Our love has survived bomb blast that cost my boyfriend his legs
The girlfriend of a photographer who became the most seriously injured British citizen to survive a bomb blast in Afghanistan has spoken of the battle to rebuild their lives.
Jen Robertson, 26, had only been on a few dates with Giles Duley before he lost both legs and his left arm after stepping on an IED (improvised explosive device).
She had responded to his email from Afghanistan saying he loved her and wanted them to be together - but he never received her reply until he awoke in hospital after 45 days in a coma.
Mr Duley, 40, an "anti-war" photographer from Clapham, almost died twice as his temperature soared and his kidneys failed. But he is determined to walk again and plans to return to Afghanistan in March.
"This time last year we had never met each other," Ms Robertson, a trainee psychologist from Brixton, told the Standard. "I will tell him when I'm struggling. It's a work in progress. We are each other's best friends and we communicate about everything, and that keeps us strong.
"I would never be with anybody out of pity. I love Giles. If you know him, you would know why I want to be with him. People like him don't come along every day. Mr Duley was with a US and Afghan army patrol in February when he stepped on the IED. Ms Robertson wrote to him every day in hospital and her emails were read to him by his family.
He is six weeks through a 12-week recovery programme at Headley Court in Surrey - the first civilian to be treated at the military rehabilitation centre. He is being fitted with metal legs and a camera attachment on his left arm. "Rather than having a fake hand, I wanted a tripod head," he said. "The camera will screw straight on to my arm. I'm going to be half man, half camera."
Speaking at last night's opening of his photo exhibition Becoming The Story, at the KK Outlet in Hoxton Square, he said: "I see that as the luckiest day of my life. The fact I didn't die is luck."
He added: "I remember seeing myself flying through the air. It was intense white heat and then landing with a thud on the ground. I was pretty convinced I was going to slip away."
Ms Robertson ran the Liverpool marathon and continues to raise funds for his care. Their next challenge is to spend Christmas together. "He wants to walk through Soho at Christmas with his legs," she said. "That is what we did last year."
Donate at www.justgiving.com/jennie-robertson
