Deborah Godfrey has already taken a giant step in her recovery by earning selection for the Invictus Games – now she is planning the perfect birthday when she competes Down Under in Sydney.

The former Master of Arms who lives in Torpoint, will be competing in the archery and sailing at the event, an international adaptive multi-sport event, created by Prince Harry, for wounded, injured or sick armed services personnel.

While she is over there she will turn the big five-o midway through the event, however for Godfrey, simply competing in Sydney has transformed her life.

“Until people get out and try things you can’t explain what it feels like, you’ve just got to cross that barrier,” said Godfrey, who was competing in the Jaguar Land Rover Driving Challenge, where Invictus Games competitors had the opportunity to be selected to represent their nation in the event in Sydney.

“People often say the hardest part of training is getting your trainers on.

“It’s not about going to Sydney, it’s about the lead up to it and how it changes you. I feel like I’m awake, whereas beforehand I was asleep without really realising it. I feel like I’m in the forces again.

“I joined the army when I was 17 and I did 20 years there, I raised a fantastic family. You just give and give and give and it’s fantastic, but after a while something disappears. Now I know what it was, it was ‘me time’.

“I first applied for the Invictus Games in August. You must put in a request and then you can go to a sports fest, which I went to in Nottingham last November, where you see all the sports that are being offered.

“You could see people with trepidation at the door – I took my daughter and she was my comfort blanket. Everyone had a comfort blanket.

“If you want to keep going you have to go to camps – you need to meet up at a hotel in the middle of nowhere and sleep with strangers. It was hard initially but after so many camps you look forward to seeing people. It’s been a good ten-month journey.”

At the start of her journey, Godfrey struggled simply looking people in the eye, all that has changed over the course of her preparations.

She will now take part in both archery and sailing, the latter despite having only spent about 20 hours in total on a sailing boat.

As she explains, the Invictus Games are very different to the Paralympics. They were created as a recovery tool for veterans and servicemen and women and for Godfrey, simply starting on this journey has made all the difference.

“The more things I go to the better I get,” added Godfrey, who is studying nursing at Plymouth University.

“I couldn’t look people in the eye but now I’m looking for opportunities. Before I would just hide away from things. Knowing everybody else is the same, no matter whether they show it or not, puts you automatically at ease.

“In terms of targets in Australia, I’m going to try not to fall in [in sailing] and just try to hit the target [in archery]. It’s not about winning gold medals – people get confused, they think it’s like the Paralympics and that we’re athletes. It’s not like that, we’ve taken up sports that we’ve never done before.”

Jaguar Land Rover is the Presenting Partner of the Invictus Games, which takes place in Sydney, Australia from the 20th to 27th of October 2018. Jaguar Land Rover is using this year’s Invictus Games to lead and inform the debate on future mobility, and how its future technology could help people’s lives.