Page 20 - QARANC Vol 20 No 3 2023

20 The Gazette QARANC Association
lump on her back – it was a piece of shrapnel that had become septic. She was rushed into surgery and woke up to find a Taliban in the next bed, who “had been shot by one of our guys”. She recalls, “We just looked at each other and I thought what on earth is going on? It was just crazy.”
Mary developed multiple sclerosis and was discharged in 2012 and given a war pension. Despite feeling “pretty lucky” by the way the Army treated her, Mary felt bereft of purpose for months afterwards.
Then an email arrived from the Help for Heroes charity, advising that they were putting together a team to take part in the Warrior Games in Colorado. Mary jumped at the chance to get involved and it turned out to be a life changing experience.
“There was one guy who had stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED) losing both legs, an arm, and half his other arm – and he swam the 50 metres. We used to call him ‘Spider’ – which was part of the black humour and camaraderie – we used to take the mick out of each other, you know, to make it things better. I came back from that, and I thought para sports is what I want to do.”
Mary bought a shotput and discus and practiced in her father’s garden (that was until she accidentally smashed
the flowerpots!) and this was a springboard to taking part in the Invictus Games in 2014, where
she met the games’ founder Prince
Harry. Mary was the captain of the field athletic team and the only female captain, which was a source of pride. She got a gold, silver, two bronzes in swimming, and two bronzes in the shotput and discus.
Mary had been taught the badminton by her parents at age seven and played for her school. Her first big competition was the under 15 Olympic Youth championships at Aalborg, Denmark, where she won three bronze medals.
More than 30 years later she discovered there
I really enjoyed it and within a few months was I was in Scotland team!
was a disability badminton club only 10 miles from her home in Edinburgh. I thought, “I might as well give it a go, I’m sure I’ll be rubbish, but I really enjoyed it and within a few months was I was in Scotland team!”
Mary has taken part in dozens of national and international tournaments, which has involved spending more than £70,000 of her savings and inheritance on flights and accommodation over the years. She narrowly missed out on a space at the last Paralympics by a single point. Then, at the end of 2019, Mary was diagnosed with tongue and neck cancer and underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy. This left her “extremely ill” during the difficult period of the pandemic.
Thankfully, Mary got the ‘all clear’ but the radiotherapy on her throat has left her with a much- limited diet. She is unable to eat meat, chicken, or fish and must eat a lot of eggs to get the protein. It’s not one of her favourite foods, but she’s discovered eggy bread with maple syrup which is more to her tastes.
Mary has written to more than 220 companies seeking sponsorship. Most don’t reply or have given polite rejections. She contacted the QARANC Association to enquire whether, as a former QA, she might qualify for a grant to take part in the Para Badminton World Championships in Japan in September 2022. Mary was “absolutely floored” when the Association responded with a grant for £3,700 towards her travel and
hotel.
Mary reveals, “I managed to get into the
quarterfinals in my singles. And then unfortunately, I met the now Paralympic champion. I suppose there is no shame in losing to a Paralympic champion. In
the doubles I got into the quarterfinals and in the mixed doubles we didn’t get anywhere, we got hammered! It was my third time in Japan. It’s very
nice, very clinically clean and run.
“I had the QA Association badge on my sleeve,
and over the front of my t-shirt. And when people