An Irish man who had been in an induced coma in a Sydney hospital after being assaulted has woken.
Jason Cierans (29) was allegedly attacked by two men outside a bar in the eastern suburb of Bondi Junction nine days ago.
His parents, Stephanie and Declan, and younger brother Jamie, flew to Australia to be with him after he was attacked in the early hours of Saturday August 22nd.
He reportedly said “What are you all doing here?” as he emerged from the coma.
David Faktor, spokesman for St Vincent's Hospital, said Mr Cierans is still in the intensive care unit. "He is conscious now, he is extubated," he told The Irish Times.
“What you call being in an induced coma we call ventilating the patient, putting them on life support. You put a tube in to ventilate a patient when they are heavily sedated. As you reduce the sedation they start to breathe on their own.”
He said Mr Cierans’s recovery is a gradual process. “He is sitting up, more or less, so he is definitely on the mend. He is far, far better than he was and is on the right path.”
Mr Faktor is in close contact with the Cierans family. “I just spoke to Jason’s mum, Stephanie, and she was great,” he said. “There is still a long way to go, but he is in a far better place.”
Friends of Mr Cierans have set up a webpage to raise funds for him and his family at mycause.com.au, which has already raised $17,300 (€10,700).
An Argentinian national, Adrian Martinez, 30, has been charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Cierans. He has been released on bail and is due to appear before Waverley local court on October 22nd.
Another man, aged 27-year-old, has been charged with affray over the incident. He was also granted bail and will appear before Waverley local court later this month.
