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| Amputee veterans Battling Back | Amputee veterans Battling Back |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Advertisement | Advertisement |
| How to ski when you can't use your legs | How to ski when you can't use your legs |
| By Frank Gardner BBC News in Bavaria | By Frank Gardner BBC News in Bavaria |
| Tom Neathway cuts an unusual figure, 6,000ft (1,829m) up in the Bavarian Alps. | Tom Neathway cuts an unusual figure, 6,000ft (1,829m) up in the Bavarian Alps. |
| With one arm and both legs amputated above the knee, the 25-year old Parachute Regiment corporal is skiing in a "sitski", effectively a wheelchair without the wheels, mounted on a single, racing ski. | With one arm and both legs amputated above the knee, the 25-year old Parachute Regiment corporal is skiing in a "sitski", effectively a wheelchair without the wheels, mounted on a single, racing ski. |
| Below him stretches a slalom course of ski poles, zigzagging down the mountain towards a snowbound village; beside him a sergeant major with a stopwatch. | Below him stretches a slalom course of ski poles, zigzagging down the mountain towards a snowbound village; beside him a sergeant major with a stopwatch. |
| It has been less than a year since Cpl Neathway was blown up in Afghanistan. In July his unit was at Kajaki, in Helmand province, occupying a sandbagged emplacement that was supposed to have been swept for booby traps. Cpl Tom Neathway never believed he would ski after his injury | It has been less than a year since Cpl Neathway was blown up in Afghanistan. In July his unit was at Kajaki, in Helmand province, occupying a sandbagged emplacement that was supposed to have been swept for booby traps. Cpl Tom Neathway never believed he would ski after his injury |
| But they missed one. When Cpl Neathway moved a sandbag, it blew up beneath him and at first his mates thought he could not possibly have survived. | But they missed one. When Cpl Neathway moved a sandbag, it blew up beneath him and at first his mates thought he could not possibly have survived. |
| Yet now, only months later, after surgery, hospitals, rehab and a prosthetic arm, Tom is working his way back to fitness on a Ministry of Defence rehabilitation programme called Battle Back. | Yet now, only months later, after surgery, hospitals, rehab and a prosthetic arm, Tom is working his way back to fitness on a Ministry of Defence rehabilitation programme called Battle Back. |
| He says: "I never thought at the beginning of this that I'd be able to ski down a slope let alone at the pace I do. | He says: "I never thought at the beginning of this that I'd be able to ski down a slope let alone at the pace I do. |
| "I never thought it was possible, but I'm doing it." | "I never thought it was possible, but I'm doing it." |
| Battle Back is designed to get badly injured servicemen and women back doing adventure training as a means to regaining as much of their physical life as possible. | Battle Back is designed to get badly injured servicemen and women back doing adventure training as a means to regaining as much of their physical life as possible. |
| It is the brainchild of Fred Hargreaves, a British Army lieutenant colonel who dreamed it up in a bar in Andorra. | It is the brainchild of Fred Hargreaves, a British Army lieutenant colonel who dreamed it up in a bar in Andorra. |
| He says: "I was sitting there having a drink with a friend and there were these disabled skiers, civilians, coming in with adapted ski kit, and I thought: 'We've got all these injured blokes coming back from Afghanistan and Iraq, why can't we do something like this for them?'" | He says: "I was sitting there having a drink with a friend and there were these disabled skiers, civilians, coming in with adapted ski kit, and I thought: 'We've got all these injured blokes coming back from Afghanistan and Iraq, why can't we do something like this for them?'" |
| According to Mr Hargreaves, for every soldier killed on operations there are roughly four more injured, of which one will be seriously injured. | According to Mr Hargreaves, for every soldier killed on operations there are roughly four more injured, of which one will be seriously injured. |
| It can turn their lives around from being in quite a dark place Lt Col Fred Hargreaves | It can turn their lives around from being in quite a dark place Lt Col Fred Hargreaves |
| Mr Hargreaves researched the US Wounded Warrior programme, a nationwide rehab scheme set up in 2003 for similarly injured US servicemen. He received backing from the charity Help For Heroes, £50,000 from the defence budget and he was off. | Mr Hargreaves researched the US Wounded Warrior programme, a nationwide rehab scheme set up in 2003 for similarly injured US servicemen. He received backing from the charity Help For Heroes, £50,000 from the defence budget and he was off. |
| Last year he ran a pilot scheme in the Alps; this year it is the first full course. | Last year he ran a pilot scheme in the Alps; this year it is the first full course. |
| He says: "The guys come here and quite often it's the first adventurous or active activity they've done since being wounded. | He says: "The guys come here and quite often it's the first adventurous or active activity they've done since being wounded. |
| "It can turn their lives around from being in quite a dark place, quite depressed about their injuries." | "It can turn their lives around from being in quite a dark place, quite depressed about their injuries." |
| Also on the slopes this month is Phil Meadows, a 23-year old lance corporal from the Queens Dragoon Guards who was blown up in Afghanistan in November. | Also on the slopes this month is Phil Meadows, a 23-year old lance corporal from the Queens Dragoon Guards who was blown up in Afghanistan in November. |
| BBC RADIO 4's BATTLING BACK You can listen to Frank Gardner's Battling Back programme on BBC iPlayer | |
| He says: "When the roadside bomb went off beneath us it sounded like a big pane of glass breaking. | He says: "When the roadside bomb went off beneath us it sounded like a big pane of glass breaking. |
| "Then I was slumped forward on the turret. I picked up my leg and realised it was hurting a lot." | "Then I was slumped forward on the turret. I picked up my leg and realised it was hurting a lot." |
