By Michael Martinez
CNN
LOS ANGELES — The San Francisco Giants fans beaten into a coma this year after a Los Angeles Dodgers game is continuing to make significant gains in his recovery and went outdoors for the first time in almost six months, his family said Tuesday.
Bryan Stow is now able to undergo physical and occupational therapy five days a week and sit on the side of his bed, and he is able to support a lot of his weight, the family’s website said.
Also, on Friday, Stow was able to go outside for the first time in almost six months and “said something that perfectly fit the moment and really describes these past few days,” the family said.
“He was moved to a cardiac chair and we went out to a secluded patio. (Sister) Bonnie asked Bryan how it felt to be outside. Bryan, sitting in the sun, with his eyes closed, said, ‘It’s magical,’ ” the family’s website said.
Last week, Stow, 42, a paramedic from Santa Cruz, California, spoke for the first time in nearly six months. He is a patient in San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, where a spokeswoman said Tuesday he remains in serious condition.
“It hasn’t even been a week since our last update, and a lot has happened for Bryan,” the family said on support4bryanstow.com.
“Being as responsive as he has been tires Bry out so they recommend giving him breaks of quiet from time to time. He’s been saying a lot, but it’s still a few words at a time, not full conversations,” the family’s website said.
Stow had been in a coma as a result of a stadium parking lot beating March 31, allegedly by two Dodger fans, after a game between the Giants and the Dodgers.
Now out of the coma, Stow says “Hi,” and “Bye” to people visiting his room, but he usually needs to be prompted by someone saying, “Bryan, can you say hi or bye?” the family’s website said.
The family also made a video of him saying, “Hi, mom, hi, (sister) Erin. I love you. Bye,” and blowing a kiss.
Stow showed a sense of humor when a friend visited him and said jokingly, “Bry, if I am annoying you, blink twice.”
Stow blinked twice, the family said.
Dr. Geoff Manley, chief of neurosurgery at San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, said last week that doctors are “encouraged by Bryan Stow’s continued neurological improvement and can report that he is beginning to talk again.
“However, he remains seriously injured and has several ongoing medical issues that we are currently managing. It is premature to predict where his long journey will end, and he is not out of the woods yet,” Manley said in a statement.
In the Dodger Stadium parking lot in March, two men confronted Stow and -- unprovoked -- began kicking and punching him while yelling profanities about the Giants, police said. It took 10 to 15 minutes after the attack for personnel to reach Stow.
The men who police believe were responsible for the attack -- Marvin Norwood, 30, and Louie Sanchez, 29 -- pleaded not guilty last month to felony charges related to the beating.
CNN’s Stella Chan contributed to this report.
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