Just days after taking his first steps on prosthetic limbs Lance Sergeant Nathan Cumberland has set his sights on taking part in the Newark Half-marathon.
Lance Sergeant Nathan Cumberland tries on his prosthetic leg. - 220110JT3-1
Lance Sergeant Cumberland (25) of Long Bennington, lost both legs to a bomb while on patrol in Afghanistan on October 28.
He is learning to walk at Headley Court Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, Surrey. He said that walking again was a relief after four weeks of treatment at Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham.
“It’s a good feeling. There are still times when I’m walking like Bambi but I am getting there,” he said.
Lance Sergeant Cumberland is planning to take part in August’s half-marathon with his fiancée, Miss Rachael Cryer (24) and friends including Miss Sarah Sturgeon, a citizenship teacher at the Magnus Church of England School, and kickboxing coach Dean Sugden.
Lance Sergeant Cumberland, of 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, wants to raise money for two charities that have helped him, the Newark Patriotic Fund and the British Limbless Ex-Servicemen’s Association.
Lance Sergeant Cumberland said he started walking sooner than he expected but it was a lot harder than he thought.
“You expect to walk normally but you can’t. It’s a whole new ball game,” he said.
“It’s not balance that’s the problem — it’s putting all your weight through one leg.
“You don’t realise how tired you will get. You are using muscles that you have not used properly before.
“You are using three times more energy than you normally would walking so after half an hour the sweat is pouring off you.”
A prosthesis is fitted to the lower part of his left leg, which he lost below the knee. The right, which he lost above the knee, has a prosthesis with a fake knee joint. It covers his thigh and reaches to his waist.
He is walking with the aid of crutches.
Lance Sergeant Cumberland began by wearing the prosthetic limbs for just 20 minutes but it has now increased to an hour a day.
“Your stumps can’t take it all day. There are guys that have been walking for two or three months and they still can’t keep them on all day,” he said.
Lance Sergeant Cumberland has a bed in a four-bay room at Headley Court. He is looked after by a team including specialist medical officers, nurses, fitness instructors, physiotherapists, and social workers.
A typical day starts at 8.30am and ends at 4.30pm. Patients have one-to-one and group therapy sessions, working on different areas of their recovery.
Lance Sergeant Cumberland starts with physiotherapy targeting specific areas such as the upper body and abdomen. He cycles 12km on a hand-powered static bike and uses a medicine ball to improve his strength. At 11am there is a group circuits session and after lunch he does weight-training followed by another 20 minutes on the bike. Trips out are arranged in the evenings.
He is due to have further skin grafts next month but the operation could be delayed because he would be unable to use the prosthetic limbs for a while afterwards.
Lance Sergeant Cumberland thanked his parents, family and the public for their support.
He said a shoebox appeal launched by the Magnus School was going well. Donated items, such as treats and toiletries, will be used to fill the boxes that will be sent via the Grenadier Guards to troops in Afghanistan, and at Selly Oak Hospital, and Headley Court.
