ON A baking hot July day in war-torn Afghanistan, Craig Wood’s life was turned upside down in the most horrific way.
The then 18-year-old Army recruit was on patrol in 2012 when an Improvised Explosive Device went off, ripping through his body and resulting in the loss of multiple limbs through emergency amputation.
Recalling the harrowing moment in a chat with The Sun, Craig, now 33, says: “My section, eight of us, stopped for some water. As we went to carry on with our patrol, all I remember was a huge white flash.
“I remember hitting the floor and my colleague in front of me turning around and screaming my name. I woke up in a hospital two weeks later.”
Remarkably, following countless testing surgeries and hospital stays, Craig, from Doncaster, has rebuilt his life to the extent that he has been able to return to his first love of sailing.
Now, the daredevil – who has two kids, aged three and 18 months, with his partner of five years – is set to push himself to the limit and break a world record by sailing 6,000 nautical miles from Mexico to Japan.
He says: “I want to inspire disabled people to do their own thing and sail their own ocean. I want them to try and get out of their own mindset of thinking they can’t do something.”
Craig did not initially feel the pain of the blast as he embarked on his first patrol with the 2nd Battalion Rifles.
“It was the oddest thing. I think my body went into immediate shock”, he says.
“And although I was conscious, I can’t really remember anything. There was no pain or anything. I woke up in a hospital two weeks later.”
When Craig awoke from his coma at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, the horrific extent of his injuries became clear.
Both of his legs and his left hand had been amputated.
He had also suffered ghastly injuries to his face and the rest of his body.
Craig explains: “I was laid in the hospital bed, and I was numb all over because I was on so many medications. My right hand was pinned into a cast.
“My left arm was pinned into a cast, and I had a tracheostomy, so I couldn’t speak. When I woke up, I couldn’t move or speak. It was like, what is happening? The shock is unbelievable.
“The only thing I could see was my mum, dad, brother and family all crying their eyes out. It’s a weird thing to wake up to. It’s horrible.
“Slowly, I got a lot more clarity in my head as I was weaned off all the medications. That’s when I truly realised what had happened.”
To add to his misery, Craig experienced a phenomenon known as phantom limb – the sensation that an amputated limb is still attached.
“One weird thing was I could still feel my left hand and the nerves”, he says. “I could feel it so much that I was adamant it had been folded over and bandaged.
“I thought it’s got to be there. It took a while to get my head around that.”
Craig’s plight did not end with his horrendous injuries. While in hospital, he also contracted sepsis.
His condition became so critical that doctors ultimately told him he had just a 50 per cent chance of surviving the deadly disease, which kills more than 48,000 people in the UK every year.
Craig says: “The doctors informed me I had sepsis. They take your blood, and they put loads of antibiotics on it. Whichever antibiotics kill sepsis will be used to treat you.
“In my case, they were on their last few that they could use. So, at one point, they didn’t know if I would survive the night if they couldn’t get hold of the sepsis. They told me I may die.”
SEPSIS is a life-threatening reaction to an infection that happens when your immune system overreacts and starts to damage your body's own tissues and organs.
Symptoms of sepsis in an adult include:
Symptoms in a child include:
They may not have all these symptoms.
If you think you or someone else has symptoms of sepsis, call 999 or go to A&E.
Source: NHS
Miraculously, doctors found a cure for the sepsis, but Craig was still in excruciating pain from all his injuries.
He recalls: “I remember one instance where I had surgery on my leg, and I woke up in the middle of the night screaming. The doctor had to give me morphine.
“He was an amazing person. He sat with me all night to make sure my pain levels were under control. My muscle had detached from the bone, so I was in agony.
“That’s probably the worst pain that I’ve ever been in. That was really bad. It was next level.”
Craig also had to undergo an excruciating ten surgeries on his face, which had been damaged by the blast.
After recovering from sepsis, Craig then had to go through the gruelling process of re-learning how to do basic everyday things.
Queen Camilla even visited the veteran at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Unit in Headley Court, near Epsom, Surrey. He promised her he would walk again.
He explains: “Walking is one thing – I can get around in a wheelchair if I don’t have legs, and that’s fine. But I’m missing my dominant hand. I was left-handed.
“So now I had to learn how to open jars, write with my right hand – even putting pieces of paper and chopping vegetables – all that, I had to relearn. All these trivial things. It was so difficult.
“And sometimes now, I’ll come to a circumstance where I’m putting socks on my baby. I had to figure out how to do that. I had never put socks on a baby before, so I didn’t know how difficult it would be.
“But I can look at difficult things now and see them as a mini-challenge, as opposed to getting mega frustrated with them like I initially did.”
The only thing I could see was my mum, dad, brother and family all crying their eyes out. It’s a weird thing to wake up to. It’s horrible
It took Craig eight months to learn how to use his prosthetic legs. He also had to go through rehab for four and a half years.
His mental health was severely impacted throughout the ordeal and his facial injuries had left him feeling conscious about people staring.
“It was very difficult,” he remembers. “I was quite injured. To me, my facial injuries were the worst. Your face is your focal point where people look at when you’re speaking.
“But with me, they were looking at the scars on my face, not my eyes or mouth. You get people starting, and it’s like, ‘Should I do something? Can I do something?’
“So I had to get over that and realise, yes, I’ve got scars, and it’s okay if people look. It’s not a judgemental thing. I would look if I were looking at someone with scars.”
Once Craig became used to his new reality, he was determined to do the things he always loved, such as sailing.
He says: “The doctor said you should try and do things you used to do. I said I used to jet ski, windsurf, and sail, and he said maybe not those things.
“But my dad, who taught me how to sail, said come on, we will do it. So we just tried it, and it wasn’t just therapeutic – it was a bit euphoric.
“I realised I can still do this. I’m still Craig, and I’m capable of the things I used to do.
A year and a half ago, he set his sights on a mission that would even frighten even the most seasoned sailor – to sail solo and unsupported 6,000 nautical miles from Mexico to Japan.
He is now in preparation for the expedition, set to begin next year from January through to March.
“I wanted to break a world record that abled-bodied people would recognise as being difficult as well,” he says. “Japan has been on my mind for a while.
“That was the initial push, and now it’s become a chance to change people’s perception of what’s possible for an amputee or disabled person to do.
Craig is fully aware of the mission’s dangers but is determined to see it through, just like when he first joined the Army at 17.
I realised I can still do this. I’m still Craig, and I’m capable of the things I used to do
He explains: “The Pacific is the world’s biggest ocean, and it’s going to take between 60 and 80 days to complete this whole passage. That amount of time is incredible to be on your own.
“So I need to mentally prepare and stay on top of everything. I have to make sure I’m sleeping well and that I’m well-fed. What’s going to be more difficult is if there’s a storm.
“I’m going to need to know which way the storm is going so I can try and get out of the storm as soon as possible. So I may be facing waves as big as a double decker bus.
Craig hopes his mission will inspire the thousands of injured veterans in the UK.
He tells them: “If there’s something you’ve always wanted to do but feel like you can’t do it, just try.
“If you try, then at least you know. It gives you that definitive answer.”
