{"id":2967,"date":"2015-12-28T13:27:04","date_gmt":"2015-12-28T13:27:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.foxnwolf.com\/locknload\/?p=2967"},"modified":"2015-12-28T13:27:04","modified_gmt":"2015-12-28T13:27:04","slug":"war-hero-failed-by-nhs-remortgages-house-to-raise-90k-for-new-prosthetic-legs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foxnwolf.com\/locknload\/?p=2967","title":{"rendered":"War hero failed by NHS remortgages house to raise \u00a390k for new prosthetic legs"},"content":{"rendered":"

War hero failed by NHS remortgages house to raise \u00a390k for new prosthetic legs<\/h2>\n
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  • Updated <\/span>
  • By <\/span>Martyn Halle, Patrick Hill<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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    Afghanistan mine blast soldier Clive Smith is bravely facing a new battle against bureaucrats to get the care he deserves\"Afghanistan<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    Afghanistan veteran: Clive needs new legs <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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    He served his country in Afghanistan \u2013 where he lost both legs and almost paid the ultimate price.<\/p>\n

    Now soldier Clive Smith is bravely facing a new battle to get the care he deserves as a war hero.<\/p>\n

    And this time the enemy are not Taliban terrorists \u2013 but bureaucrats.<\/p>\n

    Sapper Clive, who stepped on a land mine in Helmand Province, has been in a wheelchair for 12 months, waiting for new prosthetic limbs.<\/p>\n

    Now, desperate to walk again, he has remortgaged his house to raise \u00a390,000 so he can go to Australia for pioneering bionic limb surgery.<\/p>\n

    He says he has been left with no choice because the NHS and the Ministry of Defence have \u00adbetrayed him, despite pledges that \u00adinjured veterans would get the best possible care.<\/p>\n

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    \u00a0\"Afghanistan<\/div>
    His fight goes on: Clive wants to get on with his life <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Clive, the face of the Poppy fund-raising appeal in 2012, told the Sunday People: \u201cI\u2019ve put my life on the line for my country and I feel let down that I am now having to put my home on the line to get the best treatment.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI\u2019ve finally lost my patience with the NHS.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThey are not looking after veterans. I\u2019m stuck in a wheelchair with my life on hold and it\u2019s not fair.<\/p>\n

    “I want to be out and about but I can\u2019t because I\u2019ve no legs to wear.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Clive lost his legs above the knee while leading a 10-man patrol from 33 Engineer Regiment to find buried bombs in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand in October 2010.<\/p>\n

    He recalled: \u201cI stood on a device that was about 12 kilos. Not enough to kill, but plenty of kick to maim.<\/p>\n

    “I remember feeling heat and seeing a blinding flash. They are not easy to spot, they are \u00adhidden just below the surface of a track.<\/p>\n

    “The next thing I \u00adrecall is lying in a crater and calling out to ask who had been injured. Calls came back asking if I was OK and I realized it was me who\u2019d been hit.<\/p>\n

    “I was in shock and not taking it in. Then I started feeling a sharp pain. I looked downwards and there was \u00adnothing left of my legs below the knee.<\/p>\n

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    \u00a0\"Sapper<\/div>
    Patrol: Sapper Clive in action <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    \u201cI started treating myself while the other guys made sure they could come to my aid and that there were no other devices nearby.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI was bleeding profusely from \u00adseveral arteries but I managed to stem the flow using tourniquets and started injecting myself with morphine.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThen the other guys were there helping me and within 25 minutes a helicopter arrived from Camp Bastion. By the time they stopped my bleeding I\u2019d gone through 14 pints of blood.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Below: Wolves fan Clive visits his heroes as part of 2012 poppy appeal<\/strong><\/p>\n

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