Frances's Story
Frances Shine's son Stephen was serving with the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment in Iraq in 2007 when a knock on her door at 2am brought the news that he had been critically injured. It was five hours before Frances was told her son had survived the explosion. Stephen, then 24, had lost a leg and his fingers were stitched back on. When he arrived at Selly Oak Hospital Frances sat with him until he regained consciousness four days later. Stephen spent more than eight weeks at Selly Oak, the beginning of the long road to recovery for him and his family. When Des Browne, the then Defence Secretary, visited the hospital, Frances spoke to him about establishing a support group. He put her in touch with SSAFA, and the Support Group for the Families of Injured Service Personnel was set up.
Frances said: "All the paperwork, all the different people. Although everyone was very sympathetic no-one knew the problems, the worries and the stress of what I was going through as a mother trying to do the best for my son. I needed to talk to someone who understood firsthand."