The sons of an American tourist who was seriously assaulted in Dublin last week say their father has come out of a coma, reports RTE.
Stephen Termini of Buffalo, New York, was attacked by a group of youths on Store Street last week.
The 57-year-old suffered serious head and facial injuries, including damage to one eye.
Michael and Jessie Rizzuto, who arrived in Ireland on Thursday, stand by their father’s bedside at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin.
Jesse Rizzuto said their father is doing “better” and has “slight improvement here and there”, reports RTE.
He said: “We’re taking it basically one hour at a time. “He is making slight improvements that we’re very happy with and he’s showing some good signs of having a strong resilient body,” reports RTE.
Speaking to RTE News, Mike Rizzuto confirmed that his father had come out of a coma.
“It’s in the right direction, but it’s slow,” he said, reports RTE.
As for Stephen Termini’s eye injury, Jesse Rizzuto said they don’t yet know how serious the injuries are.
“They’re still trying to do everything they can, so we’re leaving it up to their hands because they’re the professionals,” he said, reports RTE.
The Rizzuto brothers praised the support they received from the people of Ireland after the attack on their father.
Tens of thousands of euros were raised from donations from over 4,000 people to fund the brothers’ journey to visit their father in Ireland.
“The donations, we never expected a turnout like this, we had it set for you know a smaller amount just to get us over here,” Jesse said, reports RTE.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.