Cloaked in honour

Mark Urquhart has been recognised with a Quilt of Valour.

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Mark Urquhart decided to amputate both his legs so that he could walk again.

A few months later he stood proudly as he was cloaked in a Quilt of Valour in a ceremony in Baulkham Hills.

The father-of-four underwent a double leg amputation in July to honour a promise he made to his eldest daughter when he went into a wheelchair eight years ago.

“I said to my daughter in 2008 that the day she got married I’d walk her down the aisle,” Mr Urquhart said.

An afternoon tea was held in honour of Mark Urquhart receiving his Quilt of Valour at the Hills Private Hospital in Baulkham Hills on Thursday.

That promise will now be possible, after the Queenslander travelled to Bella Vista to have the operation carried out by renowned surgeon Dr Munjed Al Muderis at Norwest Private Hospital.

Mr Urquhart was an infantryman and paratrooper in the 1990s in the 3rd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment.

Following two parachute accidents he was medically discharged in 1995, and in 2008 an operation left him an incomplete paraplegic.

Garry Robinson, Mark Urquhart and Andrew Judson at the Hills Private Hospital in Baulkham Hills on Thursday, September 22.

In 2014, a friend asked him if he had considered amputation and after two years of consultation, the operation took place.

Soon after the surgery, however, Mr Urquhart suffered a stroke and then a 4mm hole in his heart was discovered.

“You can be prepared for anything, but sometimes you can be thrown a curveball,” he said.

Heart surgery followed, but just a few weeks later Mr Urquhart was standing on his new prosthetic legs to receive his Quilt of Valour at the Hills Private Hospital in Baulkham Hills, where he has been undergoing rehabilitation.

Quilt of Valour NSW co-ordinators Stan and Sue Allen presented Mr Urquhart with his quilt at the hospital on Thursday, with his friends from the 3RAR Battalion as well as partner Vikki Cooper and hospital staff watching proudly.

Quilts of Valour awards quilts to Armed Forces personnel, veterans and immediate families touched by war.

Mark Urquhart and partner Vikki Cooper with Mark's Quilt of Valour.

“I feel very honoured to be able to do this and show you guys what is possible, because I don’t believe anything is impossible,” Mr Urquhart said at the presentation.

Mr Urquhart, a para triathlon world champion and Invictus Games medallist, finished rehabilitation today.

He already has his sights set on his next goal — to make the Australian bobsled team for the 2022 Paralympic Games.

His daughter, now 22, has recently enlisted as a medic in the army and his son plans to sign up within the next 12 months.

“I’m very proud of both of them,” Mr Urquhart said.

■ To donate materials or become a volunteer for Quilts of Valour, visit quiltsofvalour.com.au or contact Stan and Sue Allen on 0402844616