RAF man suffers horrific brain injury in Afghanistan

A former RAF aircraft technician who suffered a horrific brain injury in Afghanistan is getting ready to tackle a major fitness challenge. Invictus Games athlete Paul Case, who was born in Bridgwater, Somerset, and now lives in Cornwall, will be taking part in this year’s British Rowing Indoor Championships.

The 45-year-old says "it’s not about what you can’t do, but what you can do", after a horrific incident in Afghanistan left him with life-changing injuries and "mourning" the loss of his former self. During his time in the RAF, Paul served tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan, visiting other countries such as Cyprus, Kuwait, and the Falkland Islands in between.

In 2011, while in Afghanistan, Paul was asked to service an aircraft in the hangar following a particularly big rainstorm, which had also caused many of the lights to go out. The wet surface caused Paul to slip and fall 15 feet, landing head-first onto the concrete floor of the hangar.

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Paul was knocked unconscious and once an emergency response team had taken him to hospital, it was revealed that he had fractured his skull, shoulder and wrist. The fracture to Paul’s skull was so bad that he was immediately flown home to Queen Elizabeth Hospital on a C17 jet.

The jet was refuelled in the midst of a lightning storm and had to remain below 10,000 feet throughout the entire journey, despite the storm, to avoid altering the pressure of the aircraft. Once home and in recovery, Paul became seriously unwell and was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, receiving home care for the next two weeks while he dealt with his ordeal.

The years that followed became difficult for Paul as he learned to live with what was eventually diagnosed as damage to his left frontal lobe, the part of the brain that allows us to process information. He became easily overloaded with information and struggled to process things without becoming fatigued.

He was also left struggling with depression, anxiety and confusion. Paul’s injuries also meant he was unable to return to his job in the RAF, and after years of searching for something that matched his passion for aircraft, he now works as a teaching assistant in a small Cornish primary school, where he’s hoping to "inspire the children" during the upcoming championships.

It was also after a year in his current job that Paul was selected to represent the UK in the 2023 Invictus Games in Dusseldorf, having chosen to pursue indoor rowing following selection given that it’s a "full body workout that doesn’t affect his head or brain". Paul described taking part in the Invictus Games as "life-changing" and "something he’ll remember forever", setting personal bests (PB) across the board while there.

It was after the Invictus Games that Paul decided to represent the Invictus Foundation in last year’s British Rowing Indoor Championships, taking a gold medal in one of the races. Now, he’s got his sights set on this year’s competition, though medals aren’t what he’s after this time around.

“I want to inspire the children at my school more than anything. I want to show them that it’s not about what’s happened to you, but how you react to it. I want to teach them about resilience and show them that it’s not about what you can’t do, but what you can do.”

He said: “Even though my injury happened over 10 years ago, it’s only in recent years that I’ve been able to accept my situation. I put this down to a few things, including my job, where I’m inspired by incredible children every day, but also therapy with Hidden Wounds and feeling part of something amazing through my experience with Team UK at the Invictus Games.”

Paul explains how training for this year’s competition has given him a ‘true sense of worth’ and that a medal at the Championships would simply be a "huge bonus". More than anything, Paul wants to share his story to inspire others, including those who may have been through something similar.

To those people, Paul says: "You will mourn the loss of your previous self, but you need to treat everything that’s happened to you as an opportunity to improve and inspire. You can still do things, just in a slightly different way.”

This year’s British Rowing Indoor Championships will be taking place across December 7 and 8 at Birmingham’s NEC, with more than 2,000 rowers expected to take part alongside 15,000 FitFest athletes. Open to competitors of all ages and backgrounds, the weekend will see a number of champions crowned across various distances and race categories, including the all-new Super Sprint Sunday event, which was recently added to this year’s schedule.

For more information about this year’s British Rowing Indoor Championships - and to enter - please visit: https://www.britishrowing.org/events/events-calendar/bric/