Blesma News
Latest news from Blesma, The Limbless Veterans
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Half Marathon and Marriage on the horizon for Blesma Member Russ Kirby
14 February 2024
Blesma Member RUSS KIRBY IS PUTTING IN THE MILES to raise funds for Blesma and to get in shape for his wedding this summer. The former Royal Navy man is running the London Landmarks Half Marathon in April and is getting married to Sarah Deans, a former member of the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps, in June. “I wanted to do something for Blesma, but I also need to get myself fit for the big day,” said Russ, 62, who served on HMS Antrim before a motorbike accident cut his military career short when he was just 20 years old.
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When James Hill was forced to leave the Forces he took his love of dogs with him
2 February 2024
WHEN JAMES HILL WAS TOLD HIS MILITARY CAREER WAS OVER HE ACCEPTED IT STRAIGHT AWAY. THE QUESTION WAS: WHAT WOULD HE DO NEXT? IT WAS DURING REHABILITATION AT HEADLEY COURT THAT HE HAD AN IDEA AND DECIDED TO JUMP IN AT THE DEEP END. For most injured veterans, Headley Court was a place where they began their long, and often difficult, rehab journeys. For James ‘Jimmy’ Hill, it was certainly that – but it was also the place that inspired a brilliant business idea. “I remember getting into the hydrotherapy pool for the first time at
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Learn to really tell your story
3 January 2024
A BRAND NEW COURSE IS TEACHING MEMBERS HOW TO TELL A STORY TO A WIDE RANGE OF AUDIENCES. BUT THE BENEFITS ARE SO MUCH GREATER THAN SIMPLY BEING ABLE TO TALK IN PUBLIC The new Blesma Storytelling and Wellbeing programme is boosting Members’ confidence by helping them to hone their communication skills. The project is providing a unique opportunity for Members to learn how to structure and pace how they communicate, and the first few sessions are already paying dividends, with Members enthusing about their impact. The first sessions, which hav
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Wali Noori lost his sight in an IED blast whilst working as an interpreter in Afghanistan. Then he discovered Blesma.
2 January 2024
WALI NOORI FEARED WHAT LIFE HELD IN STORE FOR HIM WHEN HE LOST HIS SIGHT WORKING AS AN INTERPRETER IN HELMAND. THEN HE MET HIS WIFE, MOVED TO THE UK AND BECAME A BLESMA MEMBER. Wali Noori is an Afghan national who worked as an interpreter and cultural adviser for the British Army during the war in Afghanistan. He was blinded by an IED blast in 2009 and was relocated to the UK in 2016. He became a Blesma Member in 2022 and, earlier this year, represented the UK at the Invictus Games, where he won four gold medals.
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