're a chef, a mechanic or an infantry soldier or anyone else
02:04we all do that basic training, it's basic soldiering skills.
02:08I completed that and I just, I loved it.
02:11Just, you know, crawling through streams and stuff, there were cold and hard times,
02:19don't get me wrong but it was just, it was like being a kid again playing, you know,
02:23playing soldiers in your dens and stuff.
02:26Initially I was kind of advised to go for officer training because again
02:30I had the sort of qualifications and stuff to do that but having completed what they
02:35call a potential officer's development course which was a lot of reading the guardian and
02:42sitting at tables with far too many knives and forks than what I needed, it just, it
02:47didn't feel like that was me so I transferred, completed the transfer to the infantry but
02:52decided to stay as a private soldier and work my way up.
02:56I know initially my platoon sergeant at the time didn't think I'd cut it and they were
03:02sort of thinking I'd be one of the ones that left early but by the end of it I ended up
03:08winning the best remy apprentice, the best overall apprentice and the best at military
03:14training so I really kind of once I'd settled in and stuff really got stuck into it.
03:20I was kind of, I was lucky, I was always a fit lad, I'd play football and stuff and
03:26I'm not a naturally fit person but I enjoy doing sports and stuff so that kept me fit
03:31and then academically I'd always done well which so between all those things I seemed
03:36to seem to thrive in that environment and I really, I was really proud to pass out and
03:42my mum and dad and some family watched me pick up those awards, it was amazing.
03:46Off to battalion then and the first two was Northern Ireland so off we went to Ormer which
03:53was like a, class is a fairly safe place, we were probably out of the heat of the main
04:00conflict time, this would have been 98 and but there was still a lot of stuff going on over there
04:08and Ormer was 50-50 in terms of Catholics and Protestants so in that respect a fairly safe
04:13environment. A massive car bomb in Northern Ireland has killed more than 20 people including
04:19children, it exploded in a busy shopping street in Ormer county Tyrone, about a hundred people have
04:25been injured. I was in the quick reaction force team that was out there and down within the blast
04:32zone within a few minutes so I saw exactly what had happened and the state of the injuries and
04:37everything and obviously we would go straight into training mode, we start cordoning off, dealing
04:43with casualties and it was hard at the time, we worked for hours on end to just keep everything
04:51going, you had people's relatives and friends coming to search for them because they were
04:55missing and worried and you had to obviously empathise and speak to them, we didn't know
05:01where some of them were so it was hard to kind of deal with that, I was 19 I think
05:09and a lot of people say oh did you join the army to kill people, I don't know personally very many
05:16that would say that, I certainly didn't do that for that reason, I felt I could make a difference
05:22and this proved it to me and almost put the nails in the coffin of me loving being a soldier then
05:28because I saw first hand the true difference you can make and the impact and I took that through
05:34the rest of my career and I felt like in Iraq, Afghanistan, other places we made a difference in
05:41variety of ways, I'm fully aware of what happened that day and still you know what the
05:48families of those 29 people and the people who got injured must have had to go through
05:53but at the same time there were some positives from our point of view as a British soldier.
