Former soldier: My battle to find a home while having leg operations

 
Rio goal: Maurillia Simpson with her Invictus Games medals at her Stratford home

A soldier who suffered life-changing leg injuries told today how she battled housing bureaucracy while awaiting major surgery.

Maurillia Simpson, who did three tours of Iraq and won gold and silver for Great Britain at last year’s Invictus Games, urged Londoners to back the Standard’s “unique” campaign to support homeless veterans.

During her 13-year Army career, she survived mortar, rocket and gun attacks as well as being buried under a blast wall during night-time missions.

The Trinidad-born former lance corporal — whose childhood dream was to serve as a British soldier — was a radio communications specialist and driver in the Royal Logistics Corps.

She now lives in the former Olympic athlete’s village in Stratford but was stuck on the housing waiting list for a year, sleeping on friends’ sofas despite needing a home to recuperate from leg operations.

Commenting on the Standard’s campaign to support ABF The Soldiers’ Charity and Veterans Aid, Ms Simpson, 40, said: “We’ve got so many wounded, injured and sick soldiers being medically discharged and so there’s no better time than the present to support us.”

During pre-deployment training for Afghanistan in 2010 Ms Simpson was hit by a driver who jumped a red light as she rode back to barracks on her bicycle.

She was knocked out and regained consciousness under the wheels of the car. The left side of her body was ruptured, with her left femur needing realignment surgery.

After being medically discharged from the Army in 2013 the race was on to get a permanent home as the date for the next round of surgery approached.

Her mother and sister prepared to travel from Trinidad to look after her. She said: “When I left the forces the main issue I had was I didn’t have anywhere to live... I thought the system had failed me.

“The lowest point was having the operation and having nowhere to go, but then my cousin put me up.”

Ms Simpson needs ongoing operations and rehab and can be in agony without her medication. She uses her military analytical skills as a CCTV controller on the Olympic Park security team.

Ms Simpson finally secured her adapted flat after her boss petitioned the housing association to give her priority.

She added: “I’ve heard of many veterans that have managed to fall by the wayside. I could have been one of them.”

Ms Simpson won gold in discus and silver in shotput at the Invictus Games and now hopes to represent Team GB at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.

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