Dancer Lucila Munaretto's friends launch fundraising campaign after her devastating injury

Argentina-born ballerina Lucila Munaretto has emerged from a coma in Lions Gate Hospital.

Her friends at Pacific Dance Arts and Coastal City Ballet are ecstatic over the 21-year-old's progress. They've launched a GoFundMe campaign page to assist in her recovery from a rollerblading accident in North Vancouver.

Munaretto, 21 was struck by a motor-vehicle and ended up in hospital on August 13.

"She shocked the doctors by her alertness as she explained to them the pains she was feeling and the memories she knew," the page states. "We are thrilled and cannot believe the miracle before our eyes."

Her brain injury has been downgraded from "severe to moderate".

Munaretto has less movement in her left arm than with her right arm, the page notes, but an MRI shows that this isn't caused by a neck injury.

"The nerve which controls her lower lip was severely damaged in the accident and he was unsure if she would have full movement. But of course, this brave, little, warrior ballerina will conquer everything and the surgeon told us that she has made a 5 week jaw recovery in 10 days."

In 2012, she came to  Canada after meeting Coastal City Ballet artistic director Li Yaming.

She has danced the roles of Gretel in Hansel and Gretel and Drizella in Cinderella.

Munaretto is covered by the medical-services plan but that doesn't account for the cost of her family coming to visit her. Nor will it pay for all the costs of rehabilitation.