Warrior Games: From MS 'meltdown' to captaining UK team

Georgie Smith will lead a team of 20 from the UK who are taking part in 14 events at the Warrior Games

The woman leading the UK's team at the Warrior Games in Florida has described how she went into "meltdown" while trying to deal with multiple sclerosis.

RAF worker Georgie Smith, 39, from Llantwit Major, Vale of Glamorgan, was diagnosed in 2015 and tried to prove she was "invincible".

More than 400 wounded, injured and sick military personnel will compete in the Games, including 20 from the UK.

By competing, she hopes to highlight MS in a positive light to others.

The mother-of-two said: "I'm still serving in the RAF. I'm quite fortunate that I've kept my job. But the first thing that went through my mind in the hospital was 'that's it, that's the end of my career'.

"But actually I am still of value, I can still operate in my job, deploy overseas etc, at risk of course.

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"The dark days can come when you least expect it. MS is a really funny illness but as a service person we have that mentality to push through things, sometimes too much and sometimes we do need to stop and have a little chat to ourselves and say 'you're not invincible, you are a human'.

"It is a daily-management illness.

Georgie Smith was an instructor with the RAF and her current role there is as an office manager for recruitment

"For the first year, I did run away with myself a little bit with the illness. I sort of saw it as a challenge to prove to everyone that I've got MS but I'm absolutely fine and still invincible.

"It did cause me last year to have a bit of a meltdown. I just lost it. I couldn't stop crying over nothing. I suppose it was just an accumulation of a lot of emotions and feelings I've had and probably buried over the last couple of years.

"Us service personnel are human and think society puts us on a pedestal sometimes and you always try and uphold that pedestal."

After being diagnosed, Mrs Smith contacted Help for Heroes and began to take part in the charity's sports recovery programme.

In January she found out she had been selected for Team UK, which is supported by Help for Heroes, in the Warrior Games which run from Friday until 30 June.

'Amazing opportunity'

The team will take part in 14 adaptive sports, with Mrs Smith competing in athletics, powerlifting, shooting, sitting volleyball and indoor rowing competitions.

"People I've spoken to who have represented Team UK in previous years say it's an amazing experience," said Mrs Smith.

"You're treated so well. The Americans love us Brits.

"It's an amazing opportunity to be selected for the team let alone then get selected for team captain and lead everyone out next Friday night."

In 2013, the Warrior Games inspired Prince Harry, who served in the Army for 10 years, to found the Invictus Games.

It came after witnessing the positive impact sport had for injured servicemen and women, and has been held in London, Orlando, Toronto and Sydney with the 2020 event being held in The Hague.