06:05Yeah so I was lucky enough to serve all over the world throughout my career,
06:10operationally three tours of Ireland, one tour of Iraq and then Afghanistan and so I feel like I
06:17had a good view, a good experience of what most of the tours were during that sort of era if you will,
06:24the training for Iraq was where you realise that it's a bit of a different kettle of fish
06:30and that's not to say we didn't train hard for Ireland or Iraq, it was just more intense,
06:38more injury orientated, first aid, dealing with amputations, things like that and you certainly
06:45become aware of what you're going into. Now at the same time I was a platoon sergeant at this point so
06:53my brain was solely focused on I'm the person that needs to deal with it, be in charge of
06:58whatever happens, it never for one minute crossed my mind that it would be me. I didn't really
07:04experience any type of, military wise, until I went to Iraq in 2007 when we were being IDF'd
07:14and things like that, indirect fire from rockets from the insurgency and I didn't really
07:21feel as though any of that affected me, the Iraq sort of issue but the Afghanistan stuff was
07:29every day, my company, Anzio company was within our battle group was probably the worst affected
07:36in regards to injuries and deaths so it was just constant. I remember him at the leaving due
07:42because we had a bit of a leaving due for him going to Afghanistan which we hadn't done when
07:46he went to other places, I think we really knew the severity of it at that point given what it
07:52was like on the news and things like that. As we got out into Afghanistan you start doing some
07:57last minute training, you take some time to acclimatise to the heat because I mean that in
08:02itself can cause casualties, you're constantly drinking water, it's not a lie to say you walk
08:10out in the sun some days and it's like putting your head in an oven, it really is that hot
08:16and on top of that you're wearing body armour, helmets and all sorts of kit, you can't just strip
08:20off and do a bit of sunbathing. From the phone calls and messages that we were receiving from him
08:26you could tell it was a new experience, the other places that he'd been before
08:32within the UK or overseas for training purposes were very different, it kind of ramped up a level
08:38there from some of the information and I was quite shocked actually, I remember having one
08:42conversation with him and actually not realising that he on a day-to-day perhaps saw things that
08:49were very unusual to see including deaths, injuries and pretty horrific stuff and even
08:57carrying a gun, I don't think as a sister I'd kind of thought oh my brother carries a gun every day
09:03but actually that was probably the least of what he saw in terms of the horror stories and the
09:09experiences that were part of his day job. You get briefs on any sort of last minute intelligence,
09:16what are the enemy doing, what are they planning to do with attacks, are they ambushing in the
09:21area, are they planting a lot of IEDs, where are they planting them and one of the things we were
09:26told at the time was that they were starting to plant them in the irrigation ditches as well as
09:31on the pathways because we'd stopped using the pathways essentially because they were all being
09:37planted in there. On this particular day, it was back in May 2010, we were off out on a foot patrol
09:45so we're moving across the fields but we came to basically where I had a decision to make, there
09:51was a pathway straight down the centre, irrigation ditch to the left hand side and a building, I say
09:58that very loosely because it was sort of a mud building and basically buildings are an absolute
10:06no-no because they can booby trap roofs, floors, doors, you name it, in a building it can be
10:12trapped so just avoid them like the plague. So it's their irrigation ditch or footpath.
10:20We have a man who carries a metal detector called a Valum who is always at the front and his job is
10:27to search the ground with that and hopefully that'll pick up anything underneath and we can
10:31avoid it. However it's not always foolproof because the enemy learnt that and started to build IEDs
10:39with no metal in them and then bury the battery that triggered them way over to the side so the
10:46metal detectors simply just wouldn't pick anything up. So I decided because of the intelligence that
10:52we use and we only needed to move maybe 10 metres down the path that the path is the route that we
10:58would take and off we started to move. At this point I'm third man back, we've got the metal
11:04detector man at the front, the guy behind him who's his cover man and then myself at the front
11:10sort of leading with the map reading and such. And as we're moving along I got a shout from behind me
11:16so we stopped the patrol, everybody took a knee and it turns out there was a battery that was
11:23going from one of the electronic countermeasures pieces of equipment which is basically something
11:28we carry to stop remote control bombs being set off by mobile phones and things like that.
11:33So the battery needed to be changed over, we always carry spares so a couple of minutes went
11:38by we just stayed still while that happened and then off we moved. I got the nudge, yep good to go
11:44and as I stood up I took a step back and that was kind of the last thing that I fully remember.
12:03It felt like a bit of a poof to me but it was a huge explosion. The next thing I know I can't see
12:17anything, there's just dust everywhere, didn't really understand what was going on until
12:24people started coming towards me, my team and they started to treat the injuries and that's where
12:31I realised that it was me I'd been hit and it's a really strange thing because
12:37you don't feel any pain initially or I certainly don't remember doing and I didn't know what had
12:42happened and yet the second you sort of understand that people are coming and they're treating your
12:48injuries and it clicks in your brain, the pain automatically comes straight after it.
