Update, 9:25 p.m.: this article's publication, more than $9,000 has been raised on Tim Taviano's GoFundMe site.

When computer science sophomore Tim Taviano, 20,  woke up from surgery, the first thing he wanted to know was how the men’s basketball team fared in the Elite Eight.

Despite an MSU loss to UConn,  basketball was the last thing on the minds of his loved ones.

On March 24,  Tim suffered from a massive stroke in his dorm room.

His suitemate, journalism sophomore Jalen Walker,  heard a loud thud in the morning around 7:15 a.m.  and witnessed Tim stumbling into the bathroom. Walker found Tim vomiting and disoriented and called for help.

“I couldn’t really tell what was going on and he started getting shorter and shorter on his responses,” Walker said.

Walker tried to get Tim some water, but Tim was unable to drink it. When police, medics and firefighters made it to East Akers Hall, they also tried to get Tim talking, he said.

“(Tim) knew his name, he knew who he was but he didn’t know what day of the week it was,” Walker said.

Tim was immediately rushed to Sparrow Hospital.  Doctors are still unsure as to how or why the stroke happened, but when he came in, Tim was bleeding from his brain.

Later that morning, Tim underwent major brain surgeries to stop the bleeding, said his father, Steve Taviano.

Tim was sedated the next day, Tuesday, following the surgery. Doctors held a flashlight to his eyes and Tim remained unresponsive. There was no change on Wednesday. An MRI confirmed Tim had suffered from a stroke, and he underwent another surgery to remove the flap bone on the right side of his skull, allowing his brain to swell to stop the bleeding.

Tim’s cousin, Tug Taviano,  said when Tim gained consciousness after his surgeries, he wrote on a piece of paper, “Y am I here?”

“He waved his hand, he told his mother he loves her, and he’s been talking to the nurses like crazy,” Tug said.

He also asked after the men’s basketball team — head coach Tom Izzo  had sent Tim a “get well” card on the day the team was leaving for New York, Tug said.

Since then, recovery will be slow and steady. In six to eight weeks, the flap bone of his brain will be replaced, his father said.

“That is just the beginning of his recovery process,” Tug said.

Still, progress is being made. Doctors are considering putting a helmet on Tim on Thursday to protect his skull as he begins to walk again after his stroke.

Tim is now conscious and recently finished his first full meal, his father said.

In the meantime, Tim’s parents are taking time off of work to be able to be by his side in the hospital. And his cousin Tug has  created a  donation site asking the Spartan community to help with the hospital expenses. More than $6,000 has been raised as of Wednesday night.

“The people from MSU are really taking care of us,” Tim’s father said.