"The Fund has supported me for over 20 years after I was paralysed in a bike accident"

Following a bike accident that left him paralysed, RAF Regiment veteran Luke Delahunty has benefitted from a range of support from the Fund, including financial and emotional assistance. For over 20 years we have been at Luke’s side, providing support whenever needed.

Luke Delahunty joined the RAF Regiment in 1990, beginning his career in the Queen’s Colour Squadron, before serving with 1 Squadron at RAF Laarbruch, with detachments in Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Bosnia and Croatia. However, not long after Luke was posted back to the UK in mid-1996, life as he knew it changed forever when he was paralysed in a catastrophic bike crash.

“It was the end of my military career,” Luke said, “I was only 24 years old.” Luke spent a couple of months in intensive care before he was sent to Stoke Mandeville hospital for rehabilitation for his spinal cord injury.  He said: “It was frustrating, but also fun at times. I met a lot of people in a similar position, but we all had the shared experience of going through rehab after experiencing a spinal injury.

“At Stoke Mandeville I learnt how to live life as a paraplegic and how to do everything from a wheelchair, like getting dressed, getting in and out of the bath or shower, going to the toilet – just typical daily activities. I stayed there for five months – it was challenging, but it set me up for when I was discharged.”

Luke then spent six months at rehabilitation centre Headley Court, until he could find somewhere accessible where he could move into permanently. He was eventually offered a house in Hillingdon, near his first posting in RAF Uxbridge, where he knew the area and had friends nearby.

The RAF Benevolent Fund was there to support Luke during his move, providing a grant to help furnish his house. He said: “The support helped alleviate the financial strains of moving house and enabled me to have a comfortable home. It was a big relief.”

Luke continued: “Once I was settled, the Fund provided a grant for an IT course for me, as well as a laptop to do the training. This support helped me transition back into civvy street, and I was able to secure a job working at a newspaper company, working on page layout and design. Once I started earning, I wanted to do something fun, so I learnt how to scuba dive. I loved it and did course after course and a few years later I moved to Egypt and spent a year working as a scuba instructor – I was well and truly loving life again.”

Since then, Luke has found a job where he can put his personal experiences and skills to use. He said: “I now work at the spinal unit where I had my rehab, helping to coordinate and deliver education to patients. I talk about life after a spinal cord injury and help them to see that life isn’t over when you are paralysed – there are still plenty of opportunities to be had.

“The Fund’s support has helped me immensely over the years. I first found out about the charity when I signed up to the RAF and paid monthly into Service Days Pay Giving, but I never thought I’d be on the receiving end.”

More recently, Luke has benefitted from the Fund’s Community Engagement support. He explained: “I met Lisa, a Community Engagement Worker at the Fund, at a veteran event and we got chatting. She helped arrange some counselling for me following a few family bereavements over COVID, and she also suggested attending a local veteran meet-up, as by this point I had moved into a new area with my partner in Gosport.

“It has helped me connect with others similar to me, and we meet up regularly. Over 

Christmas, I went to RAF Odiham for Christmas Dinner as part of the Fund’s Operation Christmas programme, and a few months ago the Fund invited me to meet the Duke of Kent at the RAF Museum which was a great experience.”

Luke has also benefitted from the Fund’s Disabled Holiday Trust over the years, including a recent break in Shropshire. “I went with my partner, the kids and the dog. We did some sight-seeing, visited the local distillery, and went shopping

 around the local area. It was lovely to have a break, and the accommodation was fully adapted.”

“I’ve received so much support from the Fund over the last 20 years. I’m very grateful – I try to raise as much money as I can to pay it back. I completed the London Marathon in 2017 to raise money for the Fund and have taken part in other fundraisers too.

“I would say to others who might need support, to just reach out to the Fund and ask. Some service men and women, and veterans, feel too proud to ask for support, but it’s what it is there for. The Fund has definitely enriched my life and made things easier – it’s reassuring to know the support will always be there.”