Top Gear star Richard Hammond has made a remarkably recovery so far — only 9 days after a 300 mph crash and uncertainty over whether he would even live, he’s walking and talking and out of the intensive care unit.

However, doctors are cautioning that it is far too early to tell what his long-term prognosis will be. Obviously the critical centers of the brain are intact, but there is concern about the frontal lobe — the region of the brain that affects judgement and personality. The next six months of Hammond’s recovery will likely be very slow and difficult, doctors say.

An article from BBC Health News goes into more detail about what often happens to the brain in a high-speed crash. It seems that Hammond was lucky since he was in a 7-point restraint system that also prevented his head from rotating; apparently, rapid head rotation at high speed can cause even more damage to the brain than a direct blow.