Olympian Jamie Hunt's sailing career remains up in the air as he battles back from a road crash that almost claimed his life.
Hunt, who partnered Andrew Brown in a 470 dinghy in Athens last year, hasn't been given a timetable for full recovery from being knocked off his bicycle inAuckland last month.
But after having spent a week unconscious, and two days in an induced coma, he's grateful just to be alive.
"It seems like a big downer," he said today of not knowing when he will be back out on the water again.
"But I was so close to being completely taken out that I'm just glad to be here."
Hunt was on his bicycle as part of his training when he was hit by a truck on a narrow bridge in Albany.
He has no recollection of the incident, which left him with head injuries and three broken bones in his face.
While Hunt was able to return home last week to continue his recuperation, he still has blurred vision and gets easily fatigued.
His return to yachting would depend on the improvement in his sight, "because that's so important on the boat".
"It's completely up in the air," he said.
"I'm just concentrating on getting better and sailing is down the list at the moment."
Brown and Hunt, who were out of the medal hunt at the Olympics, finishing a disappointing 26th, had had to win a legal battle to get to Athens.
Three months before the Games, the Court of Arbitration in Sport, world sport's highest disputes body, ruled in favour of their selection for the New Zealand team ahead of rival crew Simon Cooke and Alistair Gair.
