Despite the need for a new shunt, Mason Martin has made significant progress over the past month, according to an update from his father, Denny Martin, on Wednesday, April 3.

The Karns City Area Jr./Sr. High School quarterback who collapsed at a game Sept. 1 has done something new “just about every day” for the past two weeks, Martin wrote in a Facebook post.

“His occupational therapist is really challenging him, and she is getting great results,” he wrote. “His upper body is getting much stronger, and his movements are getting faster. He will reach for and grab hold of certain objects. He’s still nonverbal, but he has been communicating by giving a thumbs-up or squeezing on/off buttons.”

Mason has also stood and walked occasionally, according to his father.

After undergoing an X-ray last week and a CT scan due to some stomach issues, it was discovered the shunt tube that drains into Mason’s stomach appeared to be at a different position. The shunt was fine, however, the CT scan showed the ventricles in Mason’s brain were slightly larger, meaning his brain needed to drain more fluid.

Martin wrote that doctors were going to adjust that shunt.

“Usually, the first indication that a shunt needs adjusted is a decline in performance and cognitive ability,” he wrote. “The fact that Mason was still making progress despite the increase in fluids is very encouraging to me. I’m excited to see how he responds to the shunt adjustment over the next few days.”

This discovery with the shunt is reflective of how the past seven months of Mason’s recovery have been, according to Martin.

“If the rehab doctors hadn’t gone back and reviewed his X-ray again, the CT scan wouldn’t have been ordered and the increase in fluids would have went undetected,” he wrote.

He added that Mason seemed “out of it” lately, but his condition was attributed to the increase of muscle relaxers. An issue with the shunt was not considered.

“You could make an argument that once is a coincidence, but over and over again can only be explained one way. We continue to feel blessed throughout this ordeal,” he wrote about how another issue was detected while investigating something else.