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Cape Town - South African-born professional cyclist Keagan Girdlestone has regained consciousness following a horrific crash in Italy earlier this month, but his long-term health is unclear.
According to the Stuff website, a post on his Facebook page said the 19-year-old was breathing on his own after being placed in an induced coma.
He was having some difficulty breathing as one of the nerves controlling his diaphragm had been damaged.
Girdlestone came close to death on June 5 after suffering serious injury in a high speed crash with a support vehicle in the Coppa Della Pace race, near Rimini in northern Italy.
He crashed through the rear windscreen of the car after it braked suddenly and later experienced a cardiac arrest while in hospital.
"The critical injuries were sustained to his neck and throat. He severed not only the carotid artery, but the jugular vein, nerve and muscles."
"Due
to major loss of blood at the scene, as well as the time it took to get
him to surgery, the right hand side of his brain was starved of blood
and oxygen. He also sustained bruising of his brain due to the impact as
well as vocal cord damage."
"He has limited movement of his left side due to the lack of oxygen to the brain, however this is showing signs of improvement. The right side, which is being affected by nerve damage, is also limited. He is able to move his leg and squeeze his hand, but there is no movement of his arm.
"With
continued rehabilitation it is hoped that all functionality will
improve as time passes. However, any possible long term effects are
still unknown."
