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Hero Ben defies the doctors as he starts to talk again
"MIRACLE" man Ben Parkinson has defied belief once again to start talking.
Doctors predicted that the 25-year-old paratrooper would never walk or talk again after he was horrifically injured in a bomb blast while serving in Afghanistan three years ago.
After defying doctors by starting to walk, Ben from Bessacarr has given his first interview to the Free Press since a successful operation to straighten his back.
He has since become a national hero and a figurehead for several war veteran charities.
Displaying incredible humility Ben said: "I don't think I deserve it."
Ben lost both his legs and suffered severe brain damage in the blast.
He was Britain's most seriously injured soldier ever to survive.
He has made fantastic progress since the surgery which several medical experts warned against as it could have left him paralysed.
But he is now reaping the rewards - and working with speech therapists, physiotherapists and a chiropractor in Doncaster to speed up his recovery.
"I'm very happy with how it's going, especially the talking and the walking," said Ben, with mum Diane Dernie helping to interpret.
"I will be doing both by the end of the year.
"I knew the operation would work - and so did the doctor who did it.
"Every day I'm in the gym and I'm talking with my speech therapist twice a week.
Ben recently delighted onlookers at the town's Veterans' Day celebrations by making a speech, along with the help of a Lightwriter communication device.
His rehabilitation has stunned doctors and his family alike.
Diane said: "It is like a miracle because Ben had been told he'd never speak again.
"But when he came back home the speech therapist in Doncaster said straight away that was wrong.
"Since starting the sessions in June he's made great progress and is now speaking in sentences.
"He speaks slowly and occasionally pinches his nose to make certain noises but he can be understood. It's given the whole family such a lift.
"He has gained so much confidence from the back operation. It has opened his lungs and made his neck much stronger so he can keep his head up.
"We were told he would never speak again because of the brain injuries but that's not true.
"The only reason he could not talk up to now was that his muscles on his face had wasted away - and that's something the therapist is now working to improve.
"A few medical experts did not want him to have the surgery"
"But Ben always knew it would make a difference - and help him to walk and talk.
"He was so determined to go through with it and he's been proved right."
Ben, who was named patron of new war veteran charity Project 65 and supports the popular Help for Heroes campaign, is also hoping to be able to walk around his home on his false legs in the next couple of months.
"A lot of people would have laid down and just given up if they'd suffered the injuries Ben has," said Diane.
"But it's just the way he is.
"He was always such a happy little boy and he was always determined to make the best of everything.
"Nothing ever got him down.
"It's quite extraordinary to think about what he has been through and that still remains the case.
"He's still the same Ben."
Free Press readers raised more than 20,000 in our 'Help Brave Ben' appeal last year - allowing us to donate a specially modified Kia Sedona people carrier to Ben and his family.
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Weather for Doncaster
Friday 25 May 2012
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