MIAMI , Florida ( CNN ) -- The condition of a kite-surfer thrown airborne into a Fort Lauderdale building by strong winds this week has improved , a hospital spokeswoman said Thursday . Wind lifted Kevin Kearney over a Fort Lauderdale beach before slamming him into a building Monday . Broward General Medical Center upgraded Kevin Kearney 's condition from serious to fair , said Broward General Medical Center spokeswoman Candice Ogden . Monday 's incident , which a television crew captured on video as Tropical Storm Fay approached Florida , left the 28-year-old Kearney with spinal fractures , brain swelling , a broken rib and a broken ankle , among other injuries . Kearney was harnessed to a kite , or sail , along a Fort Lauderdale , Florida , beach when strong wind caught the kite , sending him into the air , WFOR-TV reported . Watch wind lift Kearney into the air » . WFOR video shows Kearney rise into the air before slamming into the beach and being dragged for a brief time along the sand . The kite then lifted into the air again , slamming him into a nearby building , WFOR reported . Kearny 's mother Alicia Paradise-Garza said Wednesday that her son is able to walk but has spent a lot of time sedated at the hospital so his injuries could be treated . She said Kearney has no recollection of what happened , and that no one has yet shown him the footage of Monday 's incident . In a statement given to the news media the family said Kearney , a Fort Lauderdale resident , is an `` experienced kite-boarder . '' Kite-surfers stand on boards while winds catch their kites and move them across water . The video showed no board at Kearney 's feet while he was airborne . Kearney 's friends said his harness had emergency releases , but that it is possible things happened too fast for him to unhook his clasps , WFOR reported .
Winds carried kite-surfer into the air , slamming him into a beach and a building . Television crew caught Monday 's incident in Fort Lauderdale , Florida , on video . Score: 6 Mother says Kearney ca n't recall incident .