Sportspiel

Ben Gallagher is a remarkable individual. After serving in the British Army for over 16 years, his life was turned upside down in 2019 when he was shot numerous times on active duty. Ben would sustain blast and fragmentation injuries to his upper torso and arms as a result of that incident – and without a doubt his body armour saved his life. What followed was a number of operations and extensive surgery to reconstruct his left arm, while he now also has surgical injuries to both legs. But this was all just the beginning of an immense battle. What happened to Ben was utterly traumatic and, along with a long period of rehabilitation, he felt lost, isolated, unable to come to terms with what happened and he would have suicidal thoughts. Subsequently he would also be diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Ben’s journey – and turnaround since then – has been remarkable – and sport has played a key part in it. He can now say he’s represented his country at the 2023 Invictus Games – winning gold in the