Berkeley survivor Niall Murray looks forward to returning home

Misty-eyed but immensely grateful to be alive, Niall Murray is looking forward to returning to Ireland sometime next week after months of physical rehabilitation.

Mr Murray, one of the seven Irish students injured in the Berkeley balcony collapse in June, spoke last night outside the California hospital where he has spent weeks of physical rehabilitation after the four-story balcony collapse that also claimed the lives of six other Irish students.

“I’ll always remember that night,” Murray told reporters before reflecting back on the students who died that night. “Our friends, we’ll miss you, we will always remember you, and someday we look forward to seeing you again.”

Wearing a colorful Bayern Munich jersey, Murray, (21), was wheeled out to speak with the media outside the hospital in San Jose, about 76km south of Berkeley. He was accompanied by his mother and his brother Kieran and appeared comfortable in his wheelchair, despite still having bandages on his arms and a boot on his left foot.

“I remember the night, the only thing I don’t remember is how I hit the ground,” he said, adding that he remembered waking up in the emergency room sometime later. Niall said he only found out about his fellow students who died that night after logging onto his Facebook account.

“I feel quite guilty and awful to be alive today,” he told reporters. “I’m not sure why I made it.”

The Irish students were celebrating a 21st birthday at a Berkeley apartment at the time of the balcony collapse, which sent about 13 people tumbling four stories on to the street.

Niall was a patient at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, most recently undergoing intensive therapy treatment. He said his mom had been there "since day one" and his brother Kieran had been with them for the last six weeks.

Dr James Crew, chair of the hospital's Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Department, said the successful outcome in the treatment of the traumatic injuries was the result of close cooperation with a number of specialists from universities like UCSF and Stanford University "to provide appropriate treatment".

Niall was exceedingly grateful to all the doctors, nurses, the medical staff st SCVMC and to the Irish diplomatic officials who offered to help him and the other injured students.

Among his injuries, Niall was treated for a broken wrist, three broken fingers, a broken heel and elbow, and his right index finger barely survived amputation. He should be able to start bearing weight, albeit still using crutches, in October.

Though they did not specify the exact date when he will leave the hospital, the medical staff said he and his family would be returning to Ireland next week.

Niall said he looked forward, upon his return back home, to being with the friends and family of the deceased, “and to a big Irish breakfast”.