Manning making good recovery; family excited with his progress

File: Medical personnel attending to Manning as he prepares to leave for the US

Patrick Manning is doing very well.

That's the word from members of the family who have said the former Prime Minister has received a "positive" report from his doctors and therapists.

Manning is getting treatment at Walter Reed Memorial Hospital in the United States for the stroke he suffered in January.

His family has used words such as "wonderful" and "awesome" to describe the recovery Manning is making. "He has made excursions outside of the institution and continued care as an outpatient is being planned," the family said.

"For some time now, the result of his blood tests for the International Normalised Ratio (INR) has remained stable in the required range. Mr Manning remains in good spirits and is forever excited by his day to day progress."

The family again thanked all members of the national, regional and international communities for "all the expressions of love and support" over the past few weeks.