12:54It's quite bad to say but it was sort of a regular occurrence as such in regards to
12:58minimise so that's where all telephone calls in regards to welfare and internet connectivity
13:04is switched off so there's no connection and interaction with the outside world and that's
13:10obviously when you know that somebody there's been such a major incident that somebody's been
13:14injured or obviously worse so all killed as such so there's no communication back on because
13:20obviously in regards to like next of kin notification and stuff that has to rightly
13:23take place before people start putting things on social media and letting their families and
13:29friends know before actual family know that things are going wrong. I was in Afghanistan myself at
13:35the time and we were having a lot of serious injuries right across the regiment and fatalities
13:42in one lanks and two lanks which were pretty devastating on the soldiers at the time but
13:50when you're in theatre and occurrences happen you don't have much time to reflect on them because
13:57the situation's still fluid and you've still got a role and an operation to be continued with
14:03it's only after the event once the operation's over and people start to link back in that you
14:10really sort of get the gravity of what's actually occurred. Luckily we carry morphine so that was
14:19one of the first things they got the morphine pen out and went to jab that into me although
14:24completely because of the panic and the sort of danger of the situation the guy got his out and
14:31it's very much like a pen if you will where you you click on the end and stab it in and he had
14:35it upside down and he ended up stabbing it into his own thumb so he had quite a good time high as
14:41a kite for a bit of a period after that but we do carry spares as well so thankfully I did get
14:48mine very shortly afterwards. I can laugh at that now obviously I didn't I wasn't even aware at the
14:53time but that shows you the sort of panic in the situation when people are just trying to do a
14:58simple task and you know how even though we were so well trained things like that can happen.
15:05The next thing they were they were obviously stopping any bleeding, stabilising me,
15:09chucking me on a stretcher and moving me back to where the helicopter was going to pick us up.
15:15It was about nine minutes I believe when the helicopter landed. All I can remember thinking
15:21this entire time was that if I'm awake then I'm all right so it was a very simple logic I didn't
15:29feel like I was dying or I wasn't you know life wasn't flashing before my eyes or it was just a
15:36sole instinct of just stay awake and then you're all right. Somebody turned up at my mum's work
15:43because she was his next of kin so turned up at my mum's work and told her she knew when
15:52somebody from the army arrived basically and that it wasn't going to be good news
15:57and it's actually the first time I'd ever seen my dad cry. A further nine minutes later I'm being
16:03lifted off the helicopter at Camp Bastion. I was stabilised over a 24-hour period in Camp Bastion
16:11and then flown back to the UK with the idea being getting back home getting back near his family
16:16because we don't know if he's going to survive so you can you know potentially die by your family's
16:23side. Obviously we're in initial shock but it was the difficult part was the unknown as well
16:29so we knew he was still alive we knew that he stood on an IED but we didn't know
16:36whether he was going to survive so that that time period between him actually ending up in
16:42Birmingham Hospital where we could go and see him and that kind of travel to get him back from
16:47Afghan was was probably the worst because you were more more uncontrolled in that environment
16:54and and my mum being a worrier was you know down the road with worst case scenario it was hard to
17:03it was hard to kind of then control what that was going to look like because it was so unknown.
