Amy- What you need to know right now is that the brain is far and away the most bizarre and misunderstood (or just plain not understood) organ in the human body. Doctors understand how brain injuries can occur and what happens within the brain when those injuries occur, but they have no idea how the brain heals or why the brain heals the way it does.

Some people sustain severe coma-inducing head traumas and miraculously recover from them in a matter of weeks, with little to no ill effects from their injury showing from that point forward. Other people (myself, for example) sustain excruciatingly minor head injuries that for whatever reason don't heal properly for weeks, months, and years after the injury took place. Unfortunately, there's simply no way to know how well your nephew will heal, or how long it will take for him to do so.

What you and your family need to do is retain hope and faith (prayer always helps, even if you aren't directing your prayers to anyone in particular) that his recovery will be speedy and complete, while keeping yourselves prepared for the exact opposite. That's really the only advice I can provide.