YELLOWKNIFE - Raymond Eagle has been in a coma since last August when he underwent brain surgery after being found unconscious in a Frame Lake south neighbourhood, but his father sees signs of improvement.

Tom Eagle: "It's just a matter of time until he opens his eyes, according to what I see every day."

"He's still in a coma, but he understands me," says Tom Eagle, who visits his 45-year-old son twice a day in Stanton Territorial Hospital.

"He blinks his eyes. You ask him to do stuff, and he'll do it. They're not reflexes or anything. You tell him to squeeze your fingers and he'll do it."

"It's just a matter of time until he opens his eyes, according to what I see every day."

RCMP say Raymond Eagle was passed out when they found him in a Frame Lake South neighbourhood around 1:30 a.m., last Aug. 3.

Eagle had a visible head injury, according to police. He was taken to Stanton in an ambulance and then to the Yellowknife RCMP headquarters to "sober up."

Later in the morning, Eagle began vomiting and RCMP took him to the hospital a second time. He was medevaced to the University of Alberta hospital about 18 hours after he was first picked up and underwent surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain.

Tom Eagle has taken a direct hand in his son's care.

"Starting two weeks ago, I give him massages without moving the joints or anything. I use my hands. The hospital knows this and it seems to be helping."

Doctors said last August that Eagle may never recover, but his father remains hopeful.

"I say my prayers with him," he said.

"He was a very sports-minded person, so I tell him what's happening in sports."

Tom Eagle says he also considering legal action against Stanton Territorial Hospital and the RCMP.

"I've got all my paperwork done," he said.

"I've done my own independent investigation and questioned people."

The NWT Crimestoppers office has issued a press release asking the general public for any information on Eagle's movements on Aug. 3. At the time he was found, Eagle was wearing "blue jeans, a gray sweatshirt, a ball cap and black runners."

The RCMP's Major Crime Unit, which asked Crimestoppers to put out the release, said this is the first release from Crimestoppers asking the public for information, but could not comment specifically on the RCMP's investigation, saying only, "The investigation is ongoing."