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It was great news for family and friends of injured welder Aiden Sayer last week. The 20-year-old woke up from the induced coma he was placed in at Wellington Hospital after a workplace accident at AGTEC Machinery in Masterton on February 11.
As the Times-Age was getting an update on Sayer’s condition on Thursday afternoon, his Aunt Koren Sutherland said his stepbrother Jarrod was seeing him for the first time, holding his hand and talking to him.
She said Sayer held Jarrod’s hand and laid both their hands against Jarrod’s chest.
“We were told this would be days to a week before he would be able to do this movement.
“Needless to say, we are very, very happy with this.
“Aiden is determined to keep fighting to get back to himself as soon as possible and we are ecstatic.”
Sayer was taken off his coma- inducing drug on Tuesday and given a tracheotomy – an incision in the windpipe made to relieve an obstruction to breathing.
He remained in a stable condition so medical staff continued to monitor him off the drug.
On Wednesday, there was not much in the way of change or response, except a little eye movement as before.
By Thursday morning, Aiden was blinking, there was more eye movement, and he responded to commands to blink a few times.
On Friday, there was even more improvement with hand squeezing on command, toe wiggling and more facial expressions.
“These small steps are amazing progress and although this is early days and Aiden will continually be assessed with a long recovery ahead, we are beyond ecstatic that he is improving a little day by day,” Sutherland said.
“Please be aware this will be a very slow process for Aiden as he will have to relearn everything again.”
Sayer remains in a serious condition in the intensive care unit.
A Givealittle page set up to raise funds for his recovery and help with the costs of his family travelling and staying close to him has reached over $19,100.
To donate, visit givealittle.co.nz/cause/help-bring-aiden-back and to follow updates on his condition you can follow Help bring Aiden back support page on Facebook.
