A Merton man has defied expectations and learnt to walk again after he was admitted to Hatherleigh Nursing Home for end-of-life care.

Brian Stacey, known as Bunny, has made a truly remarkable recovery since he came to the nursing home in January 2025, following a rapid deterioration in health after a fall over the Christmas period.

Bunny initially went to a respite residential home where he could continue his recovery but was later readmitted to hospital with severe dehydration and aspiration pneumonia – a type of pneumonia caused by food, liquid, saliva or stomach acid entering the lungs.

Doctors did not expect him to recover and informed his family there was no more they could do. They then withdrew his feeding tube and medication.

“However,” said Bunny, “I decided it was not my time, true Devon grit! The next day, when the family visited, I was slowly recovering and talking a bit.”

He was moved to Hatherleigh Nursing Home, bedbound and dependent on one-on-one care. Yet, with the support from the staff, Bunny’s health began to take a turn for the better; he slowly started eating and drinking again and moving independently.

The care home explained that in those early days Bunny had needed considerable help with everyday tasks, but has now regained the ability to walk independently – at first with a frame and now with the aid of a stick.

Bunny’s cognitive ability was also affected by his illness and, when he first arrived at Hatherleigh, certain decisions needed to be made in his best interests. However, as his health has improved, Bunny has became increasingly able to communicate his preferences and explain what he wants.

“Although Bunny still needs support, he has regained much of his independence and can now take a more active role in everyday life,” nursing home staff said.

Bunny’s health has improved so much that staff recently supported him on a trip to Sugworthy Circuit in north Devon to see his old car, a BMW 635 CSi.

Bunny was recently reunited with his car.
Bunny was recently reunited with his car. (Submitted)

Born in 1947, Bunny was the youngest of five children and, until moving to Hatherleigh Nursing Home, had lived in Merton all his life. After leaving Torrington Secondary Modern in 1962, aged 15, he applied for work with Clinton Devon Estates. What began as a summer job became 50 years working for the landowner, Lord Clinton.

Left: Bunny as a teenager. Right: Bunny as a child.
Left: Bunny as a teenager. Right: Bunny as a child. (Submitted)

Over the course of those 50 years, Bunny worked a wide range of jobs, including sawmill worker, stonemason, gardener and during the pheasant-shooting season, as a beater.

He remembered one particularly chaotic occasion when Lord Clinton asked him to look after his dog, Purdo.

He said: “When he shot a pheasant, I was supposed to let Purdo fetch it. That sounded simple, but Purdo was much faster than me! When Lord Clinton shot the bird, Purdo took off and dragged me along. I was very embarrassed.”

Bunny with Lord Clinton.
Bunny with Lord Clinton. (Submitted)

Bunny also worked as a part-time chimney sweep across Merton, Meeth, Petrockstowe, Hatherleigh and Dolton. Through this work, he met Noel Edmonds and his daughter, and swept chimneys for Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts.

Bunny Stacey with an injured falcon.
Bunny Stacey with an injured falcon. (Submitted)

Before his fall, Bunny and his wife enjoyed several cruises and travelled across the globe, but he is now happily settled at Hatherleigh Nursing Home.

“Thank you to all the staff at Hatherleigh Nursing Home. I have made some good friends here. This is now what I call home,” he said.