NORWICH City will welcome Naomi Adie from Thetford as our Community Hero for the Bournemouth match.

Naomi will bring out the matchball ahead of kick-off to represent Norfolk-based charity Walking With The Wounded.

Based at Melton Constable, Walking With The Wounded is a charity established to support all Armed Forces veterans with physical, mental or social injuries to gain the skills and qualifications necessary to develop new careers outside the military, re-integrate into society and provide long-term security for themselves and their families.

Naomi served in the Royal Air Force, but after injuring her back in 2001 she was diagnosed with degenerative and genetic back problems, which worsened after the birth of her daughter in 2009 and after her final tour of Afghanistan. Day-to-day life had become a cycle of pain and medication and because of this Naomi started to suffer with depression and anxiety and eventually was put on sick leave, as her medication was so strong leaving the house was almost impossible. Naomi was medically discharged in November 2014 after 14 years of service to the RAF.

Due to her injuries Naomi has spent a lot of time at the Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital where she came across an advertisement for Step Into Health - a programme supported by Walking With The Wounded which, in conjunction with The Royal Foundation, has designed the first access pathway from the military into the numerous career opportunities available in the NHS.

After attending a training day, speaking to staff and gaining work experience Naomi grew in confidence and is now working as a part-time administrator at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.

Naomi commented: "Step into Health saved my life. I was in a very dark place in my life facing medical discharge and I wasn't sure what I could do with myself. As I sat listening to everyone talking about what a great positive environment the hospital was I needed to find out what if anything I could do. I laugh every day working here! The N&N is an amazing place to work; the building is beautiful and has a very positive atmosphere. I have been welcomed and embraced by my department and I don't have to hide who I am or what I've been through and genuinely enjoy coming to work and making a difference. I have a purpose again and am valued for what I do and, in turn, this helps me fight my demons and aid my road to recovery. I cannot thank and praise Walking With The Wounded's Step into Health programme enough!"

More information on Walking for the Wounded, their projects and how you can support them can be found on their website, www.walkingwiththewounded.org.uk. WWTW's latest endeavour, the Walk Of Britain 2015 started on August 22 in Scotland with four British and two US wounded veterans walking 1,000 miles across mainland Britain from Scotland finishing at Buckingham Palace on November 1. The team will be in Norfolk in October and the route can be followed on the charity's website. You are able to 'buy a mile' of their 1,000 mile expedition to be in with the chance of winning a prize here: walkingwiththewounded.org.uk/walkofbritain2015/buy-a-mile-2/.

You can follow the team's progress on Twitter via @supportthewalk.

Naomi will be joined at Carrow Road on Saturday by her daughter and husband and we hope they enjoy their day with us.

CITY v BOURNEMOUTH: COMMUNITY HERO

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