Kiwi recovering well from brain trauma

Paul Lupi has been in a coma since a scooter accident in Phuket last week. Photo / Supplied

Things are looking up for a New Zealand man recovering from severe injuries from a scooter crash in a Thailand hospital.

Paul 'PJ' Lupi, 28, suffered severe facial injuries and was in a coma following a scooter crash in the holiday destination of Phuket on July 6.

He is now conscious most of the time in hospital and was recovering well from the brain trauma, his family and friends say.

In an email update this morning, the Lupi family said PJ's recovery from his coma was progressing well and he was able to move his limbs and head and follow people with his eyes.

"The doctors are very pleased with his progress so early in the recovery process," the email said.

PJ developed a bacterial lung infection, which was a setback in his recovery.

Today the Lupi family said the infection was under control and a ventilator had been removed from his lungs and replaced with an oxygen mask."He is now sleeping peacefully and is much more relaxed," the family said.

Options are being explored to get PJ home on a flight to New Zealand, but no timeframe has been put on the flight.

"This is a marathon not a sprint race, so keep the prayers coming," the Lupi family said.

PJ had been on holiday in Thailand for about 10 days, with his girlfriend Amy who had returned to New Zealand the previous day, when he crashed.

It was unclear exactly what happened, but PJ hit his head and suffered severe facial injuries, despite wearing a helmet.

As PJ did not have travel insurance cover a Givealittle page was set up to help pay for his hospital care.

His family has urged all Kiwis heading overseas to make sure they take out travel insurance.

The page has now raised $168,777 from 1709 donors.

Family and friends said they continued to be overwhelmed by the generosity.