Lynn marine: Better off without foot?
A YOUNG Royal Marine, battling to get back to full health after being shot in Afghanistan, has said he might be better off as an amputee.
Matt Kingston (22) is working hard to regain use of his damaged foot, but still has little or no movement in it after being mown down by enemy fire in November.
He is now coming to terms with up to two years of tests and surgery to try to get him fit again and differing opinions on whether his foot can be saved.
"It's almost better for me if I did have a prosthetic, then I'd be able to do my job again, but it's going to take a couple of years to go anywhere," he said.
"Before they start chopping limbs off they really need to do all the tests. I just want to crack on with my life, but at the same time, if it came to the crunch, I'd probably rather wait and be really sure."
L/Cpl Kingston was shot 12 months after passing out in the role he had always dreamed of and strived to make a reality as a fully- fledged Marine. It now remains unclear whether he will be able to ever return to it properly.
He said: "I'm just staying positive."
The former Downham schoolboy, whose parents run West Lynn ferry, returned to his unit, 40 Commando in Taunton, Somerset, this week after almost two months recovering at home with his family.
He is now undertaking a gruelling regime of fitness and physiotherapy.
L/Cpl Kingston sent thanks to a Lynn gym operator who offered him the chance to work out there for free after reading about his injuries in the Lynn News, saying it was a touching gesture despite not being able to take up the offer.
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Weather for King's Lynn
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: East
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