Fitzroy greats and the Brisbane Lions have rallied around Jason Baldwin after the 54-year-old overcame a one per cent chance of survival from a massive heart attack.
The 127-gamer, whose AFL career finished with a one-year stint at Richmond, suffered the health emergency in June.
Baldwin’s wife Vicki and their children Abbey and Sam received the “devastating news” that he was unlikely to survive after he was moved from Austin Hospital to The Alfred.
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He spent several weeks on life support and a total of eight in a coma before defying doctors and waking up.
“Not only did he wake up, but to everyone’s astonishment, he woke up with his usual wit and cheek, intact!” former teammate Brett Chandler wrote.
“Every day since then, Jase has shown us his strength and determination to recover. Some days are tougher than others. He continues to make progress through hard work and determination every day.
“Jase will leave no stone unturned if it means getting back to the three Fs — family, friends and fishing.
“That’s the fight in his spirit — and he’s approaching this fight of his life head on.”
A fundraiser to support Baldwin and his family has so far raised over $60,000 for Baldwin.
Baldwin collapsed the day after Abbey’s 21st birthday, and it was the nursing student herself who first performed CPR before paramedics arrived.
“They worked for something like 50 minutes,” Baldwin told News Corp last month.
“They say normally 40 minutes of CPR is maximum without having some sort of brain function issues. Somehow all my CT scans and MRIs have come out normal.”
Chandler wrote that Baldwin has a long road to recover physically, relearning “simple things” like holding a cup and brushing his teeth.
“Not to mention the big stuff like getting in and out of bed, walking and how to hold a fishing rod to reel a big one in!” he wrote.
“We know Jase is up for the challenge and we as his support team of family and friends will be right beside him, giving him the strength and encouragement to achieve these milestones.”
More than a dozen ex-teammates have visited Baldwin in hospital.
Lions great Darryl White spent time with him while in Melbourne for the grand final last week.
Several former teammates and AFL veterans have also contributed to the auction to support Baldwin.
Fitzroy veterans turned coaching greats Paul Roos and Ross Lyon have offered presentations.
Channel 7 AFL commentator Chris Johnson and ex-teammate Martin Pike put forward a sportsman’s night, while North Melbourne greats Anthony Stevens and Glenn Archer are up for round of gold.