17:08I was informed I broke down crying I was like I had a conversation about it in my wedding prior
17:13to going saying like if he was up to be blown up and stuff that he wouldn't really get any shorter
17:18and all that sort of stuff which which was that just was the first thing that come in my mind
17:23because I thought I've had like sort of jinxed him here. On the plane back to the UK I was
17:29resuscitated twice which tells you you know the tiny margins between me not being here today and
17:37me being here and yeah I got I was back in Birmingham Hospital my family were obviously
17:44called down and they had to sit by my bed and sort of hope that I was going to wake up but also
17:50probably worry about what was going to be like when I woke up with legs missing and all sorts
17:56of a massive number of other injuries. I don't know whether he was unconscious or sedated at
18:01that point but he'd been in and out of consciousness from what we've been told from the teams and we've
18:06then learned the extent of of his injuries in terms of the loss of his limbs. One of the messages at
18:14some point early on was you know we've not seen these sorts of injuries like the extent is serious
18:20he may not survive the journey home. We was informed that he was like not in a very good way
18:26he was in an induced coma he'd lost limbs and it was very serious so we went up to Bastion
18:35to the hospital we went in there we was talking to this gentleman was pointed by the medics and
18:40the doctors and nurses inside the field hospital saying right there he is he's over there so we
18:46went over and we're speaking to this gentleman who was in an induced coma and they'd let you know
18:50sort of like the bodies are pumped with loads of antibiotics the the the look of them they've
18:57been sort of like blown up like a balloon as such like increasing in size so he was talking to this
19:03guy who we thought were Rick for like five minutes and it weren't even him. The hospital period was
19:09just horrible from my point of view far too much time sat in a bed thinking about all the things
19:17that you you can't do anymore it was it was like going from 30 year old fighting fit soldier to
19:25this elderly man who just needed absolute constant care. I went to Birmingham hospital thinking
19:32wow you know what's it going to be like I'm going to be the only person or we're going to be the
19:36only family there with somebody who's you know family members lost limbs because it just doesn't
19:42happen to people and we were one of many like the whole hospital was just full of those sorts of
19:48extent of injuries different varieties whether it was blindness or arms legs you name it but
19:56you know they would it fast became
19:58clear that that you didn't get minimum minor injuries from being in places like Afghan. He
20:06actually passed out afterwards I think so my brother goes into hospital with these injuries
20:12and I decide to take the life might pass out. When I walked into the ward itself Rick was on
20:16the bottom left I went in and I just had a chat with him and that was nice I was probably very
20:22I was probably very anxious and worried about what I was going to witness but then
20:30it's sort of like going it's like going seeing a relative I remember going spending time with
20:33my granddad when he was passing away and stuff and it was like this needs to be done like this
20:38could be like one of the last chances you ever speak to him and you need to be as positive as
20:42you possibly can and that's what and that's what we we did when we was there so we were just
20:46positive in regards to talking and just putting on positive messages. It was a terrible experience
20:55I think what me and my dad had in common that we were quite quite level-headed in those sorts of
21:01situations and we just I suppose tried to look after my mum and be there for Rick and whatever
21:08he needed it wasn't really about us what do you need and don't worry we'll we'll sort it from
21:14here whatever that looks like going forward we'll do it and we'll do it as a family like we always
21:19have done. Gradually I sort of started to look forward to the next operation and the next stage
21:26of recovery and they told me like once I got to a certain point I'd go to the rehab centre at
21:32Hedley Court that was where things really really changed. I'm arriving at Hedley Court and there's
21:40there's a guy a triple amputee but he's like rock climbing up walls and he's back driving again
21:46and swims and all variety of things all the things I thought well I can't do them anymore
21:52so I'm seeing that in front of me and I'm starting to think I can do that then that's that's my future
21:59so that then changes your whole mindset. We hear a lot about PTSD this day and age and it's only
22:07when the soldiers come back and reflect on the horrific occurrences that happen to themselves
22:16or their comrades that they look at what actually effect it's had on each individual and I think
22:26it's fair to say some individuals are affected more than others and it depends on what they've
22:30seen and what they've done and what part they played in them incidents. To being shot at or
22:38blown up or vehicles damaged and and and blown up it just becomes such an everyday occurrence
22:46or an every other day occurrence that you was emotionally just like it was blanked out it was
22:53just you just desensitized to it and you just everything was autopilot and I just become an
22:58emotional wreck I'm not even gonna lie but it's a work in progress and we all are and if we're
23:03willing to experience growth then then that's half of the battle I think. I never had any concerns
23:09about him being as independent as he possibly could he came back from Afghan physically different
23:18but mentally stronger and thank god he did. Rick's a great guy he's very positive he's
23:27lent forward into everything that he's done since the incident his recovery is absolutely
23:35remarkable and he inspires all of us. And as hard as things and as things can get and as difficult
23:42as times have been you've just got to find a way to move forward anything else is not not an option
23:49basically.
