From Afghanistan to the Paralympics: Soldier's remarkable story | 60 Minutes Australia

Intro for sappa Curtis mcra his finest Hour was also his worst it came on a Barren Hill in Afghanistan last August when a landmine blew off his legs while on patrol at first everything went black but then Curtis came too and being the group's medic he directed the emergency treatment that saved his own life Curtis is one of 249 young Australians who've been seriously wounded in Afghanistan his story stands out not because he lost his leg but the way he's adapting to his new ones doctors might tell Curtis to take it easy but that's just not in his Afghanistan [Music] nature when War comes home most soldiers return intact [Music] physically at least others come home the hard way on a stretcher bloody and broken but not beaten we all go to Afghanistan knowing that it's a risk but there's no way I was going to die there you can sort of look at it now and be like this is just a challenge but it's it's definitely not that it's um a life change Curtis mcgr had one of the most perilous jobs in the Army clearing landmines this would be his last view of his own legs captured on his helmet camera every step over there could be you L last August his unit of combat engineers was sent to an notoriously bad corner of Southern Afghanistan crawling with Taliban just hold up hold up oh it's a guy ducking over there they were exhausted from five long days of Relentless searching they' found four bombs already when curtis' boot triggered number [Music] five all of a sudden just went black it's dusty it's dark um I can't hear anything it's it's just silent and I lock down and my legs are gone um and then the pain just comes back like a freight train I couldn't really hear much to start with and then I sort of just all there was just dust and [ __ ] and then I just sort of heard him screaming and just ran up to him up hurry up he tried to keep looking down at his legs but just told him lay down lay down just let us work Daniel livay Ryan ws and M pitcher rushed to help but it was Curtis himself the group's medic who took charge get my bloody tnic on like get them I hurry up just a minute here yep you've lost your legs you're fighting for your life how did you have the presence of mind to guide them through first aid instructions to help save your life I don't know I said hurry up get the IV bag I'm going to Shar I was like just stab me just hurry up instead me a medac chopper was called in but it was half an hour away I knew that the time it would take for that choer to get to me could mean life or death and it usually does The Vow was holding my hand at the time and that's that's when I thought I was going to die um lying and waiting and um yeah that is not where you wanted to die no I I did say so I don't want to die here I don't want to die here [Music] sappa mcgr has always stood out in the Army because he was born in New Zealand his mates call him kiwi and never stop ribbing him about it what were you saying to him all this time just trying to keep him calm um cracking jokes to be honest um you could do this yeah he was already on on about getting Prosthetics and that straight away and said that he was going to give that Blade Runner fellow run for his money when he gets back but he'll be gone for New Zealand yeah and we threatened to drop the stret on him cuz we'll just be like we'll leave you here if you're going to run for New Zealand mate and it's sort of one of those circumstances if you're not laughing you're crying sort of thing injuries are left baloney right baloney with tissue damage up to the gro above me on right while a trauma team performed emergency surgery back at base his mom and dad in brisbon got the call that every soldier's family dreads was it about 10 12 1:00 in the morning mhm he's such a long way away yeah it really was this feeling of helplessness yeah and um also this anger because I just wanted to say right you guys get back in there and finish that job and get it done and make them pay for what they've done and then you think no no no you can't do that you know we have to worry about Cur who are you angry at the Taliban [Music] yeah within hours Paul and Kim mcgr would be on their way to a military Hospital in Germany with Kurt's girlfriend Rachel Martin a final year medical student to begin with I was told he was quite critical and I was actually told he's unconscious from the moment he got hit so I was really concerned about him coming around and not knowing that he had lost his legs of course Curtis knew full will and even as he lay bleeding and legless back on that Hilltop Rachel was foremost in his mind oh yeah at that time he just sort of grabbed me and he's just like he's just like the first thing he said to me actually was Rachel's going to kill me and I was just like apparently you said Rachel's going to kill me oh um she will now um here she is R was going to kill me for not being able to go on holiday to Bary so um she's worked hard and um she deserves a holiday and uh yeah yeah sorry you don't have to be sorry right good time to come on in yeah that was good you're a brave man M it and all along through this thing you've been thinking about other people yeah think about yourself a bit more yeah yeah good advice Rachel yeah now 3 months after losing his legs New limbs sapak curus MGR is getting a remarkable pair of new ones uh this is the closest that you would get to Formula 1 design it's a milestone for Curtis and Rachel's there all the way I still have to learn again pretty much from scratch learn everything again the high-tech limbs are the most sophisticated ever developed and Curtis is busting to wear them just tomorrow almost late it's like kids at Christmas it's a bit like that though isn't it it's it's weird I didn't think I'd get that excited again yeah you can hold your own leg it's yours yep put your legs behind your head no worries [Music] Curtis is using every waking hour to FasTrack his recovery he's given himself a deadline to be up on new legs to meet his mates when they return from Afghanistan um start with your left leg today he's taking his first don't try W step just make it Bend and then move it forward it comes forward by itself okay don't yeah second day you're standing that's good when you saw him stand for the first time and take those steps must have filled your heart yep yeah that same [Laughter] Swagger and he he really is amazing he has an amazing life and amazing things happen around him so he just drives himself to yeah he's got to get back so I can lift myself yeah that's him the legs are astonishingly Hightech especially the right one which is known as the X2 but where carbon fiber meets skin and bone the sockets have aggravated a raw nerve and even with meticulous remolding the pain can be excruciating it's just a a wound that was quite deep and open for a long time so it's taking a it's time to [Music] heal but by by day three Curtis is really getting the hang of it hello Michael look at that come on in have a look at you it's uh definitely a progression that is [Music] incredible I haven't had a full here touch [Music] wood I've had a few stumbles in this but caught myself on the bars so yeah [Music] the X2 was developed by a German company exclusively for the American Army it is far more advanced than anything available to civilians and it is really quite an incredible piece of technology in fact no one outside the military can get one of these the manufacturers say it's like the mercedesbenz of Prosthetics which is appropriate because when you ask the Army how much it costs they say that's confidential but the makers hint that it's about the price of an expensive luxury [Music] car the military's always been there um every step of the way and there's no way I would be at the stage I'm at right now without their help Returning home it's the day Curtis has been waiting [Music] for his mates are back from Afghanistan and he's joining them in the arrivals Hall to in effect come home with [Applause] [Music] [Applause] them this is the flight Curtis should have been on so the entire mcra family has turned out welcome home long last the homecoming he never had and the chance to stand with the men who saved his life it's time to show them what he'd accomplished he could stand with them again eye to eye there we are but this is a man who refuses to stand still and there was no way he was going to miss the passing out parade I um had to get um some of the boys to hold my arms it's good to have them beside me as well and you're helping them though too aren't you I hope so I wasn't the only one that had you know it such a traumatic experience and uh for them to help me get back to normal is probably something beneficial for them too this is Curtis mcg's New Normal he and the Army are yet to decide where he goes from here but one thing's for sure nothing even a couple of missing legs is going to hold him back I've got a lot of Life to Live and I want to live it the best I can I can see why you're proud of him it's hard not to be yeah really proud of you you're really good thank [Music] you if I treat it every day as a bad day as most people would look at it I wouldn't get anywhere I wouldn't have the progress I just you know kill up in a ball in the corner and and sit there and wait for someone to drag me out of it but it's there in your mind and that you have to make those bad days less and the good days more hello I'm Adam heg thanks for watching 60 Minutes Australia subscribe to our Channel now for brand new stories and exclusive Clips every week and don't miss out on our extra minute segments and full episodes of 60 Minutes on .com. 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