Soldier who lost both legs in Afghanistan wants to return to frontline

A soldier who lost both legs in a roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan has declared he would go back to the frontline tomorrow.


Telegraph

L/Cpl James Simpson, 23, became a double amputee and had part of a hand blown off when he triggered the device in Helmand Province last November during his second tour of the country as a sniper.

He was left with terrible injuries and has spent months in hospital recovering.

He also told how he wanted to walk again on his new artificial legs by the time of his 24th birthday in July and has astonished his family by already beginning the painstaking process.

L/Cpl Simpson, from Leeds, West Yorks, who met Prince Harry in Afghanistan, said: "I love Afghanistan and I would go back tomorrow. I enjoy being a soldier and being the best soldier I can be.

"I wouldn't change a thing. Someone could have stepped on it after me. I might have stepped over it and the person behind me could have done it.

"Your life is not over. It is a new challenge. I am still me and that is the most important thing. I want to be out there. A lot of my friends are still out there and I just wish that I could be with them.

"I was born to be in the Army and everything I have ever done with them I have just thrown myself into and done well.

"I really want to stay in the Army but at the moment with the technology I won't get back out on the front line.

"The Army has given me different morals about how things should be done and I have experienced things that some people will never get the chance to experience. It is the best thing I have ever done. I am still the same person.

"I lost my legs but I have not lost my marbles."

Recalling the terrible blast which happened at the end of a six-hour patrol, the inspirational soldier said: "I remember being rolled over because I had ended up on my front. That was the first time I saw everything. I checked my right leg first. My foot was gone and the bone in my leg was pointing upwards.

"My left leg was also gone and it looked like my hand had just gone. My first reaction was that I needed help.

"The lads started working on me and put ligatures around my legs to stop me losing blood. Without hesitation they bandaged both my legs and hand and gave me morphine injections."

Within minutes James was taken by helicopter to Camp Bastion, where he was put in an induced coma and taken the next day to Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham.

He was in Selly Oak for nine weeks before he was moved to Headley Court, the defence rehabilitation unit, near Surrey.

When he was moved he was given a pair of small false legs called stubbies but now he has a more sophisticated leg with a knee joint.

His mother, Pauline Rogers, 51, said: "You just can't put it into words how I felt about what happened to James. Nothing prepares you for it. Prior to the explosion we spoke about what would happen if he died and came back in a box and what music he would want at his funeral.

"For some reason you never think about them coming back injured. You can lose a parent or someone older but nothing can prepare you for the injuries of a child. It is the worst thing in my whole life."

L/Cpl Simpson, who will continue to be treated at Headley Court before returning home, saluted the life-saving treatment he had from his soldier colleagues.

"It was absolutely amazing. The people on the ground didn't hesitate and some of the people I have never spoke to worked so hard to save my life they were people in their late teens.

"One of the lads that saved my life got shot two days later and ended up in the next bed to me in hospital. I said thank you to him."