King Edward VII’s Hospital – How Lucy reclaimed her life!

Off By Fixed

Lucy Holt had lived in pain for years. What began as a netball injury led to multiple surgeries and a medical discharge from the Forces. While her ankle is still healing, the Veterans’ Pain Management Programme has helped her reclaim her life. This is her personal story.

A sports injury
In 2016, Lucy injured her ankle while playing netball. “I thought it was just a sprain and hoped it would heal,” she recalls. But it didn’t. X-rays showed no fractures, yet her ankle remained unstable. She was placed on sedentary duty before being medically discharged in 2018. “They said nothing was wrong, but I was unfit for Service. It didn’t make sense,” she says. Sent home, she spent two years inactive, classified as P0 noneffective – unfit for Military duties and awaiting a medical board decision.

A mystery solved
Determined to find answers, Lucy saw a specialist in Basingstoke. After extensive scans, he confirmed severe damage and scheduled urgent surgery. “I had a 7.5cm tear in my peroneal tendon and three out of four ligaments ruptured. My ankle was barely holding together.” Though the surgery seemed successful, the wound wouldn’t heal. Further investigation at a major trauma centre in London revealed that delayed diagnosis had damaged the blood supply to her ankle, preventing proper healing. Another surgery was required.

Pain management
“The big surgery in 2019 severed neural pathways, leaving me in constant pain,” Lucy explains. “I experienced strange sensations – touching my skin graft caused pain elsewhere in my foot.”

Lucy’s orthopaedic consultant knew King Edward VII’s Hospital and told her about the Veterans’ Pain Management Programme. “He sent a letter on my behalf, outlining everything I’d been through and got the ball rolling. My GP emailed and I also sent them some information. Within a week I’d been accepted and was reading through the welcome pack to understand what would happen on the course.

Taking back control
“Their aim was to help me manage pain in the moment. The course isn’t about fixing you,” says Lucy. “It arms you with a set of tools for coping with pain – managing it day-to-day. At first, even getting out of bed felt impossible. But over time, I built resilience.” One of Lucy’s goals was to walk around the golf course with her son. And did she reach that goal? “I did!” she beams “The course helped me remove the psychological walls that chronic pain puts up between you and things you want to do. The course helped me build resilience and take back control of my life.”

And take control she has, getting involved with the Invictus Games through which she hopes to gain teaching qualifications, so she can work with disabled children.