At about 0600 hours on Tuesday, October 13, 2009 while leading a patrol
in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, Corporal Andy Reid, 3rd Battalion, The
Yorkshire Regiment, was blown up by a Taliban improvised explosive
device (IED). Airlifted back to the UK that evening to the specialist
military wing of Selly Oak Hospital it was touch and go for a while. He
had lost both legs, the left one above the knee, and his right arm. His
left hand had the index finger almost completely removed. Yet he
survived and on Remembrance Day 2009, less than a month after being
blown up, was reunited with his patrol back in his home base in
Warminster. From there he went on to have a pair of prosthetic limbs
fitted at the Defence Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court. In 2010 he
won the "Sun "Newspaper s Military Award.In between times he has cycled
from Land s End to John O Groats, skydived, and made a number of
appearances on behalf of service charities. In this book, Andy sets
himself a simple aim: to tell his story. In fact he has not just one,
but two stories to tell. The first is the story of Corporal Reid, Burma
Company, 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment: Infantry Section
Commander and then there is the story of Andy Reid, triple amputee
skydiver, cyclist, and charity fund raiser, husband, and new father."
