Help for Heroes: Newport soldier left brain-damaged after IED explosion wins grant for property
A brain-damaged war veteran from Shropshire left unable to speak or walk properly after suffering severe injuries on the frontline has received a cash grant from Help for Heroes.
Former Lance Corporal Simon Vaughan has been living in an unsafe home ever since his newly-purchased property in the county had to be demolished and rebuilt for his needs.
It was left unfinished by builders and without a completion certificate, meaning the property is deemed unsafe.
But after an appeal for help from Mr Vaughan, the military charity has awarded him a £5,000 grant to make the necessary changes to his home so it is fit to live in.
It is also the 10,000th individual grant awarded by Help for Heroes, which supports wounded, injured and sick veterans, since the charity started providing financial assistance in 2010.
Simon, 32, from Newport, suffered a serious brain injury when a Land Rover he was travelling in drove over an improvised explosive device in Musa Qala, Helmand Province, in December 2008.
Army medics fought to keep him alive and his heart stopped beating at the scene of the attack, starving his brain of oxygen.
His family was told by doctors that his brain injuries were so severe he would remain in a vegetative state for the rest of his life.
In fact, medics were so convinced he would not survive the journey home that he boarded a plane with an obituary pinned to his bag.
Simon, who was serving in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, also suffered a broken jaw, shattered pelvis, collapsed lungs, and broken back in the explosion.
He remained in a coma for 44 days before beginning his long road to recovery.
The £5,000 grant from Help for Heroes will enable Simon to make necessary home improvements to get the completion certificate including installing smoke detectors, repairing ceilings, and getting a gas safety certificate for the boiler.
