Positive update in Lee Reeves’ fight for recovery

CHAMPION Limerick boxer Lee Reeves, who was placed in an induced coma after being knocked out in a pro fight four weeks ago...

CHAMPION Limerick boxer Lee Reeves, who was placed in an induced coma after being knocked out in a pro fight four weeks ago, remained in a serious condition in hospital, despite showing signs of improvement in his condition.

Reeves was in an induced coma at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, after his boxing bout with Gary Cully at the 3Arena on August 1.

The 31 year old was initially described as being in a critical but stable condition after undergoing brain surgery.

Jonathan O’Brien, a former boxer and trainer, who set up a GoFundMe online fundraiser, to assist Reeve’s medical costs and family costs, which has currently raised over €100,000, said Reeves had made a slight improvement and was beginning to respond to encouragement from his family who remain by his side at Beaumont Hospital.

In an update on social media, Mr O’Brien said: “I got a phone call off Lee Reeves’ father Tony and his sisters.”

“Tony said to Lee, ‘Come on Lee, do something for me, open your eyes. And Lee opened his eyes; one of his eyes he opened three-quarters, the other one a quarter.”

“Then Tony said, ‘Look Lee, come on, squeeze my hand’, and then Lee squeezed his father’s hand.”

Sounding a word of caution, Mr O’Brien said: “Now guys, we’re not gonna run away with this. This is a little improvement.”

“It’s not where the family need him to be, he needs to be a lot more forward than this.

“So we’re not gonna run away with this news, but the family just wanted to keep everybody updated and thank then all from the bottom of their hearts for the donations, messages, and support that they have received.”

Mr O’Brien added: “We need to keep this donating going guys, we need to keep the GoFundMe page going.”

“This is going to be a long, long road for Lee, for his recovery; a long, long road.

“The recovery is going to have to go out of Ireland. He’s going to be getting a proper recovery; probably to America or Sweden, somewhere where he needs to be rehabilitated.”