Racing To Recovery: Shane Hmiel 3rd Surgery Set for Monday, Updated 6:41PM

On a road to recovery that is going to take a long time, Shane Hmiel has been going through a lot following a devastating accident in USAC qualifying on October 10.

Hmiel has already gone through two successful surgeries, one for a broken neck and one for a broken back.

Hmiel was expected to have a third surgery last Friday morning at 8:00 a.m. for a torn artery in his neck; however, it was postponed because of pneumonia.

Since last Friday, Hmiel has been fighting the pneumonia. But because x-rays looked good, yesterday doctors took him out of the rotating capsule bed they had him in.

According to updates today from his family via facebook, things are continuing to improve.

This morning, Hmiel followed the nurse's commands to open his eye, shrug his shoulder and stick his tongue out.

This afternoon, the vent he is on is almost turned off and, according to his mom, he is breathing basically on his own. She added that his eyes were wide open with lots of questions. She told him what had happened and assured him he'd be OK. Lastly, she added that they're going to sedate him as they don't want him pulling out the vent tube yet if he gets agitated.

They don't want to remove the vent till after the surgery for the torn artery, which is set to take place on Monday as per yesterday's update.

For continued updates from the Hmiel family, check out the Shane Hmiel—Road to Recovery Facebook page, where updates are posted daily from his mom, Lisa.

The injuries were caused following a wreck in qualifying. Hmiel flipped in Turns 3 and 4, with the top of the roll cage bouncing off the wall, USAC officials report. Initial reports said that Hmiel was unresponsive at the scene. He was then airlifted to Indianapolis Methodist Hospital.

To help raise money for Hmiel's medical expenses, USAC is selling "Racing to Recovery" decals on their site for $5.00, and RWB Motorsports is selling the 2010 T-shirt on their site for $25.00. Also, for every new fan who likes the USAC Racing page on facebook, USAC will donate 10 cents to the fund from now till December 31.

Fans who wish to make a direct donation may write a check to BENEFIT OF SHANE HMIEL and send it to: Steve Pruett, 700 St. John Street, Suite 300, Lafayette, LA 70501. It was added that they're working on setting up a PayPal account to accept the donations electronically.

Hmiel has been working at rebuilding his racing career after NASCAR banned him for life in 2005 after failing a substance abuse test.

During his NASCAR career, Hmiel made seven Cup starts in two seasons. He made a total of 83 Nationwide starts over four years, earning 23 top 10 finishes, 10 of them top fives. He made a total of 29 Camping World Truck Series starts, winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2004.

Update 10/23/2010 6:41PM

Hmiel's mom Lisa posted an update stating that he's done well this afternoon breathing on their own. She added that they're going to turn the vent back on in a bit so therefore they don't overwork him and allow him to get a good night sleep.