Irish man Patrick Lyttle has walked out of a Sydney hospital, a month after he was left on life support after allegedly being punched by his brother Barry.
Mr Lyttle (31) fell and hit his head in the Kings Cross entertainment district in the early hours of January 3rd, after an altercation with his brother.
He was taken to the nearby St Vincent’s Hospital and after surgery was in a coma for six days before regaining consciousness.
He has made good progress since then, and walked out of the hospital with his girlfriend, Maria McCaffrey, his brother, his sister, Karen McHugh and their father, Oliver (74).
Ms McCaffrey posted pictures on Facebook showing the group leaving the hospital.
"He is doing well," David Faktor, public affairs manager at St Vincent's, said.
“He was discharged to go to rehab in Ryde (a suburb of Sydney). That is very common for patients recovering from a major trauma.
“You don’t just get better and go home. Especially with injuries to the brain there is a lot of rehabilitation involved,” said Mr Faktor.
Mr Lyttle is expected to have at least a month of rehabilitation in Ryde.
Friends of the Lyttle family are holding a fundraiser for them this weekend in their hometown of Ballycastle, Co Antrim.
Barry Lyttle (33) is still on bail, having been charged with assault causing grievous bodily harm to his brother.
In a court appearance last month, bail conditions were altered to allow him to move closer to St Vincent’s, rather than having to stay at his aunt’s home almost 40km away in western Sydney.
He is still required to report to police every day, has surrendered his passport, posted a AU$2,000 (€1,371) surety and is not allowed to approach his brother within 12 hours of consuming alcohol.
The case against him is due to proceed later this month in the District Court.
Patrick Lyttle had been backpacking around Australia since last June and had met his brother and their father in Sydney three days before the incident.
