On the 15th of April 2022, an angel gained his wings, the legendary Bruce Blackburn. Bruce was an IDSS participant (turned family) at our Bundaberg SIL House, Mays Manor.
Bruce's adventure with us started in 2019 at SIL house Dr Mays. He joined IDSS known as non-verbal, that was until one day, while his care team Nina & April were dressing him, heard a deep male voice shout, 'YEAH BABY'. Hearts racing, they looked at each other, and decided to take a look around the house to see if there was anyone else there, but didn't find anything. Then the voice again, 'YEAH!'. They looked over at Bruce and the smirk on his face confirmed it, it was him all along! Being very pleased with himself, they made a pact to play the same prank on all the other staff that came in to Dr Mays. This was only the start of the many tricks Bruce would play…
Life changed for Bruce in November 2019 when his new housemate Darryl moved in, it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Bruce & Darryl shared their love for footy, fishing, horse racing and of course, women. The only thing they ever disagreed on was Darryls love for country music, Bruce was not a fan!
Fast forward to 2020, Bruce and his best mate Darryl relocated to the brand new, purpose-built SIL house, Mays Manor, that even had a pool! Pool time quickly became one of his favourite things to do, not only because he regained the ability to walk, but because the ladies would sometimes even wear bikinis…
Bruce had many great pleasures in life, his UFC gloves, sunglasses, haircuts, music, the footy, and of course his mum Wendy. Bruce always carried himself with fighting spirit, strength and determination. In his last few days, he was surrounded by family, friends, staff and of course his best mate Darryl.
In the words of April, Mays Manor House Manager, "The entire team at IDSS, especially the family at Mays Manor, would like to thank Wendy for entrusting us with Bruce. It has been an honour to care for him. He will be forever missed, but never forgotten. See you soon, my friend."
