Jobless, penniless and with health problems, Sarah and Leon relied on relatives to put food on the table ...then the British Legion stepped in

AS former soldier Leon Henderson and his partner Sarah cradle their new-born son, the smiles on their faces hide the anguish of the past nine months.

What the Ilkeston couple have endured is unimaginable to most but they credit their love for each other – and a lot of extra help from the Royal British Legion – for getting them through a dramatic series of events.

In January, despite being told they would probably never be able to have children, Sarah fell pregnant.

But the celebration was short lived. Only months later, the mother-to-be was diagnosed with a tumour in her eye.

Unemployed and struggling financially, the couple could not afford the train ticket to see a specialist in London and were relying on family and friends to put food on the table.

It was then that the Royal British Legion stepped in to help the injured former soldier and his fiancee.

The organisation paid for food, gave 36-year-old Sarah vouchers to buy maternity clothes and covered the cost of the crucial train tickets to London – all funded by money raised by the Poppy Appeal.

And the organisation is still there to support the couple as the new mum now faces treatment for the cancer and baby Gabriel is about to undergo a hernia operation.

"We owe them everything. Words can't describe how they have helped us over the past few months," said Leon, who wears his poppy with pride.

"The hardest thing was accepting help but we had hit rock bottom and the Royal British Legion made sure we got back up again."

Leon served in the Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons – one of the few remaining cavalry regiments in the British Army – for six years.

The 37-year-old signed up with the regiment – better known as the Blues and Royals –at the age of 16.

He went on to serve in Germany, Cyprus, Africa and Australia, and then in Jordan during the first Gulf War.

It was in 1992, during the tour of duty in Jordan, that Leon broke his back:

"I was on a tank and was washing it with a special jet washer when the pressure valve broke and the force of that threw me from the roof of the tank to the ground," he said.

"I landed on my bottom and the base of my spine bore all the impact of the fall."

He spent just over five months in Aldershot Military Hospital, where surgeons operated on his spine.

Leon was then transferred to Headley Court, a rehabilitation centre for injured soldiers, where he spent three months before being discharged.

"The fall had affected all the nerves in my legs and my mobility. I had good days where I would be up and about but then bad days where I could barely get out of bed.

"I was told I could stay in the forces but would be office-bound.

"I was fairly mobile after my stint in Headley Court and I didn't want to stay in the military if I was going to be tied to a desk."

Trooper Leon was discharged from the regiment at the age of 22.

He then got work as an insulation surveyor, before working as a lorry driving and anything his back could cope with.

Two years ago Leon met fiancee Sarah on New Year's Eve. They quickly moved in together in Ilkeston and started to plan their life.

The couple, who had been trying for a baby, were told by doctors that it was unlikely Sarah would ever conceive and, in September last year, they moved to Surrey to work for golf commentator Peter Alliss.

Sarah said: "After months of trying for a baby we had given up, we couldn't cope with the disappointment.

"We had planned our life without children and had even gone as far as looking at adoption. We had found our dream job where we had a cottage and worked for the most lovely couple.

"Then I discovered I was pregnant. It came as a huge shock – a mixture of shock and disbelief."

The couple returned to Ilkeston in May, shortly after finding out that Sarah had a cancerous growth in her eye.

She said: "It seemed as though everything had come at once.

"My pregnancy wasn't easy and I threatened to miscarry from the start. Leon struggled to get work and we ended up with no money.

"We were still having to pay a mortgage and bills and all the other living costs but because Leon had a small war pension, our benefits worked out as £7 a week for the both of us.

"I was given an appointment with a specialist in London with just a day's notice and it was going to cost almost £300 for me and Leon to go on the train. We couldn't afford it."

It was during a meeting with the Veterans' Welfare Association that the couple were put in touch with the Royal British Legion, which offers financial, social and emotional support for current and ex-servicemen and their families.

And the Derbyshire branch helped cover some of those costs – paid for out of the £519,000 raised in the county during last year's Poppy Appeal.

Sarah said: "The Royal British Legion were wonderful. They were incredibly caring and I can't describe how much they have helped us.

"Without them, I don't know where we would be and they are still supporting us now. We owe them everything."

After a difficult pregnancy, baby Gabriel was born on August 28 – six weeks early and weighing just 5lbs.

It was touch-and-go for mother and baby and, after the birth, the pair were rushed to the intensive care unit at Royal Derby Hospital, where they spent two weeks.

Sarah said: "At the time, I don't think I had any idea about how poorly I was.

"As Gabriel's heart beat kept dropping while I was in labour, in the end he was born by caesarian.

"He is doing well now, though, and is going from strength to strength."

And despite Sarah facing cryotherapy treatment, where the tumour is frozen, and Gabriel about to have surgery on two hernias, the couple are positive about the future.

She said: "Because we are quite a strong couple who love each other very much, I think we can get through anything now.

"It was feared that the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes but recent tests showed that they are all clear.

"Things are looking up now.

"In the past, I have bought a poppy and never really realised what the money goes to but now I know exactly how crucial the work is that the Royal British Legion does."