He was the life of the party, a devoted dad and a passionate Liverpool FC supporter.
All that changed for Chris “Bunce” Thomas just days before Christmas two years ago outside the Rusty Gull pub in North Vancouver.
In what was described by RCMP as a brief dispute between Thomas and two men dressed up as Santas, life changed forever for the gregarious soccer fan who grew up in Halewood, a suburb of Liverpool, England, and moved to North Van nine years ago.
Despite the incident with the bad Santas getting some lighthearted coverage in the media, it was far from a laughing matter for Thomas and his family. A brutal punch by one of the Santas sent him flying, and he suffered a head injury that put him in hospital.
Hospitalized for a number of weeks, Thomas, 42, was released and went back to work as a self-employed stone mason.
It was a short time later when the problems from his head injury returned. The brain injury led to Thomas coming down with epilepsy, then meningitis, and at one point he had a series of 50 strokes that have now left him in a wheelchair, and unable to talk.
Thomas’s close friend, Charlie Cooper of Liverpool, has been in North Van for the past few weeks and has been orchestrating a fundraising drive to send Thomas home to Liverpool to live with his family.
In order to get the “Scouser” back to his hometown, Cooper says they need to get him on a medical flight, which, depending on the condition of his health, could cost anywhere from $50,000 to $80,000.
“He was a lot of fun to be around, the life of the party,” said Cooper of his lifelong friend.
Cooper hopes Thomas continues to improve, but at this point it appears he will need a wheelchair and constant medical help.
“The physiotherapists here at Lions Gate have been absolutely fantastic,” he said of the help Thomas is receiving to get some mobility back in his legs. “But he can’t work, we have to get him home.”
And that’s where the 200-member Liverpool FC Vancouver Supporters Club comes in. After hearing Liverpool FC has been backing a fundraising bid to get Thomas back to England, the Vancouver support club has also been planning some fundraising events to help.
In England, a number of fundraisers have been held in local pubs to raise money for the “Bring Bunce Home” campaign. Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher are two of the team’s stars who have offered their services to help raise awareness of the campaign.
“This man is Mr. Liverpool,” said Ste Speed, president of the B.C.-based Liverpool FC supporters club. ”It is such a shame he is in this condition.”
To donate, go to the charitywebsite at: http://www.bringbuncehome.co.uk/.
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