"My Remembrance Day" - Afghanistan Veteran Gregg Stevenson

Life in the army

06 March 2009 was the day I lost both my legs in a bomb blast. I was 22.

"I’d joined the Royal Engineers when I was 19 – being a soldier was the only thing I had ever wanted to do – but I was blown up on my very first tour of Afghanistan. I can’t forget the seconds immediately after it happened. I was on patrol when I stood on an IED and was thrown upwards violently. There was a deafening ringing in my ears, and I felt as if I had been punched so, so hard.

I was evacuated to the military hospital at Camp Bastion where both my legs were amputated – the right one below the knee, the left one above the knee. When I woke up, I was just grateful to be alive, but after I was flown back to the UK, I realised it was going to be a long, long road to recovery. I went from being a young, active man fighting for my country to being an amputee in a hospital bed. I went from having a promising career to having to face the unknown."

My Recovery

"I was injured eight years ago. Blesma has been there for me all that time, and I know Blesma will be there for me and my family for the rest of my life. Whether I need access to the latest prosthetics, or help with the costs of disability so I can stay independent, Blesma has promised to be there.

I have access to a full-time Blesma Support Officer who always puts my needs first and, later in life, I know Blesma will make sure I am comfortable and well cared for – either in my own home or  in special accommodation close to my loved ones."

Remembering those we lost

"On the day itself, I think back to the lads we lost on our tour of Afghanistan. My thoughts always turn to a Royal Marine called Travis Mackin who died in Kajaki.  I think about other lads who paid  the ultimate price – people who I didn’t know so well but who I met in training  or in the few months I was in Afghanistan.

I find the day incredibly moving, and  I feel a lot of pressure to get it right,  but I’m also extremely proud. I have  the utmost respect and sheer admiration  for those who have paid with their lives  for our country."