John Glatz suffered critical burns when he tried to save his home during the raging bushfires that have swept through South Australia.
When the former Oakbank Racing Club chairman was taken to hospital, he was placed in a coma because his injuries were so severe.
The Cudlee Creek bushfire destroyed dozens of homes and more than 500 buildings when it took hold just before New Year's Day. The fire has been so bad that the South Australian premier has declared an emergency disaster.
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But in better news, Mr Glatz's condition has improved and has been taken out of a coma.
According to his friend and fellow horse trainer John Hickmott, the first thing Mr Glatz asked for was a beer. He's told the ABC: "They just said he's alert and he's awake, they got the tubes out and he's speaking.
"The first thing they said was, 'Would you like a drink of water?' and he said, 'I'd rather a beer.' When he said that, you know he's in good spirits."
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Mr Hickmott continued: "When you get the amount of burns that he was supposed to have, it's pretty hard for a man his age to fight that off. Someone did say that he is a tough old bugger - if anyone can get out of this, he will and he has which is amazing."
It'll be a long road to recovery for John, but at least you know he hasn't lost his Aussie spirit.
Many of his Cudlee Creek residents are also looking towards the future and hoping to be able to rebuild their lives.
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Wendy Nitschke was pictured standing at the foot of her now smouldering property and wondering what to do from there.
She told Adelaide Now: "We've lost my grandpa's car, my dad's motorbike, the family home, numerous sheds... stuff that we will never be able to replace that's priceless. Absolutely priceless. It's losing 100 years of my family.
"Accept all the support you can if it's offered because there's some amazing people out there that are just willing to give us water and feed for our stock."
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She's one of dozens who will have to work out how to rebuild their lives after the bushfire swept through.
The South Australian Country Fire Service (CFS) says the blaze is now at Advice level as weather conditions helped firefighters get on top of it.
The service said: "CFS crews will continue working across the fireground for the foreseeable future to ensure that hot spots and flare ups are extinguished and the fireground continues to remain controlled."
Topics: News, Bushfires, Australia