Blesma News
Latest news from Blesma, The Limbless Veterans
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Charmaine 'So much happier' now she is walking again
25 May 2021
Royal Signals veteran Charmaine Healy is walking again, more than three years since she was last able to use her prosthetic. Charmaine’s left leg was amputated below the knee following a bomb blast in Afghanistan in 2010, and she has struggled with pain ever since. She has had eight operations in the last decade, and her most recent one – last July – has allowed her to use her prosthetic leg again. “My skin started to break down in 2017 which caused an infection. It was really painful, and I eventually found out the infections had led to a sinus tract,” said
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Paralympic gold medallist retires after 11-year career
21 May 2021
Blesma Member Jon-Allan Butterworth MBE, who became the first British veteran injured in Iraq or Afghanistan to win a Paralympic gold, retired from professional cycling in December after an 11-year career. “I wanted Tokyo to be my last Paralympic Games, but when they were postponed I knew I would have to spend another 18 months sacrificing a lot of things and training in lockdown,” said the 35-year-old former RAF Weapons Technician. “It’s hard to live the Paralympic cycle life, and I realised I’d be more gutted if I committed to training an
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Members Weekend 2021
19 May 2021
Members’ weekend is a yearly occasion which offers Blesma Members a chance to come together. It’s a chance to meet old friends and make some new, share experiences and have a say on supporting Members in the future. There are also multiple activities and presentations for Members to try out and get involved with. Apply on the Blesma website When? 02-04 October 2021 Where? Chesford Grange, Kenilworth Road, Warwick, CV8 2LD After the pandemic led to the cancellation of Members’ Weekend 2020, this year we saw t
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Table tennis proves to be a smash hit for Ian
19 May 2021
In 2015, former Royal Engineer Ian Murphy was doing his 75th skydive when he was involved in an accident that led to the amputation of his right leg below the knee. In the months that followed, angry at himself and with his confidence stripped away, Ian isolated himself from everyone. “I didn’t adjust well,” said the 55 year old from Nottingham. “I shut down and refused any help. It took me 18 months after I was discharged from hospital to stop crying! I was on a very steep downward spiral and, by 2018, I’d ballooned
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