23:52You
24:11I want to win stuff if I'm taking part I want to win and I suppose I took that into my recovery
24:17because then I want to beat this person and that person and and win at recovery you know which is
24:23it's not really a thing but that's what always helped me because of that mentality and it took
24:29me about probably a further 18 months after the initial four months in hospital to get
24:37fully released from from Headley and I could have actually stayed there a bit longer but
24:41I felt it was it was my time I kind of signed myself out there after conversations with the
24:47doctors and stuff that that I felt like I'd done done what I needed to do. Some people may not have
24:53carried on or managed as well and he and he has done and I suppose he's turned a negative into
24:58a positive. Having seen Rick's recovery and what he went through and the position that he's in now
25:08from what he was in the early days of his injuries yeah it's truly inspiring. I don't think
25:14anyone would know until they're in that position because you don't really have an option but it'd
25:20be very easy to go the other way and have a lot of self-pity. Rick lives his life every day for the
25:26soldiers that are not with us and for the other soldiers that have got injuries and he almost
25:32wants to say look at me fellas I can do it so can you yeah let's lean into everything positively
25:39and I know he does a lot of charitable work behind the scenes for soldiers and other veterans.
25:47I know people who are struggling with various different things and some of them are from
25:51incidents similar to that and stuff and it can become it can consume you because
25:57you can't move past that point and thankfully I've always been very good at looking at the forward
26:04and respecting the past but it's the past now let's let's look at what's next.
26:12And what was next was learning to walk with the aim of a few steps with huge significance.
26:18There were many dark days whereas he had to come to terms with one what had happened
26:24and secondly start adapting how he was doing yeah his physicality in everything that he did
26:32and it takes time and it's only if you fully understood Rick's internal and external
26:40injuries that you can start giving it some thought of how if you like complex his recovery was.
26:49I was contacted by Preston Mobility Rehab Centre and they they said they were aware of obviously
26:57that I've been sadly caught who I was what my injuries were and that they felt they could do
27:02something to to get me trying to walk. Rick came in to our services and expressed a desire to
27:11walk so obviously for the patients that we normally see that's not an unrealistic
27:18thing but in Rick's case he had been told before that it's unlikely that he would ever
27:25be able to walk because of the extent of his injuries. It did pose significant challenge
27:30for us but I think at the time you know our view was that until we tried and failed
27:37then then we were certainly willing to give it a go and see where we could get to.
