Shropshire soldier Stuart Trow has faced many mountains on his long road to recovery.

Despite suffering terrible injuries while serving in Afghanistan, he is now preparing to climb Mount Kilimanjaro – one of the tallest mountains in the world – in an attempt to raise funds for others.

He is determined to reach the peak and is now on a mission to raise as much money as possible for forces charity Help for Heroes.

An admirable ambition for any person to undertake but Stuart’s ambition is all the more remarkable because of the injuries he sustained while fighting for his country.

The north Shropshire soldier survived being shot three times and had to have part of his leg amputated after being injured in the conflict in Afghanistan in the weeks that followed the September 11 terrorist attacks.

He was the first casualty of the post 9/11 conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq and has spent the past seven years trying to rebuild his life.

Stuart acknowledges the climb will be a “real struggle physically” but is determined to get to the top. He admits he has always liked a physical challenge and says he embarked upon the adventure as a way of “giving something back”.

He realises he is lucky to be alive and fortunate to have such a wonderful family, and wants to show his gratitude.

And having served in the SAS and Parachute Regiment he is used to a challenge – during 11 years in the forces, he also saw conflict in Kosovo, Bosnia and Northern Ireland.

“I was quite young but confident in my ability,” he says. “You take it all in your stride. There was the odd occasion where we were concerned, where we thought this could go a different way, but it’s something that your training builds you up to and it doesn’t really bother you.

“You are just expected to do it and that’s what you do.”

Part of what pulled him through after he was injured, Stuart says, was the love and devotion of his wife Lisa.

The couple met in a Shropshire pub and he credits her as a “truly remarkable” woman, who gave up her career to nurse him back to health.

Stuart and Lisa, 26, married in 2005 and are now the proud parents of two girls, aged two years and eight months.

“She’s been superb really,” he says. “Initially we were both upset but she didn’t really show it at all. There was never any tears or any complaints whatsoever, she just made her mind up that she was going to stand by me and that’s exactly what she did.

“We had only been together for a little while. She would have been two years into her degree, she wanted to go into primary school teaching. Straight away she didn’t want to do that, she wanted to concentrate full time on looking after me.

“I have the utmost respect for her. The only other time I have spoken about it was when we got married – I kind of touched on it then. She stood by me through thick and thin. She is a pillar of strength.”

Stuart has accepted what happened to him although his injuries do affect him physically and mentally.

“It does hinder me physically. Mentally I have my ups and my downs still even today. Even though I feel that I’m over what has happened, I’ve accepted what happened, I still have my bad days and it annoys me.

“My chosen career path was cut short so drastically and I worked hard to get there so that plays on my mind.

“I do struggle, obviously the amputation has its affect with the phantom leg pain. I don’t have full range of movement in the knee, I can’t run, it gives me backache. It’s a struggle but I feel lucky. You have got two options, sit and dwell on it or you get on with life. I try to get up and get on with it.

“At the time I was still quite young myself, I was 25, and it was only this last year that something kind of clicked and I feel that I have accepted what happened.

“I’m not bitter, I’m not trying to ignore what’s happened, I’ve accepted it and I feel lucky. I feel normal almost.

“Now with the children, I look at what’s going on and I look at people less fortunate than myself and I just think how I’m so lucky.

“At one stage when I was being cas-evacced out I was pretty much dead so I am so lucky to be here and I appreciate them no end. That’s what’s triggered me doing this really.

“Last year something just clicked and I feel so grateful for what I have got. I just feel that there are so many people less fortunate out there. It was just time really to say thank you to people who have helped me. It’s something that Lisa and I will never forget.”

Stuart is available to speak at public events about his background and rehabilitation in a further push to raise funds for charity. And he is happy to act as a point of contact for people wanting to know more about his experiences.

“It would be nice just to be a point of contact for others to get in touch with me and if they need assistance in any way then maybe I can offer some of my experience.”

By Deborah Collins