| This is something of an understatement. Phil's heavily armoured Mastiff vehicle had been hit by a concealed device. The force of the explosion buckled the vehicle's hull and smashed his right leg. | This is something of an understatement. Phil's heavily armoured Mastiff vehicle had been hit by a concealed device. The force of the explosion buckled the vehicle's hull and smashed his right leg. |
| It was amputated through the knee 10 days later. Phil had become the latest among over 150 very seriously wounded servicemen to come back from Afghanistan and Iraq with life-changing injuries. | It was amputated through the knee 10 days later. Phil had become the latest among over 150 very seriously wounded servicemen to come back from Afghanistan and Iraq with life-changing injuries. |
| Yet now he is skiing confidently on one leg and keeping his balance with a pair of outriggers: mini skis attached to the end of crutches. | Yet now he is skiing confidently on one leg and keeping his balance with a pair of outriggers: mini skis attached to the end of crutches. |
| An Army ski instructor hovers just behind him, barking instructions: "That's it, carve the turn, use the poles, shift your weight!" | An Army ski instructor hovers just behind him, barking instructions: "That's it, carve the turn, use the poles, shift your weight!" |
| Phil shows not one ounce of self-pity. He is clearly more interested in improving his technique than moping over what happened to him. | Phil shows not one ounce of self-pity. He is clearly more interested in improving his technique than moping over what happened to him. |
| 'Cold feet' | 'Cold feet' |
| Back at base camp next to the ski slope, preparations are underway for the final race. | Back at base camp next to the ski slope, preparations are underway for the final race. |
| Prosthetic limbs are being passed up and down, then attached to stumps and there is a fair bit of banter. | Prosthetic limbs are being passed up and down, then attached to stumps and there is a fair bit of banter. |
| "I've got cold feet about this race," says someone. | "I've got cold feet about this race," says someone. |
| "Well aren't you lucky?," chips in an amputee. "I wish I had two feet to get cold." | "Well aren't you lucky?," chips in an amputee. "I wish I had two feet to get cold." |
| Anyone with an amputation below the knee is known as a "scratcher", as in: "It's nothing, it's just a scratch." | Anyone with an amputation below the knee is known as a "scratcher", as in: "It's nothing, it's just a scratch." |
| A sergeant from Essex who took a blast wound to the groin in Basra is known affectionately as "Testicle".Veterans, some of whom lost limbs in minefields, have found their confidence boosted | A sergeant from Essex who took a blast wound to the groin in Basra is known affectionately as "Testicle".Veterans, some of whom lost limbs in minefields, have found their confidence boosted |
| One soldier, an above-leg amputee, has never quite forgiven his mates for visiting him in hospital with a copy of Runners World magazine to wind him up. He has a t-shirt that reads: "I went to Afghanistan and all I got was this lousy false leg." | One soldier, an above-leg amputee, has never quite forgiven his mates for visiting him in hospital with a copy of Runners World magazine to wind him up. He has a t-shirt that reads: "I went to Afghanistan and all I got was this lousy false leg." |
| Now it's Cpl Neathway's turn, tucked into his bobski with his prosthetic arm gripping an outrigger to help him steer. | Now it's Cpl Neathway's turn, tucked into his bobski with his prosthetic arm gripping an outrigger to help him steer. |
| With no-one helping him he heads straight down the slope, having decided that he should be allowed to miss one slalom gate for each missing limb. | With no-one helping him he heads straight down the slope, having decided that he should be allowed to miss one slalom gate for each missing limb. |
| To huge applause, he is the clear winner. "I've always been quite confident," he says later, catching his breath. | To huge applause, he is the clear winner. "I've always been quite confident," he says later, catching his breath. |
| "If they put me at the top of a black run and said go for it, I would go for it, that's the type of guy I am," he added. | "If they put me at the top of a black run and said go for it, I would go for it, that's the type of guy I am," he added. |
| As everyone relaxes afterwards I can't help wondering: what next? What happens after this course is over? Has anyone given some thought into how best to employ these motivated young people? | As everyone relaxes afterwards I can't help wondering: what next? What happens after this course is over? Has anyone given some thought into how best to employ these motivated young people? |
| "It can be quite demoralising for them not knowing exactly what they're going to be doing if they stay in the Army," admits Mr Hargreaves. | "It can be quite demoralising for them not knowing exactly what they're going to be doing if they stay in the Army," admits Mr Hargreaves. |
| "Deciding where and how to employ severely-injured servicemen is still a work in progress, and there probably needs to be a bit more direction here." | "Deciding where and how to employ severely-injured servicemen is still a work in progress, and there probably needs to be a bit more direction here." |
| But he points out many of those now on the course have already found new roles within their regiments, and one man has been promoted since his injuries. | But he points out many of those now on the course have already found new roles within their regiments, and one man has been promoted since his injuries. |
| Above all, it seems to me, this is about attitude. | Above all, it seems to me, this is about attitude. |
| L/Cpl Meadows sums it up. Drawing hard on a cigarette, pinched between his thumb and forefinger in the time-honoured soldier's fashion, he looks up the mountain towards the sinking sun and tells me: "Battle Back has made me realize I can still do things I did before, it's given me more confidence. | L/Cpl Meadows sums it up. Drawing hard on a cigarette, pinched between his thumb and forefinger in the time-honoured soldier's fashion, he looks up the mountain towards the sinking sun and tells me: "Battle Back has made me realize I can still do things I did before, it's given me more confidence. |
| "Now I know I can do the same things other people do, I just do them in different ways." | "Now I know I can do the same things other people do, I just do them in different ways." |