27:42I felt like that point I was at a good a good place in terms of my recovery I was I was fitter
27:48and wasn't particularly needing operations and surgery so it was the right time to give it
27:54another go without giving me false hope made me feel confident that we could certainly achieve
28:01something. Rick had just such extensive injuries a double amputee lower limb amputee a very high
28:11level on one side and if if some of our other patients presented just with that single-sided
28:17amputation at such a high level there's very few patients who go on to walk because it's just so
28:24challenging. Rick also has a short amputation stump on the other side with restriction in
28:31movement so again complications grafted skin abdominal problems so all of the areas that
28:38we would want to load to suspend the prosthesis from is compromised and and just the energy
28:45expenditure for being a double amputee is is enormous. We went on a lengthy journey I think
28:53it's fair to say and I don't think it's necessarily been done before with somebody with such complex
29:00injuries and we we kept our communication pathways open with Rick and we worked together as a team
29:10so that was the key thing really and he told us how he felt and how things were going and
29:15and we worked together so there was no clear pathway to the direction that we would take or
29:22the components that we could prescribe or how they would work together because the sort of
29:28geometry was so complicated but we we started and we we made something and then we improved on it
29:36and then we did trials with components then we changed them then we had intense physio sessions
29:44and ultimately we just kept progressing a little bit by a little bit. Then it was where where do we
29:49go with it what do I want to achieve and that's sort of where where the idea of walking at the
29:54Cenotaph came up. I needed something I think for myself to set a target to and once once I had that
30:05and how important it was for me to do that that that really helped me in recovery because I've
30:10got something to aim for I needed to walk a certain amount of distance I think I could do
30:18two laps along the bars which I think the bars were about 10 meters and I'd be absolutely shattered
30:23initially and I'd come home and fall asleep and that that was how much it took out of me. I would
30:29say all in all it probably took us a good year and a half to get to the point where we felt that
30:36Rick could walk proficiently to achieve his goals. Obviously I built myself up and to the point where
30:44eventually I started on one outside the bars but one hand still holding the bars and one stick
30:50and then to two sticks and progressed and progressed to the fact I could I could get myself
30:56standing up not very eloquently I must admit but I could stand up and then walk freely without
31:05without the bars or anything without without anybody. All of Rick's prostheses were bespoke
31:12the configuration of how both artificial limbs that we made sort of interacted with each other
31:19was complex and so again everything was entirely custom made for Rick and we did have to continue
31:27to change and develop to see how we could help for his stability you know his standing balance
31:37helped to enable him to sit and go from sitting to standing in the first instance because Rick
31:43is such a high level amputee it's very difficult to get some forward motion of his legs so
31:49he has nothing on one side that would help to propel him forward and on the other leg like I
31:56say is quite restricted so we initially tried with various types of different prosthetics and
32:04advanced componentry and then yet we thought out of the side of the box what else could we do
32:11we even tried him in an external robotic exoskeleton to try and externally power his
32:18prosthesis but I think we all concluded that was a little bit too scary and maybe one step too far
32:24and so yeah we back we backtracked to somewhere near our original plan and we took it further
32:30forward from there. I mean for me if I'd have fallen I'd have fallen it wouldn't have been a major thing
32:37I'd sort of you learn out how to try and fall correctly and so so as long as I didn't cause
32:42myself severe injury it would have just been it would have been what it would have been
32:48I don't I don't think anyone would have laughed as much as I probably would have but
32:52yeah I think people would have felt bad if they laughed at me. I think when we set out on the
32:58journey we set out with an open mind and and no time pressures but I think I remember on one
33:04occasion Rick coming in saying that he'd posted one of his rehab sessions on the internet which
33:11then sort of went viral and Rick had an extraordinary amount of support and people
33:17behind him and and so quite quickly we had a deadline for him to walk to lay the
33:25wreath at the Cenotaph on remembrance Sunday so from there yeah pressure was on and
33:31we had quite an intense time. I know there were people from my regiment people who knew of me and
33:37serving me that came from all over the country that day to kind of come and support me as well
