From fighting for
his country, to an
uncertain future, to
a brand new lease of
life, it’s always great
to catch up with our
client Andy Barlow.
Andy Barlow joined the British Army in 2003 and served
with the 1st and 2nd Battalions and the Royal Regiment
of Fusiliers. Three years later, aged just 19, Andy and his
unit became trapped in a minefield in the Kajaki Dam
area of Helmand Province. He was badly injured and
ended up losing his left foot but was still able to help
save his colleagues; incredible bravery that led to the
George Medal for Gallantry.
The amazing account of what happened to Andy and
the rest of his unit has been immortalised in the feature
film, Kajaki: The True Story, but for our client this was
the starting point of the rest of his life. When Andy was
in a hospital bed, looking at a sheet covering his leg, he
thought to himself “I am faced with a choice, I either
pull the sheet back and deal with reality or hide from it”.
Andy has never hidden from anything in his life.
Adapting to change
Andy didn’t find the transition into civilian life easy and is
honest about the difficulties he faced, “the forces spend
a lot to train you up, but they do not spend the same
amount to transition you out”. Andy left the Military of
Defence with no real qualifications and no sense of his
own worth.
All soldiers come out of the military with an incredible
skillset; from project management guiding a group of
men on a patrol to negotiation and communication skills
utilised in the tensest of situations. The problem Andy
found was that when someone leaves the army no one
tells ex-personnel where to go next to make the most of
these skills.
Andy looks back with pride at how far he has come but
knows not everyone can say the same, which is why his
latest project is a series of talks taking a look at mental
health and the difficulties soldiers have after they can
no longer serve. Shell shock, battle fatigue and combat
stress have always highlighted that mental scars cause
as much pain as the physical ones but Andy feels that
“it’s only in the last decade attitudes have changed and
people are prepared to talk”.
A sporting chance
“After my accident sport gave me an opportunity to
challenge myself and to succeed, it gave me freedom
and it allowed me to be active again”. Andy doesn’t
hold back when he talks about the impact disability
sport has had on his rehabilitation and is proud of his
accomplishments.
Andy has competed in sailing for the British Army
Offshore Race Team but over the past few years it’s his
passion for skiing that has reached new heights. “I was
part of the first disabled sports programme set up by the
British Military, I skied for two weeks and attended for
the following four years”.
In 2015 Andy started racing and is aiming
to represent his country at the winter
Paralympics in 2022. He is a keen supporter
of our Don’t Quit, Do It campaign and
would encourage anyone to give sport a try
after a serious injury as it helps you “achieve
something which you never imagined you
could”.
Andy sums up his love for skiing perfectly,
calling it “one of the few sports where
disability is left at the bottom of the chair
and success is made on the hill”.
A new role to relish
Recently Andy became the new Outreach
Officer for the South for BLESMA, the military
charity for limbless veterans and is relishing
having the chance to support people who
have gone through the same trauma as he
did. “I want to create groups where veterans
can talk to each other and vent with people
who have the same experiences”, says Andy,
who knows plenty about transitioning back
to a life you never plan for.
Andy is an inspiration to everyone he meets
and will continue to excel in whatever he
does, whether that is hosting a support
group or skiing from the summit.
Published: April 2019
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Spring 2019
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