Former Royal Marine JJ Chalmers has spoken about the extensive reconstructive surgery he underwent after being seriously injured by an IED blast in Afghanistan's Helmand province in May 2011. Recalling the incident on BBC Scotland's Stark Talk, he said: "I remember being on my back in more pain than I've ever experienced. I felt like I'd been crushed."
Chalmers described how both his arms were nearly severed in the explosion. "My right arm just wasn't there at the time, my left hand had lost all of its fingers. The next thing I remember is just feeling completely helpless," he said. He was placed in an induced coma at Camp Bastion hospital before being flown to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, where he woke almost a week later.
By the time he regained consciousness, surgeons had completed most of the orthopaedic work to rebuild his body. "My elbow had been absolutely decimated but they managed to piece it back together like a jigsaw and screw it all together using plates," he explained. "They didn't know if that was going to work or not, but as somebody did once say to me, 'The problem is, there isn't a textbook for this, but once we've done you, there will be'."
Chalmers underwent numerous operations at "the absolute forefront of medicine," including surgeries that involved removing skin from his stomach and reattaching it elsewhere. "Most of my torso is missing," he said. "It looks like I've been bitten by a shark! But that's because those nice pieces of fleshy skin now live on my elbow."
Despite his body's appearance, Chalmers expressed gratitude that his face was not severely disfigured. "I'm very grateful that I didn't come away from this hugely disfigured on my face, but actually this whole thing is function over form," he said. The former Royal Marine has since participated in the Invictus Games, an international sporting event for wounded servicemen and women.
