A 23-year-old Cedar Grove woman involved in a head-on crash at Mundoolun earlier this month has woken from an induced coma.
Kirsty Batson, a passionate horse rider, collided with a mini-bus while travelling home from work on Sunday, August 15.
Her mother Sheree Drake said she felt relieved after her daughter came out of the coma, having feared the worst immediately after the crash.
"She's unaware of everything at the moment but she does know who I am and her horse's name, which is really good news," Ms Drake said.
"Other than that, she is still in a lot of pain. They have to keep putting her back to sleep because she's not coping with having to be tied up and having the tubes in.
"But there are good positive signs because when she woke, she knew who we were. She hasn't worked out where she is yet, though."
Ms Batson's injuries included bleeding on the brain, a fractured neck, two fractured ankles and a broken foot.
She was stuck in the crash wreckage for more than an hour.
Ms Drake feared the worst when police called to give her the news.
"I never answer the phone usually ... but something made me answer it this time," she said.
"When I answered the police said who she was and then said 'your daughter has been involved in a head on'.
"At that moment I thought she was gone, I really did. I was just devastated."
Ms Drake said she was confident her daughter would ride horses again.
"They (doctors) said she is so very, very fit and very, very strong," she said.
"Her injuries will heal, but our main concern is the brain."
The community has rallied around Ms Batson, raising more than $14,000 on a Go Fund Me page.
Ms Drake said it had been draining not knowing if her daughter would come out of the induced coma.
"You hope for the best, but it makes your stomach churn to see them like that," she said. "It is hard to describe.
"When she was awake we all cried.
"We celebrated her awakening with a glass of wine when we got home."
Ms Drake thanked community members for their support, with the money to be put towards things like physio and a replacement car.
Her expected recovery time is six months.
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