Frazee teen wrestler 'taking baby steps' toward recovery after crash

The Frazee, Minn., wrestler who was trapped underwater is making small steps to recovery this week.

According to his CaringBridge site, Myrel Schermerhorn partially opened his eyes and responded to pain this Tuesday before he was once again sedated.

Doctors at Essentia Hospital lightened Schermerhorn's medications and gave him what his sister Leah Schermerhorn called a "sedation vacation" around 10 a.m.

"His eyelids opened about halfways, continually blinking," she wrote on the site. "There was some finger movements and some reaction to pain on his nailbeds."

After a few hours, he was put back on sedatives.

Schermerhorn has been unconscious since the accident Nov. 18. His car slid off an icy curve on Highway 29 and rolled into a nearby lake. Rescuers believed Schermerhorn could have been underwater for up to 20 minutes.

Leah Schermerhorn wrote on the CaringBridge site that another "sedation vacation" could happen soon. "Just remember that he is not awake and we are still just taking baby steps towards his recovery."

Schermerhorn's site, http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/myrelschermerhorn has received more than 56,400 visits since it was created.