A British soldier by the name of Phil Packer was told a year ago that he would never walk again. Last Saturday, he defied what the prediction and finished the London Marathon.Phil finished all twenty-six grueling miles of the London Marathon13 days after it started; he began walking on crutches for two miles a day which is the most his doctor felt comfortable with considering his condition. Phil's determination is to raise money for a wounded vetrans aide program. He was surrounded by cheering soldiers and supporters, as he crossed the finish line. His lower spine was badly injured in the after a rocket attack on his base in Basra, Iraq, in February 2008.The attack caused a vehicle to tumble down a sand bank which struck Phil Packer "head on" and drug him under and with it. At thirty-six years old, he was left with no feeling or control of his legs, and he had no bladder or bowel control. Phil was in a hospital for more than four months when he decided to complete three challenges to help raise $1.5 million for "Help for Heroes", which is a British charity that supports wounded veterans.In February he rowed the English Channel, and next month he plans to climb El Capitan, one of America's most famous mountaineering sites. The cliff is a 3,000 foot vertical rock climb in California.Packer,Phil was met at the finish line by Steve Redgrave, who is a British Olympic athlete. Phil was very emotional."It's looking after our injured servicemen," he said. "There's a lot of people that can't do this, so this is for them."Quoted from Phil on CNN:"I wanted to do something for other personnel who had been wounded."I don't want to be helped. I want to help other people. Not that I'm not grateful, but... you know... I really want to be able to help people."He attributed being back on his feet to "fantastic medical support" from Britain's Ministry of Defense and National Health Service."So many improvements are being made" in medicine, he said. "It's an evolving process." Watch more on Phil Packer »However, he did not know whether he would be able to walk without crutches."I gotta see how it goes. Take every improvement as it comes." (End quote)The six-year war in Iraq has disabled thousands of people.Britain's Ministry of Defense did not respond to a CNN question asking how many servicemen and women have been permanently disabled in the war.In the United States, at least 31,131 troops had been wounded in Iraq. That figure is only based on battlefield injuries, and many more veterans have later been diagnosed with some sort of traumatic brain injury. "The number of those vetrans is hard to keep record of."Phil Packer is still on active duty and intends to remain so. "I've still got a career in the armed forces. I'm going to go back to it." He has served for sixteen years including time as an enlisted man. He's been asked to be an ambassador for Prince Charles' charity, the "Prince's Trust", which works on helping young people, in addition to disabled people. After finishing the race, Phil drank a well-earned shot and toasted to his supporters.
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