33:43it was cold
33:46it you know it was really really good like I had my kids there family he's obviously his dad pushed
33:53him and all that sort of stuff and we used to do golf with his dad and it was all like a big family
33:57thing and we would all always support whatever Rick was doing in his charity stuff or in his
34:02walking and and I think for for him it was more like well I can do this and and he doesn't like
34:10to be seen to be not able to do things so for him to be able to do that it was there was a lot of
34:17pride in it
34:47so
34:56yeah we were there on the day so the full rehab team was there and he was supported
35:02um down to lay the wreath with our physios so the consultant myself um yeah the physios
35:12obviously Rick's family and many many others they're all willing Rick Rick on very very
35:19emotional for us quite a nerve-wracking time have to say because the challenge was just enormous
35:26and and for Rick himself an unbelievably emotional day I think I think one or two
35:33steps in and the reality of what he was doing really probably hit it home
35:38it it just reinforced that if somebody has the determination and will to do something then
35:45you know we are there prepared to try and help them to facilitate their goals
36:08it was a massive occasion for myself as much as it was really important to me that I didn't
36:15overtake the actual occasion of remembrance because that's not what I wanted to do I really
36:21just wanted to show that I'd worked hard for 18 months for that reason of remembrance to do it
36:29for particularly the people I serve with that lost their lives but you know for for everyone
36:35you know for for everyone in general that's that's we've lost in conflict
36:39Emotional, I'm a little bit emotional now because I know that Rick would say that it's one of the
36:49his proudest days of his life where he did that with his father present and I know that that Rick
36:58was absolutely determined to do that on that day how he did it I don't know yeah I was present
37:09and I was proud as punch and he did what he set out to do and that was lay a wreath at the
37:15armistice on Remembrance Sunday and you know and it it certainly takes your breath away when you
37:22see it but it's the fact that his father was there meant so much and his mother. I think without
37:30Rick's determination, grit, strength, courage and all the rest of it he he wouldn't have achieved
37:38his goal and it doesn't matter how much we sort of inputted into it without him being
37:45totally committed he wouldn't have got there but but his mental strength just meant that he could
37:52overcome all of all of the barriers that he faced. I did feel like emotional and that for him and
37:58like pleased for him to just even if he was only going to do it once he's done it he doesn't have
38:04to prove anything else to anybody else again or even himself he knows that he can do it and that
38:09is what it is so it was it was good Remembrance was good in regards to that respect. After I'd
38:13done the walk we went round the cenotaph I sat back in my chair and there was just about a minute
38:19where I kind of just had to breathe and and and gather myself gather myself. There was a point
38:26where I was very close to tears and I don't often sort of get emotional but I was you know it was
38:32that's how much it meant to me. In 2012 another challenge this time courtesy of the London Olympics.
38:41I was nominated I believe for both the there's two separate torch runs in there for the Paralympics
38:48and the Olympics. When he had the Olympic flame and he's that that was the worst weather ever
38:55and when he's going up past the gimp up the hill and all it gave him the craziest leg going up a
38:59hill in a wheelchair that was madness but it is what it is thank you Olympic Committee
39:04but but he did it because he won't not allow himself not to do it. The amount of times people
39:09have come to me and said why don't you do the Paralympics and my my answer to that is why don't
39:15you do the normal Olympics. They don't understand that these these people are not just disabled they
39:21are full-time athletes that train just as hard as any other normal athlete and it's a career and it's
39:29that is not I haven't got the dedication in that field to to do that. I have absolute respect for
39:35them my I try and get to the gym two or three times a week and that that's good for me that's
39:40brill and to do what they're doing and win gold and stuff is just it's it's way levels above what
39:46I am and yeah I sometimes feel people don't quite understand understand that.
39:54One of the things I'd always not regretted but missed out on I think I felt missed out on was
39:59going to Watch United because tickets were so hard to get and I couldn't get a season ticket
40:05because I was always here there and everywhere with the army so the more I went sat in the
40:10wheelchairs and the more I saw the great work that the Disabled Sports Association did to the
40:15point where I just thought I'm going to offer offer them help offer see if I can do anything.
