TV presenter Charlie Webster is conscious and in a stable condition after coming out of a medically induced coma, her management has announced.
The 33-year-old Team GB ambassador remains on dialysis and is “pretty groggy”, but was well enough to be visited by her mother Joy and brother.
Doctors are continuing to run tests and are hoping to reduce her kidney dialysis over the coming days.
A spokeswoman for Charlie added that the presenter managed to drink water on Friday.
She said: “It is still unknown how she got the strain of malaria – The route Charlie and the team took doesn’t have any malaria risks and she was advised by two separate doctors that anti-malaria tablets were not necessary.
“Last night, Charlie’s brother held up a phone so she could wave a filmed message for her friend Annie who was by her bedside for seven days and since flown back to the UK.”
Charlie’s mother said in a statement: “Charlotte is really strong but as the doctors keep reminding me, everyone heals differently. I am just so thankful that she’s able to communicate with us again.
“It’s been the worst imaginable time – we have been beside ourselves with worry but the fact Charlotte is now conscious is amazing.
“Knowing Charlotte, the thing she’ll be most annoyed about is that she’s missed the Olympics.”
The former Sky and ITV sports presenter has been unconscious since August 11 and was placed into a coma the next day after becoming unwell while watching the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on August 5.
She was admitted to hospital on August 6, where doctors initially thought she was dehydrated, but her condition deteriorated after she developed a severe complication from a bacterial infection.
Charlie was diagnosed with a very rare strain of malaria on Monday.
Her mother and brother flew out last week to Rio to be by her bedside.
The family offered their thanks to the doctors who have treated her and the British Consulate for their assistance.
