THE family of a former boxing champion who has been in a coma for almost a month have hailed “the best birthday present she could get” after she opened her eyes on Monday.

Rachael Buckland, an ex-bantamweight Welsh champion who is married to Newport’s Celtic boxing champion Mitchell Buckland, was hospitalised and placed in a coma after falling down the stairs at her home in St Mellons at the beginning of October.

She sustained a bleed on the brain and a fractured skull and was rushed to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.

Doctors told Mrs Buckland’s family they didn’t know how long she would be in the coma, but she later started squeezing people’s hands and responding to doctor’s requests with movement, before opening her eyes on Monday.

Today, Thursday, is Mrs Buckland’s 26th birthday, and her father-in-law Gary Buckland described her waking up as an early birthday present and miracle.

He said: “She’s responding, she knows everything but she isn’t talking yet as she is still connected to a breathing machine. It’s a miracle for us. It’s her birthday tomorrow and it’s the best birthday present she could get.”

Although Mrs Buckland does have her eyes open and is responding to people talking, doctors have said she won’t be able to see anything properly for several days. “We’ve been told that at the moment she can only see a white and black shapes, but she will be able to see properly in time,” said Mr Buckland.

However, even though Mr Buckland said he and the rest of the family know she is ‘far from out of the woods’, he said it’s fantastic news.

He said: “The main consultant said she was a miracle for what she’s doing, but it will be weeks and weeks before she fully recovers and we don’t know the proper outcome yet.

“The signs are good and everything seems to be going in the right direction.”

Over the past two weeks, Mrs Buckland’s colleagues from the Tom Toya Lewis pub on Commercial Street and staff from St Joseph’s Boxing Club have been fundraising to help donate money to her family.

Last Wednesday the pub held an all-day fundraiser where staff took part in a sponsored ride on an exercise bike, which raised £1,000.

St Joseph’s Boxing Club has also raised more than £4,000 through donation buckets, raffle tickets and auctions.