Christa Pike's attorney issues new health update weeks after botched execution

Christa Pike's attorney issues new health update weeks after botched execution Christa Pike, 50, survived two massive doses of pentobarbital after the US state of Tennessee attempted to execute her - now just a few weeks on her attorney has issued an update on her health An attorney for Christa Pike, who was initially left unconscious and unable to communicate after surviving a botched execution, has issued an update on her condition weeks after her execution attempt left her unconscious and unable to communicate. Christa Pike, 50, survived two massive doses of pentobarbital after the US state of Tennessee attempted to execute her for the brutal 1995 murder of classmate Colleen Slemmer. The lethal drugs failed to kill her, instead leaving her arms burned and blistered. Following the botched execution, Pike spent days unconscious and breathing through a ventilator in intensive care. Doctors feared she was brain-dead. But in a twist that shocked medics, she defied all odds to wake up on Tuesday and started talking. In the latest update her attorney has told TMZ she's continuing to improve physically and is now able to walk more on her own. The attorney says Christa's speech has also improved, and she's now able to communicate more clearly and form full sentences. However, her attorney says her cognitive and psychological functioning are still being monitored and it could take another month or longer before there's a clearer picture of any potential long-term effects from the ordeal. After being rushed to hospital on September 30 one of Pike's lawyers, Randy Spivey, said that she suffered "extraordinary" swelling to her hands, which he described as looking like "if you tried to blow up a surgical glove". She remained shackled to her bed at the Tennessee hospital where she was taken after the execution. The killer also woke up with a blood clot and pneumonia, and was unable to swallow, eat or move her badly swollen arms. "I don't know what function she will regain," he revealed in the days after the execution. "We do know that there is a long road ahead". Confusion that delayed medical help The audio captured from a series of 911 calls revealed emergency services were delayed over confusion among both prison officials and first responders. The recordings showed that minutes passed as the two camps tried to confirm whether the emergency request from the chamber was legitimate or not. The Nashville Department of Emergency Communications (DEC) released the transcript from the first call, which shows the moment officials detail the attempted execution. The transcript states: "We've been carrying out an execution tonight. We've administered 10 grams of pentobarbital. The person is not yet deceased. That started approximately 1 hour ago. And we're calling for an ambulance." The dispatcher then asked the caller for a verification code, which they were unable to provide, prompting questions about whether the call was a "prank". One dispatcher says: "We are trying to find out if that is an actual thing that is happening and we need to send an ambulance and, or if you need police assistance or if this is someone that is just basically prank calling or, like, swatting us." A dispatcher later concludes the call was "false" and that medical assistance was not required at Riverbend, where Pike had sustained severe injuries to her arms. They say: “Per supervisors here at the DEC, we have been informed that it is a false call. There is no medical assistance needed at Riverbend prison.” The confusion further continued when a dispatcher called back, saying they had received "a call about a failed execution at your guys' facility", adding they were calling to verify. They found a confused DEC employee on the other side, who asked: “Um, who called you?” After a short back and forth, the corrections employee says: "I’m being told that nobody from our facility called you, so there’s not really anything to speak of at the moment.” What happens to Pike now? It remains unclear whether Tennessee will try to execute her again. Her attorneys have said that they will urge Republican Gov. Bill Lee to commute her death sentence to life in prison without parole. “She should never be subjected to another execution attempt,” they said in the statement". Lee has since postponed the state’s only other scheduled execution this year and ordered a review of why the execution failed. Medical and lethal injection experts have focused on whether a problem with the IV line caused the drug to pool in her tissue instead of entering her bloodstream.