American dressage rider Silva Martin, who sustained a severe head injury in a freak riding accident on Wednesday 5 March 2014, has regained consciousness and is smiling. Her condition is stable but she is still being monitored closely.
Silva is currently in treatment at the Delray Medical Center near Wellington, Florida.
“The doctor said her condition is the same as yesterday, which is a good thing since they don’t want her condition to deteriorate at all in the first 48 hours,” Silva's eventing husband Boyd Martin told Eventing Nation. “There is still bleeding on the brain, which is affecting her eyesight and speech.”
Silva’s two best friends Kate Hicks and Mary Griffin are with Silva in the hospital, and they told Boyd that Silva is much more responsive today.
“She smiles when they tell her certain things,” Boyd said. “That wasn’t the case when I left yesterday. In my book, she’s definitely improved and showing signs of life.”
The CT scans show the bleeding on her brain has not worsened, which is also an important sign that points toward her condition improving.
“There will be a road of rehabilitation,” Boyd explained. “From talking to the doctors, they believe she’ll make a recovery. Unfortunately, the rate of improvement is very slow."
Source: Eventing Nation
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Silva Martin Sustains Head Injury in Riding Accident