Post by Editor on Mar 5, 2013 10:28:28 GMT
Hero soldier 'forced to re-mortgage house' to pay for new arms and legs
A HERO soldier who lost three limbs in a sickening Taliban bomb blast has told how he is having to re-mortgage his house to pay for new arms and legs.
By: Giles SheldrickPublished: Thu, February 21, 2013
Royal Marine Mark Ormrod who lost both legs and his right arm in a landmine attack
Brave Mark Ormrod was on patrol in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, when the force of the explosion tore off both his legs and right arm.
He was so horrifically injured he begged one of his patrol to “stick a bullet through his head” to end his pain and suffering.
Mr Ormrod, 29, has revealed he needs to raise £115,000 for a new set of limbs.
His state-of-the-art prosthetic limbs need to be regularly renewed but he claimed the ones being offered by the Ministry of Defence were substandard.
Mark lost both legs and his right arm in the attack
The Government is planning to spend £6.5million on micro-processor limbs, or so-called “bionic legs”, for all amputee soldiers.
They will be available to personnel who have been wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan and will offer them greater stability and mobility.
But despite qualifying for them, Mr Ormrod said the replacement limbs he desperately needs are expensive and only available privately.
He claimed the money set aside for new prosthetics by the Government could not be put towards the cost of his own false limbs.
The married father-of-one of Plymouth, Devon, said: “I think I was a bit more let down than angry.
"I really thought this may have been the turning point. I feel deflated.
“It’s going to cost me £115,000. I will have to re-mortgage my house, or start a fundraising campaign.
“I rely on my limbs every day of my life. As an individual my circumstances need me to have a better level of care. There’s just no funding for it.”
Mr Ormrod, 29, and wife Becky, 25, at home in Plymstock, Devon
When Prince Harry met Mr Ormrod he called the soldier a “real hero” as he made a remarkable recovery after stepping on an enemy improvised explosive device hidden in the sand on Christmas Eve in 2007.
Recalling the sickening injuries he sustained Mr Ormrod: “I was lying naked and dying in the desert. I just thought I can’t live like this. I turned to the corporal and shouted: ‘Stick a bullet through my head’.
He was so horrifically injured he begged one of his patrol to 'stick a bullet through his head' to end his pain and suffering
“I was serious. I remember lying there thinking that I would feel like someone had punched me in the back of the head and then it would go black and it would be okay.”
Mr Ormrod was treated at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, where all wounded servicemen are treated. He became Britain’s first triple amputee to survive a booby trap IED blast.
Mark Ormrod is undergoing extensive rehabilitation
The former 40 Commando Royal Marine now has a two-year-old son, Mason, with his wife Becky to whom he proposed to while recovering in hospital.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said one of its top priorities was to give our troops the best possible care and support.
He added: “This Government has made £6.5million available. It will guarantee that all serving and former members of our armed forces who have been injured while serving their country will have access to the latest prosthetics currently available on the market, where clinical conditions indicate this is appropriate.
www.express.co.uk/news/uk/379308/Hero-soldier-forced-to-re-mortgage-house-to-pay-for-new-arms-and-legs
A HERO soldier who lost three limbs in a sickening Taliban bomb blast has told how he is having to re-mortgage his house to pay for new arms and legs.
By: Giles SheldrickPublished: Thu, February 21, 2013
Royal Marine Mark Ormrod who lost both legs and his right arm in a landmine attack
Brave Mark Ormrod was on patrol in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, when the force of the explosion tore off both his legs and right arm.
He was so horrifically injured he begged one of his patrol to “stick a bullet through his head” to end his pain and suffering.
Mr Ormrod, 29, has revealed he needs to raise £115,000 for a new set of limbs.
His state-of-the-art prosthetic limbs need to be regularly renewed but he claimed the ones being offered by the Ministry of Defence were substandard.
Mark lost both legs and his right arm in the attack
The Government is planning to spend £6.5million on micro-processor limbs, or so-called “bionic legs”, for all amputee soldiers.
They will be available to personnel who have been wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan and will offer them greater stability and mobility.
But despite qualifying for them, Mr Ormrod said the replacement limbs he desperately needs are expensive and only available privately.
He claimed the money set aside for new prosthetics by the Government could not be put towards the cost of his own false limbs.
The married father-of-one of Plymouth, Devon, said: “I think I was a bit more let down than angry.
"I really thought this may have been the turning point. I feel deflated.
“It’s going to cost me £115,000. I will have to re-mortgage my house, or start a fundraising campaign.
“I rely on my limbs every day of my life. As an individual my circumstances need me to have a better level of care. There’s just no funding for it.”
Mr Ormrod, 29, and wife Becky, 25, at home in Plymstock, Devon
When Prince Harry met Mr Ormrod he called the soldier a “real hero” as he made a remarkable recovery after stepping on an enemy improvised explosive device hidden in the sand on Christmas Eve in 2007.
Recalling the sickening injuries he sustained Mr Ormrod: “I was lying naked and dying in the desert. I just thought I can’t live like this. I turned to the corporal and shouted: ‘Stick a bullet through my head’.
He was so horrifically injured he begged one of his patrol to 'stick a bullet through his head' to end his pain and suffering
“I was serious. I remember lying there thinking that I would feel like someone had punched me in the back of the head and then it would go black and it would be okay.”
Mr Ormrod was treated at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, where all wounded servicemen are treated. He became Britain’s first triple amputee to survive a booby trap IED blast.
Mark Ormrod is undergoing extensive rehabilitation
The former 40 Commando Royal Marine now has a two-year-old son, Mason, with his wife Becky to whom he proposed to while recovering in hospital.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said one of its top priorities was to give our troops the best possible care and support.
He added: “This Government has made £6.5million available. It will guarantee that all serving and former members of our armed forces who have been injured while serving their country will have access to the latest prosthetics currently available on the market, where clinical conditions indicate this is appropriate.
www.express.co.uk/news/uk/379308/Hero-soldier-forced-to-re-mortgage-house-to-pay-for-new-arms-and-legs
