After eight days in a coma, Narooma's Nick Myhill has woken to see family for the first time since the whale-breaching accident that left him in a bad way.
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Nick's family said he woke on Monday, June 14, and remembered what happened.
Family friend of Nick's, Carmen Bartley, provided an update on behalf of Nick's family.
She said he was communicating well with family and medical staff at Canberra Hospital.
"At this stage we still don't know what the future holds for Nick, or the extent of any permanent damage," she said.
"However he is alive, awake and responsive, which is absolutely amazing considering what he has been through.
Nick, 18, was with his step father Matt Price, 39, when a whale breached and landed on their boat off Narooma on Sunday, June 6.
The pair made it back to shore in Mr Price's damaged fishing boat that was taking on water. They were rushed to hospital. Nick was suffering a broken neck and severe head injuries.
The family started a GoFundMe page and thanked media and the community for their support.
"The GoFundMe effort is doing amazingly and we are so appreciative of all the donations that have been made," Ms Bartley said.
So far, more than $22,000 has been raised for Nick's recovery.
The GoFundMe goal was set at $50,000.
"We are still a way from our goal amount, however, the donations to this point will go a long way to helping Nick in his recovery," Ms Bartley said.
"We will provide further updates on Nick's condition as we are able to in the coming weeks."
The family was focussed on spending as much time as they could with Nick, and looked forward to celebrating his 19th birthday on June 27.
"We are enjoying having our beautiful boy back and spending as much time with him as we can, and looking forward to helping him celebrate his 19th birthday, which only days ago we were not sure that he would see," a family member said.
"Thank you to everyone for their ongoing support."
To donate to Nick's GoFundMe, CLICK HERE.