Shropshire RAF veteran proudly serving again in NHS care role

Kelly Leonard, from Ellerdine, Telford, has spoken of the comparisons between her former RAF career and her life now as she helps to care for coronavirus patients.

The 42-year-old said she is proud to be “doing her bit” as the community battles to overcome the spread of the disease.

A former RAF physical training instructor, she suffered a serious leg injury during a motorbike crash in July 2000 which almost led to her having her foot amputated. The injury has left the mother-of-three with arthritis in her ankle and needing to use crutches on bad days.

She is now a physiotherapist manager at the Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

But the onset of Covid-19 has resulted in her undergoing respiratory training to help look after those patients not needing a ventilator to free up more experienced medical staff to care for the most poorly sufferers.

She is the only military trained person in her team.

"It’s about creating a routine from the start, being level headed and pulling up your sleeves," said Kelly.

Humour

“We are working very long hours but my military training has given me the right personality and skills to take on responsibility.

"I understand the huge value of camaraderie and humour as a way of bringing and keeping the team together. I’m working very hard to keep the channels of communication open.

“I want to set an example and demonstrate that I won’t let anyone else do anything that I wouldn’t do myself,” she says.

Following the accident Kelly struggled to enjoy sports.

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Through the veterans' charity Help for Heroes which runs a sports recovery programme, she got assistance.

She was subsequently selected the vice-captain for Team UK for the next Invictus Games due to be held in The Hague next year when she hopes to compete in cycling, rowing, swimming, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby.

Help for Heroes chief executive Mel Waters said: “By stepping up to serve their country once again, this time in the nation’s fight against coronavirus, our wounded veterans and their families are showing huge strength once more in the face of adversity.

"The nation’s key workers are all heroes, and we are so proud of our veterans who are doing their bit to help the NHS in these extraordinary times."