Sponsored by
Wounded soldier Ben astounds experts to speak again
WOUNDED war hero Ben Parkinson has confounded the doctors by talking for the first time since he was nearly killed in Afghanistan.
Ben, from Bessacarr, has been described as the most seriously injured British soldier to survive after his Land Rover was blown up three years ago.
He was told by doctors he would never be able to speak again because of the horrific damage his body suffered which included the loss of both legs and brain damage.
But the inspirational paratrooper has proved the experts wrong by putting together sentences and even giving a speech at a veterans' event.
The 25-year-old's speech has begun to return over the last two months and has coincided with a marked improvement in his ability to walk since he underwent a major operation to straighten his back at the end of March.
He is currently receiving treatment at Tickhill Road Hospital in Balby, designed to take his improvement further, and it has been so successful that he is delaying his return to his regiment in Colchester for more work with the experts in the borough.
Mum Diane Dernie said most of Ben's speech therapy in the past had been about telling him that he wouldn't be able to talk, explaining why, and getting him to use a light writer, a device similar to that used by scientist Stephen Hawking.
She said: "But he came back to Doncaster after his back operation which has had a major benefit. It has straightened his back and opened up his lungs.
"After that, his speech therapist tried to get him to say some sounds and straight away he did them. It is his first proper speech in three years and we've got to thank the health services in Doncaster for that.
"He made a speech on Veteran's Day in three sections. He spoke for parts, and others he put on his light writer. But he spoke and everyone understood him. He's thrilled because people treat you so differently when you can talk. It is like he has become his own person again.
"He pushed and pushed for the back operation and everyone had been saying it was about making him more comfortable but not helping him to walk and talk. The surgeon did not agree."
In his speech Ben was able to tell veterans with his own voice how he had lost friends and been blown up in Afghanistan but did not regret being a solder. He added: "I'm proud to be a member of seven para Royal Horse Artillery."
Most of Ben's walking before surgery involved using the muscles around the shoulders to move his false limbs. Since his surgery, which involved inserting titanium rods in his spine, his muscles in the hip area have developed, meaning he has better movement.
His family now hope he will be able to walk around his home in the next couple of months.
Ben has been allowed to take his false legs home and is hoping to get new limbs which have bending knees. At one stage it was thought he would not be able to use such limbs, which are more complicated and offer better mobility.
Mrs Dernie added: "Ben is never going to be able to run marathons but he is going to have some degree of normality.
"The operation was a risk and we had a mixed view of how successful it would be. If it went wrong he could have been paralysed but Ben wanted to go ahead with it. Now he is recovering far more than we ever thought possible. This is great testimony to Ben's willpower."
Work is going on to modify his quarters in Colchester so he can return to his regiment later in the year.
Ben lost both his legs and suffered 37 other injuries including brain damage when the vehicle he was travelling in was blown up while he was serving in 2006 in Helmand.
Got a view? Add your comment below.
BUY ONLINE: Buy The Star - Monday to Saturday - for local news, sport, features and ads. Sign up on line by clicking here.
READ MORE
Main news index
Your letters
Features
South Yorkshire's environmental news
Kids Zone
More business news
More Rotherham news
More Doncaster news
More Barnsley news
Latest sport.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Sheffield
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