40:19It was at a MUDSA annual dinner that Olligan Associate who was then manager
40:24was the guest speaker and we people were asking questions and in a Q&A session and
40:31instead of asking a question I decided to offer my services to the to the team thinking nothing
40:37had come of it but if you don't ask you don't get and and a real lucky turn of events if you want to
40:43call it that Ollie to his word said I'll get your number I'll send someone to be in touch and we'll
40:49sort it out and he did it he got his assistant I think it was got in touch with me and basically
40:56arranged for me to go up to Carrington and speak to the first team I remember getting in my car
41:03here at home ready to set off and I was sort of giggling to myself thinking is it real is
41:09am I really going to do this you know that's that's how much it meant to me and the idea was
41:14a little bit about resilience you know about mental attitude positive attitude how it can help
41:21but also the similarities between soldiers and footballers they have their battlefield they have
41:26the football pitch we have our battlefield you know going to Afghan or whatever but there's also
41:32having that same mental attitude of stepping across that line and fighting for the the people
41:37at your side and things like that yeah it's a day I'll never forget just just absolutely amazing
41:44thank you
41:50Rick is accepting of what has happened to him and he would rather he's thankful that although his
41:58his injuries are physical he's glad that he doesn't suffer with it mentally because obviously
42:04they're sort of like hidden things so he's very humble in his approach in regard to life and
42:08and I from what I've and when I have spoken to him he's the first person to give you an
42:14hand with anything to support you with things to support ideas it's better to be busy and better
42:21to give something back and I think that's that's at the heart of what he's doing so
42:25and I know that he's put a lot of soldiers in a better place employment accommodation
42:32basic needs yeah finances and he really does help and he continues to do so
42:42for somebody who's been through that it's amazing that he can share it
42:46he gets a lot out of being able to do that and give something back you know if he got
42:52the opportunity to go back in the army I'd dare say he'd probably still go
42:56I love doing the charity work and there's a couple of reasons the main one being
43:03I've seen first-hand the impact of these charities and what the money you raise does but
43:08what the charities do it's not always about it's not always money what people need sometimes it's
43:14support or whatever that might be and and number two it's it's important that I can show people
43:20that being in a wheelchair not having legs being disabled in general you can still do so much I
43:27feel like I probably probably go out and do more than the vast majority of people I know who are
43:33able-bodied met Brian Adams that was very random in terms of not only is he a hugely talented rock
43:45star he likes doing a bit of photography I find out rather randomly I initially thought the email
43:51was a bit of a scam if I'm being honest like Brian Adams wants to take pictures of you just thinking
43:56yeah this can't be true he basically did a book based on injured soldiers wanting to show the
44:03realities of war in terms of the scars the injuries and stuff so that was really interesting to be
44:08part of and I was cheeky enough to to ask if they could sort some accommodation for for me in London
44:16because they had to travel down he was actually doing the photography at his house and he kindly
44:20offered to let me stay at his house for the night so I was lucky enough to get more time with him
44:25than any of the others because I stayed over there are certain perks to getting blown up
44:45I always feel lucky I probably shouldn't be here today with with the injuries that I had
44:52yeah hugely lucky to to have lost friends over there who would happily switch places with me
45:02for me to feel sorry for myself and unlucky and negative about it all I think would be
45:08disrespectful that's how I feel anyway to their memory we're always worried about him because
45:14I mean it's no secret Rick's an absolute miracle that he's still here on on this earth and he'll
45:20he'll be the first to say that he hasn't he has no understanding of how he made it and others didn't
45:27he's showing in people that things can be done even though you believe that they sort of can't
45:33be done like his adversity level is probably like it's past 10 but it's probably like
45:3810.25 or something because if we give him too much he'll like get a big head or something but
45:43it's wonderful that people you know want to be involved and want to know what his journey was
45:48like and that he can help people and he has you know he's got a story to tell and a lot of love
45:55to give so there are worse brothers that you could have. Being a soldier was a huge part of my life
46:03but it's still just a part of my life I'd like to be known in the future or at the end of my life as
46:10somebody like more rounded than that and I do feel some armed forces veterans do get a little
46:19bit hung up on that's the only thing they achieved in their life when the reality is that's amazing
46:25we all you know it's an amazing thing to kind of sacrifice your life for the country as people
46:32like to say but at the same time there's so many more years around that in your life where there's
46:38so much more you can do now in whatever path you want to take.
47:38you