Thank you all, your prayers have been heeded. Against early prognosis, he seems to be making a slow but satisfactory recovery. He was unconscious for several days, and the doctors feared brain damage, but now he has regained consciousness and it doesn't look as bad. He has a tracheotomy, his lungs and kidneys are in a bad way, and he is in for a long hospital stay (at least another month). On the upside, that may be just what he needs to kick the drinking habit. Please continue to pray for the best outcome for himself and his family, and especially for his mother Dorothy, who is shouldering most of the responsibility.