Women have been at the forefront of caring for British war heroes, it has been revealed.

Help for Heroes has extended an official thank you to the Band of Sisters fellowship who provide support to soldiers.

One couple, known only as Adam and Kelly, shared their story with Help for Heroes, which demonstrates how instrumental carers are to wounded servicemen.

Adam joined the army in 2002, as a technical supply specialist in the Royal Signals.

He was later assigned to Iraq, where he was regularly shot at and experienced frequent mortar attacks.

Furthermore, he also experienced workplace bullying, and eventually tried to take his own life, before he received a diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Years later, he volunteered to go to Iraq again, partly in the hope he would be killed again.

During that time, he had many near-misses and lost many friends, which worsened his PTSD.

However, despite his problems, Adam met his partner Kelly via an online dating site in 2009. Although she knew he had a military background, she only discovered that he had PTSD once they began chatting.

Speaking about their relationship, Kelly, told Help for Heroes: “I’d noticed a couple of scars on his arm and from there he told me about his experiences. We were quite open and honest about it. I never had any doubts, we just instantly clicked and I felt like I’d known him for years."

Since they met, Adam has undergone help for his condition with the charity Combat Stress, and Kelly has supported him throughout.

Eventually, Kelly quit her job as a debt collector  to be Adam’s main carer. Adam has frequent nightmares, OCD, night sweats and on the worst days, he showers up to seven times a day.

She said: "He can tell me everything about his army life and childhood but he wouldn’t be able to tell me what he did yesterday if I asked."

Although Kelly had found it difficult to adapt to her new life, she eventually found help and support via the Help for Heroes Fellowship network, Band of Sisters.

She said: "If I’m having a bad day, I can log onto the Facebook group and someone is always there who will help pick you up and give you advice. It’s been amazing."ADNFCR-2867-ID-801791041-ADNFCR

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