LONDON -- When you’re granted an exclusive interview big enough to merit a primetime special, there are a lot of decisions to make, but chief among them – what do you call it?
A few weeks ago, Lisa LaFlamme and I faced this dilemma.
We were in London where we had just finished broadcasting CTV National News. Given the time difference, it was the middle of the night, but we were back in Lisa’s hotel room, working on scripts for elements to be filmed the next day for the network special on Prince Harry. Before we could write anything, we needed a title.
“When Harry met Lisa” was under brief consideration. Kidding. It was late and everything was funny.
After a back-and-forth, we got serious and the list was reduced to just one.
Prince Harry: Journey to Invictus
While the hour-long special has Prince Harry in the title, even His Royal Highness would agree, his journey to Invictus can’t compare to the journey of 550 wounded soldiers from 17 countries competing in Toronto this September.
To understand the Invictus Games, it’s crucial to know the people who inspired Prince Harry to launch the movement in 2014.
We’re profiling three Invictus athletes in the one-hour special on Friday night. They all represent the very definition of ‘unconquered’ – which is ‘Invictus’ in Latin.
Gdsm. (Ret’d) Lamin Manneh
Lamin Maneh speaks with Prince Harry (Photo: Rosa Hwang / CTV News)
Lamin Manneh is one of two British veterans Prince Harry invited to Kensington Palace, along with their families, on the day of our interview.
The former Guardsman lost both legs above the knee and his left arm above the elbow after an explosion while on patrol in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province. It happened on New Year’s Eve in 2010.
“Happy New Year to me!” Lamin said to Lisa, with a hearty laugh, while recounting the horrific details of how he became a triple amputee.
Soldiers’ humour is unique and often dark.
Lamin says laughing in the face of adversity, along with his own determination and support from his wife is how he got through his worst days. He credits the Invictus Games for his ongoing physical and psychological recovery.
“When I’m doing sport, I feel confidence. I can jump. I can smash things,” he told us. “It’s a way of getting something out of you. It’s just what Invictus brings.”
Toronto will be Lamin’s second Invictus Games. He’ll be vying for a medal in sitting volleyball, rowing, shot put and discus.
Think that’s impressive? He’s also bringing the family – wife Binta and their five children, ranging in age from 4 to 13 years old.
That day at Kensington Palace, the ongoing joke between Lamin and the Prince – how many more children will Lamin have? Five doesn’t seem enough.
Sgt. (Ret’d) Michelle Turner
Sgt. (Ret’d) Michelle Turner with daughter Maya in front, in discussion with Prince Harry (Photo: Rosa Hwang / CTV News)
The other British veteran we met at Kensington Palace is Michelle Turner, a former Sergeant with the Royal Air Force.
She suffers from a heart condition, which causes exhaustion and extreme dizziness. For a time, she was too embarrassed to leave her home, scared she’d collapse in public. Her family convinced her to try out for the Invictus Games. With each training camp, she felt the old Michelle return – no longer trapped by her fears.
“I know that with Invictus, I’m completely safe and they have eyes on me all the time,” Michelle explained.
“They made me do it and I did it and it was just the most amazing feeling.”
Training camp and trials went so well, Michelle was selected to compete in rowing, powerlifting and swimming at the Games – sports that could be dangerous given her heart condition, but she is determined to make it to Toronto in September.
One last word about Michelle – rather, her daughter Maya. It takes a special 6-year old to upstage a Prince, but little Maya did just that at an Invictus event in London last month. She read a letter she had written thanking the Prince for “helping my mummy and her friends” and “P.S. I hope I have my two front teeth for Toronto.”
That quip brought down the room.
Here's Maya's letter:
MCpl. (Ret’d) Natacha Dupuis
Team Canada’s co-captain is retired Master Corporal Natacha Dupuis and she was so gracious in allowing our cameras to film her at the gym, training for the Games.
Her physical strength is impressive, but her mental fortitude is truly inspiring. While on patrol with the Royal Canadian Dragoons in Afghanistan back in 2009, her convoy was struck with an explosive device. She survived, but the vehicle behind her took a direct hit, killing two of her close friends.
When Natacha returned home, her PTSD-related anxiety and flashbacks got so severe, she couldn’t function. But in Orlando last year, she brought home two gold medals in track and a bronze in powerlifting.
“I was able to prove to myself that I was more than just an injury,” she said. “Now people define me as Natacha the athlete.”
Three soldiers, three different journeys. They each prove Invictus is not just about winning or losing. It’s about the battle to get in the game.
Don’t take my word for it. You can hear that message directly from these three heroes on Friday night.
Prince Harry: Journey to Invictus is on at 9 p.m. Don’t miss it.
The full one-hour special Prince Harry: Journey to Invictus airs Friday night at 9 p.m. ET on CTV.
