Fundraiser launched for Salisbury musician after coma

Back in March Miles Prior-Wilson suffered from a brain aneurysm, and after being in a non-responsive condition for longer than a month, it was unclear whether he would survive.

Over the last few months however the 35-year-old, transferred from Southampton General to Salisbury District Hospital, has slowly but surely shown improvements, in particular his speech and responsiveness.

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic visits to Miles have been limited, mainly restricted to virtual calls only, but Isaac Rooney, a best friend of Miles, told the Journal he set up a fundraiser to ensure the musician had everything he needed following his hospital surgery and treatments.

"My mates and I were talking and we knew we needed to do something that would help Miles to get access to the things he needs," Isaac said.

"We're still getting our heads around it, but it's just doing something rather than nothing, makes it a bit less challenging."

Unsure at the moment what the pot of money will be used for, Isaac said it will be spent purely on equipment of benefit to Miles, for example a Kindle or wheelchair.

"He's made amazing progress, there's a long way to go but we want to give him the best life possible. Whatever he needs to make life better," he added.

Isaac Rooney with Miles in hospital

Miles had been a musician in the Salisbury area for around 15 years, with Isaac describing his on and offstage personas as "a huge contrast".

"Miles can be a private person so it was normal to not hear from him at first [after the aneurysm], but we played a lot of heavy music together and on stage he would just go wild, it was such a contrast," he said.

"He really was an incredible musician. He was even dangerous to be on the stage with, he goes bananas.

"Miles has been at the heart of the Salisbury community since he was a kid, he's always lived here."

The online fundraising page currently stands at £4,450 - meaning the team has nearly hit its halfway goal.

An evening of live music, 'Miles-Aid', will be held at Winchester Gate on October 9, to also raise funds in support of Miles' rehabilitation.

Isaac added: "People have been so generous, when you hear about things like this you want to help. Now we're just trying to get people who are unaware to hear his story.

"We just want to support him as much as we can."

For more information and to donate visit Miles' fundraiser on Go Fund Me.

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