Hawthorne jockey Wade out of coma

Lyndie Wade, the 16-year-old jockey who was in a coma resulting from a head injury sustained in a spill on Friday at Hawthorne, has regained consciousness, his agent, Jay Fedor, said Tuesday morning.

Fedor hadn't seen Wade since Monday night, but said that Wade's mother had phoned him from the hospital Tuesday morning to say that Wade was "up and responsive."

"He put two fingers up when the doctor asked him to," Fedor said. "He kissed his mom when she bent down."

A ventilator has been removed from Wade, who is breathing on his own. Fedor said that Wade hadn't yet spoken, and that he had been diagnosed with a broken jaw that may require surgery. Wade also has contracted pneumonia, a fairly common occurrence for hospital patients hooked up to a ventilator.

Wade had been in a drug-induced coma to treat minor bleeding on his brain. Fedor hadn't received any medical assessments about Wade's recovery since he began showing signs of regaining consciousness Monday night. Asked if there was a possibility of long-term brain damage, Fedor said that the subject "never came up" during discussions with medical personnel.