DM
London
When a mortar hit the building Corporal Hannah Campbell was guarding in Iraq, her injuries could hardly have been more horrific.
A pole through her face blinded her in one eye, her left hand was split in two and her left leg was shattered and had to be amputated.
At the same time she was shot in the stomach, damaging her womb, and had a heart attack.
Many would struggle to come back from such trauma. But with the help of doctors, Miss Campbell has rebuilt herself, like a real-life Bionic Woman.
The 30-year-old soldier has undergone a £52,500 makeover, including a lifelike prosthetic leg, make-up which is tattooed on, Botox, gastric band weight-loss treatment and a tummy tuck.
She even treated herself to two breast enlargements.
Miss Campbell, who used part of her Ministry of Defence compensation of at least £380,000 for her new look, said: ‘It was a no-brainer, the best money I ever spent.’ And, as the Daily Mail reported earlier this year, she even defied the odds following her womb injury to give birth to a daughter.
It was in 2007 that she was injured while serving with 19 Tank Transporter Squadron, guarding a building in Basra.
During her recovery she gained weight from being left wheelchair-bound, going from 9½st to 21½st, while post-traumatic stress disorder caused her to lose her hair.
She was given real-hair wigs by Help For Heroes until her hair grew back, and later spent £5,000 on hair extensions.
A £10,500 gastric bypass operation helped her get back to her original size and she learned to walk again with the aid of the £12,000 prosthetic leg provided by the Army, made of silicone to look as realistic as possible.
‘Within a year I’d run a marathon and was back to 9½st. It was the start of re-finding myself,’ she told The Sun.
She went on to have a £10,500 tummy tuck, and spent £3,000 on facial treatments, with tattooed make-up used to hide her scars and Botox injections camouflaging nerve damage which had left her face drooping.
Miss Campbell, from Northampton, has a ten-year-old daughter Milly from a previous relationship.
Following her ordeal she was told by doctors that she would never conceive again.
Yet six months ago she gave birth to her second child, Lexi-River.
She said: ‘The miracle happened. I feel blessed. Many women never learn to be fully happy with how they look but I really appreciate how I am now.’