A SCHOOLBOY who suffered a serious head injury while skiing in Switzerland has returned to Scotland.

An air ambulance brought Nicholas Guest back from Sion on Monday, with the teenager now in Edinburgh’s Western General Hospital.

Older sister Lizzy was delighted her brother was one step closer to being able to come home.

She told the Courier: “He is a lot happier for being back in Scotland. There is a big change in his presentation.

“We are all glad he is back and just along the road now instead of travelling hundreds of miles.”

Nicholas, 17, of Tranent’s Lawson Way, was placed in a coma following an accident while skiing in the resort of Saas-Fee, near the Italian border, earlier this month.

The teenager bumped his head on the ground after going over a jump and underwent surgery, with doctors monitoring his condition.

On Monday evening, he arrived back in Scotland and Lizzy, who lives in Haddington, said: “He is improving little bits all the time.

“He has progressed quite a lot in the last two weeks considering how severe his injuries were.

“He is awake for longer and he speaks a little bit more. He still has issues with his mobility but has been referred onto eye specialists, speech and language, and physiotherapy. He struggles on focusing his eyes a bit.

“Being back in Scotland has made a massive difference just in terms of his mental health.

“As well as his physical health improving, we are trying to encourage him to do as much as he can and we are trying to stimulate him to the maximum and get him recovering quicker.”

Nicholas plays rugby for Preston Lodge RFC’s under-18s and was visited by a group from the rugby team in the hospital.

A GoFundMe page was set up by Lizzy’s fiancé, Daniel Hunter, to help cover the costs of the family going to visit Nicholas in Switzerland.

An initial goal of £1,000 was quickly surpassed, with more than £3,600 now collected as the community rallies round.

Lizzy said: “We are pretty amazed.

“I’m shocked, to be honest; obviously we changed the goal when we realised quite a lot of people had donated.

“We thought maybe people would help cover the expenses and it has been incredible.

“That was really helpful and Nicholas appreciates it as well.

“It has been great – even people we don’t know, friends of friends, that want to help. We don’t even know who they are and we are just really grateful they want to help us.”

Nicholas, who is in S5 at Preston Lodge High School, Prestonpans, faces a lengthy recovery and rehabilitation period. It remains unclear when he will be able to return home, although Lizzy said her brother wanted to be home within three months.

She added: “Now we are going to be focusing on being there for Nicholas.

“We have got our daily lives and jobs to go to but as a family we are all within a reasonable distance.

“We can co-ordinate ourselves to be there at different times so he has always got someone with him.”

Lizzy and Nicholas’ mum Marian added: “A great thank you to all who have supported us over the last couple of weeks and those who continue to do so. Nicholas knows about the support and it has had a huge impact on his recovery and we’re very grateful for this.

“I also want to express thanks to all who help and support our family.

“Thanks to the excellent staff at the Swiss hospital, air ambulance team, and staff at the Western General.”

To help support Nicholas, go to gofundme.com/support-for-nicolas