Army veteran from Preston receives robotic arm just in time to raise a pint this Christmas

John Newcombe, who served 34 years as an infantry soldier, was injured in a blast in Northern Ireland during the 1980s.

He has since developed primary progressive multiple sclerosis which has robbed him of his independence. 

Help for Heroes' mission is to provide life changing support for veterans and their families, ensuring they can live well after their military service has ended.

The military Charity's work has enabled John to become only the fifth person in the UK to have a JACO assistive robotic arm, which is mounted on a motorised wheelchair.

Through funding this latest technology, John, 60, can now do the simple things he had written off ever being able to do again - hugging his partner, Claire, taking his support dog, Casper, out for a walk, feeding himself and brushing his own teeth.

John said: "It is magical that I have a working arm. When my body was broken, Help for Heroes gave me a new one - they gave me a new pair of legs in the form of my wheelchair, and now a new arm.

 "I can pick up a cup to have a drink, I can feed my dogs and play with them and have independence to do very basic things that before I had to ask someone else to do.  

"No one can imagine how empowering, in fact, sensational that feeling is."

John was diagnosed with MS 15 years ago and his condition deteriorated faster than the couple could have imagined – when their house no longer became accessible, John was forced to live in their kitchen.

The couple, from Preston, turned to Help for Heroes and its team of specialists visited John and Claire to assess how they could help so John no longer felt like a prisoner in his own home.

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The JACO assistive robotic arm, which is not available on the NHS, features six-axis movements corresponding to shoulder, elbow, and wrist, allowing 16 movements in all to mimic the smoothness and versatility of a fully functioning human arm.

It is designed and manufactured in Canada and supplied in the UK by Rahana Ltd.

Help for Heroes has seen a spike in grant applications this year – it has awarded £875k in 2022-2023 compared with £475k in 2021-2022.

Claire, 44, said: "One of the things that John and I really missed was being able to get out into the countryside.  We had always enjoyed walking, climbing and water sports, which is one of the things that we both had in common.

 "When we were told that the charity would be able to source an off-road wheelchair for John, we couldn’t believe it.  

"When they then told us that they wanted to provide him with a wheelchair that would stand up, we were astounded.  We were able to reignite some of the hopes and dreams that we had for our future.

 "The ability for John to stand tall again and speak to people at eye level had a big impact on his self-esteem and mental health.  We hadn't had a proper hug in over six years and the wheelchair enabled us to do that.

 "We had written off the idea that those things would ever happen again, but Help for Heroes realised that, with the right equipment, John's mindset would enable him to achieve his dreams and they made it happen."

 Duane Fletcher MBE, Veterans Clinical Advisor for the North and Northern Ireland at Help for Heroes, said: "The quality of life this JACO arm gives back to John to maintain his independence is immeasurable.

"To see him after only a few hours mastering picking keys up from the table and opening doors was amazing, the more he uses the JACO arm, the more independent he will become.”

 John added: "I learnt to live with being in a wheelchair, but I always said that I wouldn’t be able to cope with losing my hands.  

 "When this happened, I felt distraught and useless, I couldn't feed myself or take a drink - basic things that you need to survive, I could no longer do for myself.  I’d lost all control again.

"It feels overwhelming to have some of that control back – it is the best Christmas present I could have wished for."