2020
The Blesma News for 2020 covering news, activities and fundraising events for limbless veterans.
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Rita regains confidence thanks to Blesma family
5 April 2020
With the help of the Association a Blesma Widow is beginning to regain her confidence following the passing of her husband. Rita Taylor was devastated by the loss of husband David in September last year, but thanks to the support of her Outreach Officer Jas Suller and Welfare Rep Chris Jones, she is finding a new support network in Blesma. In January, Rita attended the Gloucester Christmas Lunch – the first Blesma activity she has taken part in on her own. “If it hadn’t been for Jas, I might not have got dressed that morning. I might have just sat at h
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Andy Mudd rocks out for charity with Prince and Bon Jovi
4 April 2020
Blesma Member and Trustee Andy Mudd has recorded a charity single with Jon Bon Jovi and Prince Harry. Andy, along with 11 other members of the Invictus Games Choir, was invited to the world-famous Abbey Road Studios in London at the end of February to record a cover of Bon Jovi’s track Unbroken for the Invictus Games Foundation. Afterwards, Andy was then asked to recreate The Beatles’ iconic zebra crossing photo outside the studio. “It was great fun! I couldn’t believe I was singing in the iconic Abbey Road Studios, which was
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Medicine and innovation in conflict
2 April 2020
The blunt saw on display at the Museum of Military Medicine was state-of-the-art battlefield kit in World War I, when military medicine was tested like never before. The atrocities of The Great War still resonate more than a century later, but the horrific events also brought about some of the biggest advances in treating the wounded, with techniques and protocols that endured for decades afterwards. World War I’s conveyor belt of casualties challenged the collective ingenuity of the Royal Army Medical Corps, which had only been formed 16 years earlier, and th
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Help with home means Jonny can help at home
1 April 2020
Housing adaptations funded by several charities are enabling injured veteran Jonny Holloway to fulfil his role as a young dad. When Jonny’s left leg was amputated below the knee in 2016 his home, where he lives with wife Lauren, three-year old daughter Amalie and four-month-old son Maverick, was unfit for a wheelchair. “I work full time and am standing up all day. When I get home, I want to take my prosthetic off and rest my leg for the next day,” said Jonny. “But I couldn’t use my wheelchair around the house, and I wasn’t much help using crutches. It was difficult.”
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