MUMBAI: News sources in Mumbai report that Yuvraj Shivraj Singh 29, has emerged from a three-month-long coma following a serious head injury sustained in a polo match Feb. 18 in Jaipur.

"Shivraj is medically out of coma," Bombay Hospital's chief neurosurgeon Dr. S. N. Bhagwati told the Mid-Day Mumbai press on Tuesday. Bhagwati said the prince is able to sit in a wheelchair with some assistance, has opened his eyes and appears to be looking around. "These are all very positive signs he said."

Bhagwati remains optimistic, indicating that "things are certainly looking good," though he made no comment about the prince's prognosis. Singh, the only heir to the former royal family of Jodhpur, was competing in the Birla Cup match for Jodhpur Thunderbolt against Cavalry Golcha at the Rambagh Polo Ground when he fell after contact with an opponent. He has been treated by Bhagwati for brain damage and swelling of the nerves in the brain stem since Feb 21st, '05. He remains on a ventilator.

Recovery from brain damage is slow and insidious, doctors say, and treatment principally involves rehabilitation and drug therapy where necessary. Occasionally, miracles happen.

On Tuesday, a Buffalo firefighter who has coped with brain damage for 10 years in a New York nursing home, suddenly became lucid, according to an Associated Press report in the Moscow newspaper Pravda. Donald Herbert, 44, suffered brain damage and was left largely mute when a roof collapsed during a rescue in 1995. On Saturday, Herbert suddenly said he wanted to talk to his wife, asked how long he?d been away, and said it seemed like only three months had passed since his accident. He'd been in a coma for more than two months after his injuries in the house fire.

Dr. Rose Lynn Sherr of New York University Medical Center said in the report that when patients do recover from brain injuries, it typically occurs within 2-3 years.

"It's almost unheard of after 10 years," she said, "but sometimes things do happen and people suddenly improve and we don't understand why."

Singh will remain in the ICU at the Bombay Hospital, Bhagwati said. Family friends spoke on behalf of the Maharaj Gaj Singh from the family's residence at Taj Wellington, Colaba, telling reporters they are in better spirits and that the Shivraj's progress has been steady.

Diane Hensley may be reached at dkheditor@msn.com
Photo included, it is courtesy of the Mid-Day Mumbai press