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Injured soldier is battling back

Frank Wood
19/ 3/2008

A SOLDIER from Heywood who was seriously wounded in a Taleban bomb blast last year has made such a good recovery that he spent last week on a tough exercise in the Brecon Beacons.

Jason McDonald, a 26-year-old sergeant with the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, had a miraculous escape when an Army truck he was in was blown to pieces by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan last July.

His best friend, Sergeant Dave Wilkinson, 23, was killed instantly and Jason, from Back o’ th’ Moss and three other soldiers were badly injured.

He suffered shrapnel injuries and burns to various parts of his body but, after months of treatment, he has recovered well.

Now his mum Carole, who still lives on Back o’ th’ Moss estate, is worried that he may be sent back to Afghanistan or Iraq when his recovery is complete.

Jason, his wife Zoe and their little daughter Louise now live near his Army base in Windsor.

He was posted to Afghanistan for eight months just two weeks after his wedding and had been in Helmand Province for only four months when the devastating attack happened.

He was treated at a base hospital in Afghanistan, then airlifted home to a hospital in the Midlands. He later had skin grafts at a hospital in Windsor.

Mrs McDonald said: "Jason came to see us in Heywood five weeks ago and has made a good recovery physically.

"But I’m sure it will take a long time for the mental scars to heal after what he has been through. I am just hoping that he is not sent back."

Jason signed on to train as a soldier as soon as he left Heywood Community High School and planned to serve for 22 years. He was a member of a karate club at the school before he joined up and is a keen Manchester City supporter.