Regulars A Life in the Day
A Life in the Day-
Ex Royal Marine and single leg amputee Chay Coulbert talks of returning to civilian life, his property development project and the possibility of becoming an inventor.
My alarm goes off at 6am but I don’t get up until 6:30. I can’t lie in any longer than that otherwise Frank starts to cry. Frank is my little or should I say huge Irish wolfhound puppy. Before I go downstairs I have to put my leg on. So the gel liner goes on first then I put one sock on but after I have a shower I put two on. After that the foam socket goes on and lastly I put the leg on. It only takes me a minute to do. I’ve perfected it now; I can do it in the dark and with my eyes closed. Then I’ll go downstairs and let the dog out and clean the kitchen after last night’s dinner. My girlfriend, Charlotte, cooks most nights. She is a good chef, and so the deal is, I wash up. I put the news on and have a coffee with Charlotte before she goes to work. We usually talk about buying a new house - or food. I’m self-employed which gives me the excuse to be lazy so I wait until Charlotte’s
‘It’s these memories we have that will never go away, good and bad. We all fought together in a war.’ gone and then have breakfast. After that I’ll do whatever needs doing. Sometimes I ring about a house that is for sale or have a meeting about the barn. The barn is a new project I’m taking on. It is currently going through the design and planning application
process. I’ve decided to renovate an old barn next door to my mums’ house and turn it into a holiday cottage. I’m optimistic about how little it is going to cost to do. I’ll save loads of money on labor because I’m going to do all the work myself. I did eight
courses through the Marines. I did plumbing, plastering, electrics, bricklaying, tiling and carpentry so I think I can make a pretty good job of this barn. It’s going to take six months give or take. Once I’ve made my calls I start workouts. I alternate between back and biceps and chest and triceps. With those workouts my leg doesn’t limit me. I have a running blade but at the minute I can’t run because of my left knee. I’ve got cartilage damage. I had to have arthroscopy surgery on it back in April last year. I’ve had five different operations on my hand and four on my leg. I had a face scrub during one surgery to get rid of the shrapnel burns to. I do remember the accident quite well. It was a strange day because everyone goes of the ground usually a week before they go home. I was still out on patrol 3 days before I was due to fly because I volunteered to show some new guys
the ropes. I had about two or three hours left on patrol when it happened. We were sent on a simple route for the lads who had only just arrived. It was so close to the base they thought the threat would be low. I was the 18th guy in the patrol and just after a crossing point over an irrigation ditch. I remember ducking my head down to go under a branch. I lifted my head I saw the ground turn black and a blinding flash hit me. I was on the floor. My leg was throbbing but I had pieces of metal in my arm that hurt more. I couldn’t see my right hand and I thought I’d lost it. I ran my left hand up my right arm to see how much was left and then I hit my little finger hanging near my wrist. I was so relieved that it was all still there. Two of the Afghani troops I was working with helped me get my sack and body armour off. I had ‘blast lung’ because the shock waves stop you breathing. The medic gave me some painkillers and it took 28 minutes for the helicopter to arrive. They have to mine sweep up to you which takes time but I was pretty stable – I hadn’t lost loads of blood. I knew I wasn’t going to die. My brother Lewis was about 2km down the road and said he heard the blast and saw the dust cloud but didn’t think it would be associated with me because he thought I was of the ground by then. He met me in Bastion hospital where we stayed for two days. I was then flown back to the UK for treatment with Lewis. I was definitely lucky that day. The bomb didn’t fully detonate because it was so badly made. My life has only got better. When I think about the accident and what happened obviously I’m sad about my leg and the small amount of things I can’t do anymore. At least I can leave that country. Normally I play computer games a lot in the afternoon. Sometimes I think about how I’d be spending my day if I were still a Marine. I learnt so much during that time. It took 32 weeks to complete my training. It’s one of the
hardest infantry training courses in the world. There were sixty to begin with and only eleven finished. I miss being on tour. I had some good times and experiences with Help for Hero’s down in Headley Court. I did yoga with Prince Charles there you know? I miss all the lads but I’m lucky enough to have loads of friends at home. I’m rubbish with keeping in touch with people from work but if we do see each other we are still exactly the same friends as we used to be. It’s these memories we have that will never go away, good and bad. We all fought together in a war. Sometimes while I was there and in hospital I’d have nightmares of being back in Afghanistan but only very early on. I think it was the hospital surroundings and the military folk constantly checking in on you. I don’t get them now. The doctors told me it was just an aspect of the recovery process. I still get phantom limb pains although it doesn’t hurt as much anymore. I can still feel my foot all the time. I wake up thinking it’s cold sometimes. Eventually I want to make enough money so that I don’t have to work. The plan is to make the money up from property development. I get a little bonus when I get discharged but after that it’s down to me. Once I’ve done that I want to travel the world. I used to say to myself “tempus fugit” which is Latin for “time flies”. Every time I had something I needed to do I’d say that to myself and get it done straight away. It keeps me going. When I go up at night, I take my leg off and get into bed. My mind is always at 100 miles an hour. That’s how I feel. I think I’d like to invent something in the future. I just sort of daydream until I fall asleep but if my minds really going I end up staying awake all night. It’s funny how life goes. It’s a long journey. I have thought about studying. Some things are worth studying for I just haven’t found out what yet.
Interview and photography by Maisie Coulbert.