Bury St Edmunds family of former King Edward VI School student Bruce Miller, 28, who was left fighting for life after falling 30ft in Bristol climbing accident, praise ‘overwhelming support’

The family of a 28-year-old man who suffered a traumatic brain injury after falling 30ft in a climbing accident have praised the ‘overwhelming’ response to a fund-raiser towards his recovery.

Bruce Miller, who grew up in Bury St Edmunds, was left fighting for his life after the accident during the leisure climb with friends in the Avon Gorge in Bristol last July.

Despite wearing a helmet, the former King Edward VI School pupil, who is a researcher for wildlife programmes with the BBC Natural History Unit, sustained multiple fractures, damage to the vision in his right eye and a severe brain injury.

His dad Richard, 59, of Bury, said: “It’s every parent’s worst nightmare. It was between 11pm to midnight when we got the call and your world just collapses around you. You’re thinking the worst. We went to Bristol straight away and saw Bruce in ICU.”

Bruce, of Bristol, spent four weeks in ICU, 17 days of which in a coma, and 11 weeks at Southmead Hospital before receiving specialist therapy, funded by NHS England, in a brain injury rehabilitation unit.

With his stay there coming to an end and a likely three-month gap before NHS-funded community rehabilitation becomes available, his friend Scott Abraham launched a fund-raiser to bridge the gap with privately funded physio and therapies and to complement the NHS support with ongoing private treatment.

The gofundme has so far raised more than £39,000 of the £60,000 target - a figure Richard, a secondary school teacher, said was astonishing.

He said: “All the way through we’ve had such tremendous support from family, friends and other families in the hospital.

“Nothing could really have prepared us for the overwhelming support for the gofundme page. It’s a humbling experience - knowing that everyone is rooting for Bruce and want him to get better. Now we’ve got to make sure all this generosity is used in the best way to maximise his continued progress.”

From his wheelchair, Bruce can now kick and throw a ball, feed himself and even sit up on his own but he cannot yet communicate reliably with his loved ones.

The outdoors enthusiast, who has enjoyed climbing since he was a boy, is still in the early stages of learning to stand and walk and he relies on one to one help with a range of other daily tasks.

Richard and Bruce’s mum Alison are dividing their time between Bury St Edmunds and Bristol.

“We really feel his fitness and strength has helped him to deal with this,” said Richard.

Reflecting on their own situation and the families of others who have suffered severe head injuries, he said: “It’s one of those situations where, when it feels there is no end in sight, you have to keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep being there for each other.”

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