Bristol student overcomes bereavement to graduate as a vet

Dr Matt Guy graduated from a veterinary science degree at the University of Bristol

A student who lost his family home and fell into a deep depression after his mother died has qualified as a vet.

Dr Matt Guy's mother had a heart attack and died two weeks after he started his course at the University of Bristol.

During the five-year veterinary science degree he retook a year and had a year out to look after his mental health, but never gave up.

"It took seven long, difficult years but I'm now Dr Guy and it's finally paying off," he said.

He said his mother would have been "insanely proud" to see him graduate and secure a job as a veterinary surgeon at a major chain of practices.

Dr Guy said he wanted "other people who are struggling with grief as well as depression, anxiety or any other mental health issue to know that there is hope in the long run".

He grew up in Walsall and was one of the few pupils at his school to go on to university.

After a gap year spent working at zoos and vets around the country, he received a contextual offer - a grade reduction for those from backgrounds less likely to go to university - to study at the University of Bristol.

But just two weeks into his degree, his mum died after having a heart attack.

Matt Guy remembers his mum Alison Reeves-Guy as an "inspiring" woman who worked as a nurse and loved going out dancing

"It completely took me by surprise and it wrecked my mental health in profound ways," he explained.

"It didn't feel real: I was in a whole new place, doing a course I'd wanted to do for years in a new city with new friends, and then my mum wasn't there.

"I lost my family home as we had to sell everything, and I lost the woman who was my rock."

Dr Guy said he attended counselling and bereavement groups at the university and eventually started to feel better.

But after unearthing some childhood trauma he relapsed and endured a rocky few years.

During the pandemic, he took a year off university and found longer term support through Betterhelp, an online therapy platform.

"I feel like I've finally come out of the other side and I'm thinking about my future in a different light," he said.

Dr Guy has started a graduate scheme in a veterinary practrice

On Thursday he graduated with his partner, father and sister watching on.

Dr Guy has just started a graduate scheme with a major veterinary chain and hopes to specialise in birds and exotic animals in the future.

He added: "Mental health can be such a barrier, but there are resources you can use. University staff and its mental health services were amazing.

"I'm really glad I took the extra time, because it means I'm here and I passed."

His senior tutor, Dr Rose Grogono-Thomas, remembers the call to say his mother had died.

She said: "He really had the rug pulled from under him.

"Matt has had a really difficult few years but he had the awareness and resilience to pull through - and that is something very much worth celebrating."

She said he would make a "brilliant vet".

Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [e-mail]