From WPBF 25 News: A crew member rescued off the Florida coast last month and transported to #StMarysMedicalCenter, a trauma hospital in West Palm Beach, is about to go home after nearly a month of treatment.

The U.S. Coast Guard released video from Aug. 8 showing a helicopter crew hoisting and transferring 70-year-old Wieslaw Ostalska from a tanker vessel eight miles off the Treasure Coast.

Dr. Andrew Chang, medical director of rehabilitation at St. Mary’s, said that when Ostalska arrived, he was confused, had word-finding and balance issues, and could not ambulate independently.

“Since then, he is able to walk 200 feet without an assistive device,” Chang said. "He still needs some supervision for more advanced tasks.

His prognosis is encouraging.

“For him, excellent,” Chang said. “I’m hopeful he will return to his job. He was an engineer prior to coming to the hospital, so I think he’ll be able to go back to his prior position.”

“I say to them, very happy and thank you for all,” Wieslaw Ostalska said of the medical staff.

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