Hunter takes first steps in long road to recovery
Hunter Tilling's family and friends are rejoicing as she has finally started walking after sustaining serious injuries in a head-on collision on Riverside Road earlier this year.
IT has been two months since Hunter Tilling’s devastating Riverside Road accident, and while the 23-year-old has been recovering well her family has yet to hear her voice.
In April the Pinetown resident sustained serious head injuries and two broken vertebrae in her lower spine in the head-on collision. She was also in a coma for several weeks.
Danielle Santo, a Durban North resident and close family friend, said Hunter is still not able to speak due to the trachea valve in her throat.
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“She has primarily been communicating by nodding her head and mouthing the words for us to lip read. We are hoping that they will be able to remove the valve within the next week or so,” she explained.
According to Santo, Hunter is otherwise ‘back to her old self’.
“Hunter has been laughing and joking with everyone.”
“She seems to remember everything before the accident, and is aware of what is going on around her,” said Santo.
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Not only is Hunter also sitting up all on her own and eating, she has also started walking – albeit with the assistance of a nurse or family members.
Hunter is currently undergoing extensive physiotherapy to help her body regain its movement.
“We are all relieved and very happy with the progress that she has made, but she still has a long road to recovery ahead of her. She is not quite running the comrades yet, but she has come a long way,” Santo added.
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