A BRECON soldier who was told that he would never be able to run or cycle again after sustaining an injury jumping out of a helicopter will be competing in the Invictus Games in Toronto at the end of September.

Steve Sebburn, 38, from Dan-y-Crug will be taking part in a 1500 metres track race, road running time trial and ‘high criteria’ cycling road race.

Steve, who was a member of the First Queens Dragoon Guard, lost his footing while clambering out of a helicopter. The heavy landing and the weight

of his bag meant he ruptured two disks in his back during the training exercise in Castle Marten, Pembrokeshire, in May 2014.

He said: “As I got out, something went crack and my left side was really hurting. I knew something wasn’t right. Like a typical bloke, I thought I’ll take some painkillers and it’ll be fine.

“I’d done two years of training, I was about to deployed to Afghanistan, but I needed people to help me with things like putting my bag and equipment on.”

When he got to Sennelager, near the town of Paderborn in Germany, he developed ‘foot drop’, which meant his left foot was dragging on the floor instead of picking up when he walked.

He went to hospital where he had a lumbar puncture performed to try to determine what was wrong, but the procedure went wrong causing Steve to bleed spinal fluid for six days. Steve, who was close to death, was saved by an emergency procedure whereby they took two vials of his blood and injected it into his spine. The experience has resulted in Steve suffering from several different conditions including sixth nerve palsy, a brain and eye condition which gave him double vision and could cause his eye to stick in the same position. He has also had epilepsy, ‘seizure migraines’ and syncope. Steve was moved to the Personal Recovery Unit in Brecon for rehabilitating soldiers, and then discharged in November 2016. Despite dire predictions about his future physical condition, he is now able to run and views cycling as his therapy.

He applied to the Invictus Games after somebody at the recovery unit suggested it. While he initially did it without the expectation of getting very far, he is now one of 90 to be representing the UK out of the original 800 applicants. He has been supported by Help For Heroes who will be providing him with a new bike. He has also been supported by several businesses in Brecon, including receiving a free pass for the leisure centre, a free gym membership and cycling gear from Likeys. He said: “It’s quite humbling the financial support I’ve had.”Steve can be supported to buy new equipment and to cover the costs of transporting his bike to Canada on his Go Fund Me page https://www.gofundme.com/my-invictus-games-2017

For more on this story see this week's Brecon and Radnor Express.