Rory Mackenzie realized he had lost his leg whilst being handed over to the Immediate Reaction Team on the Chinook helicopter. He was in a very serious condition and they feared for his life. Requiring a sixteen hour long operation to stabilise his wounds the remnants of his limb were reshaped and cleaned up to the best of the team’s ability and the next day he was flown to Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham. Whilst there, Rory had seven further operations, contracted MRSA, and grew weaker day by day. With the help of his family, Rory eventually broke the cycle of decline and started to show signs of recovery. He got better, stronger, and was ready to move on to Headley Court.
After a further seven months at Headley Court and many, many hours in the prosthetics department, Rory made a complete physical recovery. He was walking again; not gracefully but walking nevertheless. By now what had happened had sunk in and he believed he was no longer the person he was before the bomb detonated. However, Rory was healthy and strong but angry at the fact that his sports and extreme lifestyle was ruined! He had created in his mind a long list of all the things he would never do again.
It was at this time that he received an invitation via Help for Heroes to go adaptive skiing in Bavaria, Germany, under a new military programme called Battle Back. He didn’t waste a second and jumped at the opportunity despite having no idea what to expect or what he was actually getting himself into.
As a South African he hadn’t put skiing at the top of a ‘to do’ list, so he was rather apprehensive about the whole thing. Within five minutes of the initial brief he was at ease, he knew this was going to be healing. They were all kitted out with the correct length skis or in some cases like Rory, ski! Then it was straight to the slopes where he took to the sport with ease. It gave him freedom – the speed, thrill and excitement of the sport, he believes, literally healed his frame of mind overnight.
He no longer had a list of all the things he couldn’t do – he now had a long list of all the things he could potentially do! He came off those slopes a different person, with a completely different frame of mind towards his own life and future. He now believes he can succeed in what ever he puts my mind to. Anything is possible!
Rory is currently working as a motivational speaker travelling to conferences and events all over the world.
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TESTIMONIALS:
London Evening Standard