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Read the latest updates from Walking With The Wounded's 'Walking Home ' winter campaign
Brendan's Veteran Story
By Walking With The Wounded on
Every penny you raise for Walking Home For Christmas will support people like Brendan...
Served in N.Ireland, Kosovo and the Falklands in a 12 year spell with 3 Para before doing a further 14 years as an Army Medic.
He was diagnosed with PTSD believed to be from his first-hand involvement of treating casualties returning from various conflicts – and was reluctantly medically discharged from the Army two years after suffering a stroke.
Brendan was referred to the NHS Veterans team after his PTSD flared up while being treated in hospital for an infection. They referred him to WWTW to find a job which would help with his mental health.
"Mentally, I was on the floor when I was referred to WWTW. My Employment Advisor picked me up and changed my life 100 percent. He is worth his weight in gold.’"
Brendan was keen to kick-start his own business as a Personal Trainer for the disabled. Thanks to WWTW and Brendan’s active determination, he now has 6 individuals and a care home as clients, and he has turned his garage into a gym for his training sessions.
Brendan is extremely happy with how things have worked out and both his mental state and physical health have improved now that he has a focus in life.
"Walking With The Wounded has done so much for me. If anyone ever finds they’re in a bad situation, they should get in touch and get help."
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Bryn's Story
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Bryn served as an Infantryman in the elite 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment (1 PARA), part of the Special Forces Support Group. He was regularly deployed on operations - to Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Northern Ireland, Iraq, and Afghanistan – and he was fulfilled by his achievements as a soldier.
After 10 years of active duty however, the physical demands of the role took its toll, and he experienced pain and damage to both his ankles. As he was no longer able to train or go on operations, he accepted that it was time to hang up his Army boots.
Unphased by the transition to civilian life, Bryn quickly transferred his military expertise into a career in private security. He secured contracts to protect senior US government officials as they...
Kane's Story
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After Kane’s military career came to a sudden end, he had no idea what to do next. Without any direction in life, he felt stuck and increasingly disillusioned. Over time, he decided that he was most suited to working outdoors and he focused his energy into achieving his goal. WWTW supported Kane into a new career in Arboriculture. They provided him with help, encouragement, and the funding that he needed to get his professional training and apply for work. Now Kane has a great job as an Arborist with a leading utilities service company.
“Upon leaving the Army I was really stuck in a rut and didn’t know what to do. The turning point was meeting Lynsey at WWTW. She gave me so much help and support along the way and now I have landed myself...
Carly’s story
By Walking With The Wounded on
Carly joined the Army in June 2012. When the initial 14-16 weeks of basic training commenced Carly immediately began to experience symptoms of anxiety, feeling panicky. When the PT session came round Carly recollects standing in the ablutions in floods of tears brought on by the mere thought of the obstacle course. Eventually Carly was discharged from the Army in September 2013, just 15 months after joining. In 2015 Carly suffered a breakdown and sought treatment through her GP. In August 2017 Carly met with an Employment Adviser from Walking With The Wounded who Carly refers to as "brilliant from day one". After initial successes, In January 2018 Carly began to once again experience feelings of anxiety and self-doubt and...