Wali Noori was working as an interpreter for the British Army in Afghanistan in 2009 when he stepped on an explosive device.
The explosion left him completely blind at the age of 20.
As a child he loved running in the mountains of Kabul, but Wali thought he would never be able to run again.
Here he explains in his own words how moving to the UK changed his life and how determined he is to never give up.
‘I knew I had to accept that I might die’
I grew up in Kabul and was a very good boxer. I ran to keep fit. I finished my studies and wanted to go to university, but my family was very poor and I had to support them. They were hungry, my father could not work and I have five sisters and four brothers.
So at the age of 18 I joined the British Army as a translator and cultural advisor. I had learned English at school and I was good at it. My job was to help the British Army, the Afghan forces and the local civilians to communicate with each other and it was a very important job.
I was asked if I wanted to go to Helmand province, and I said yes, even though I knew I had to accept that I might die. It was like hell. So many ambushes and people dying every day, but I was not afraid.
I was there for two years when I stepped on an IED (improvised explosive device) while on patrol. I was thrown into the air and came back with a bang. I thought I was going to die, but it felt like a dream. My whole face was full of shrapnel and I lost all 28 of my teeth.
I stopped breathing, but reached down my throat and pulled out a piece of shrapnel. I couldn’t see and was airlifted out before spending two weeks in a coma in an army hospital in Kabul.
‘I thought my life was over’
The doctors didn’t expect me to survive. When I woke up I couldn’t talk and had to write my name down for them so they could call my boyfriend who told my family what had happened.
When my mother and father first came, it was a very difficult time for them. I managed to sit up so I wouldn’t look so bad and I tried to smile for them, but I still couldn’t talk.
I was taken to Bagram Hospital and the Air Force Base where the Americans treated my facial wounds and fractures. I was breathing through a tube from my neck. I was there for a month before going to hospitals in India and Pakistan to see if they could save my sight, but they couldn’t.
It wasn’t easy and I had some really dark days. I loved running but I thought my running days were over. I was a single man and I ended up moving back to Afghanistan with my family. I didn’t know how I was going to get through the rest of my life and I thought no one would want to marry me.
But in 2012 I had an arranged marriage. From that day on my wife is my biggest supporter. She threw my white stick away and said “I am your stick”. She is very kind and whenever I am sad she says “Come on, I am here”. We have three beautiful children and we are so lucky.
‘Meeting Prince Harry was incredible’
I couldn’t work when I lived in Afghanistan, even though I wanted to. The British army gave me a year’s salary, but I struggled and the country isn’t very well-equipped for disabled people.
In 2014 I was told by the British government that I was eligible to come to the UK with my family. It took two years to sort it out, but since we moved to Colchester we have never looked back.
I really like it here. It’s a nice place and I’ve made some nice friends, especially in my running club, Colchester Harriers. And we’re safe.
I realized I could start running again because they have guides and it has given me my freedom and my mental health back. I get terrible headaches because of my injuries but I go running and my headaches are forgotten.
I waited five years to be selected for the Invictus Games and I was so proud to represent the UK last September. I won four gold medals, in the 100m, 200m, 400m and 1500m. I met Prince Harry and Meghan and they were so warm and friendly.
Harry shook my hand, I didn’t know who he was. I said “who is this?” and he said “I’m Prince Harry” and we laughed and chatted. It was an incredible moment in my life.
“I will never give in to my blindness”
I have now won 21 medals for running and three for swimming. I always want to move forward in my life and I never look back. I always try to improve and I make sure that I never give up.
My dream is to one day compete in the Paralympic Games. I qualified because of how fast I am and I meet the criteria, but I missed the deadline to apply this time. But I will make it one day. I would also like to complete the six big marathons, after I do London in 2019.
I just wrote a book about my life and it will be published on September 12th, 15 years after I went blind. I go to schools and colleges and different groups like army veterans to share my story and I recently spoke to veterans who were wounded in Ukraine. If I get money for these talks I will send it back to Afghanistan to help the widows and orphans there.
I will never regret joining the British Army and what happened to me. Life was very hard for me before that, but I am doing well now. I will never give up on my blindness. I want to continue to inspire people and show them that a disability does not have to stop you from achieving great things.
As told to Charlie Jones
Follow the news from Essex on Facebook, Instagram And X. Do you have a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 0800 169 1830
Colchester Harriers
