A teenager hospitalized with serious injuries after a fall at a local skatepark last week had his health improve dramatically this week.

Justin Walsh had been airlifted to Royal Columbian Hospital Nov. 4 after a serious accident at the McMillan Skatepark. Walsh had attempted a jump on his BMX bike, but had fallen and hit his head. At hospital, he was placed in an induced coma, had bleeding on the front left side of his brain, and his cheekbone was broken. While in hospital, he experienced several seizures and his heart rate spiked.

On Tuesday night, Justin was still in the intensive care unit. The next morning, his mother was woken up by a phone call from the hospital and expected the worst, the friend said. Instead, it was Justin on the other end, sounding happy and wondering when his mother would be by.

The friend said Justin was up and walking and slated to be transferred out of the intensive care unit on Thursday. “All of a sudden, he’s doing 80 per cent better.”

There is now hope that Walsh will be released from hospital next week.