A BORDER shooting victim is out of intensive care and coming to grips with his ordeal, his mother says.
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Matt Walker, also known as Matt Freund, awoke at The Royal Melbourne hospital late Monday afternoon for the first time since he was shot in Kurnell Street, Glenroy, on August 31.
In the interim, the 26-year-old father, from Wodonga, had undergone four operations on his wrist, buttock and groin, which were penetrated by a single shot.
Ms Walker would not comment on whether her son remembered being shot.
“He’s in a lot of pain but he’s aware of what’s going on,” she said.
“He’s started to come to grips with it all; it is pretty distressing.
“He knows what happened — he’s starting to really understand the significance of his injuries.
“The impact is going to be quite severe when he actually really realises what’s happened.
“Right now he’s still on heavy pain medication — it’s just one day at a time.”
Ms Walker said her son needed time to heal before any further operations.
“Because of the damage they’re just waiting for the last surgery to settle,” she said.
“We’ve got to have his pelvis fixed; that’s still to happen.
“The risk of infection’s still high.”
Ms Walker said her son likely had months of rehabilitation ahead of him as he continued to recover from the shooting.
There is also potential nerve damage in his right leg.
“He’s a bit of a mess,” Ms Walker said.
“He’ll be here ... for a couple of months, anyway.”
Ms Walker has been at her son’s hospital bedside regularly since he was flown to Melbourne but plans to return to her job as a social worker on the Border next week.
It is not known when Mr Walker will have his next operation.
“For me it’s just a waiting game,” Ms Walker said.
“It’s a bit stressful. It’s hard on the younger kids as well ... it’s just hard on the whole family.”
Glenroy man Jade Michael Fraser, 27, has been remanded in custody over the shooting and will face Albury Local Court again on Monday.