A Royal Navy technician said his life “changed in a split second” after he lost his eye in a freak helicopter accident. Elliott Courtman, from Chichester, had his life turned upside down in June 2020 when a helicopter antenna pierced his eyeball. The 27-year-old called the accident “absolutely devastating” and is now calling on the government to better support soldiers who lose their careers.
Elliot said: “Initially, I thought I must have cut my eyelid open. I had a big cut across my face – but I didn’t even consider it could have been my eyeball. “I tried to take my contact lens out, but I couldn’t, but everyone around me kept reassuring me that it wasn’t that bad and I’d be fine.
“However, when I got to the hospital and the specialist looked at my eye, that’s when I knew. The look on his face told me everything I needed to know. Elliot Courtman (Image: SWNS) “My whole life had changed in a split second.
” “It was absolutely devastating. Up until this point, my time in the Navy couldn’t really have gone any better. “I was promoted to Leaving Hand as fast as it was possible to be – and won Best Recruit twice.
Everything was going great. “Then all of a sudden my life changed. I lost my career.
“Before this, I was one of the most confident people you could meet. But I lost all that. I felt totally trapped.
” Elliot said he had been suffering from fatigue at the time of the accident in 2021, adding he had been working eight-hour days for.
