Hope, 20, spent nearly two weeks at Frankston Hospital, before being released last Tuesday.
Her condition included swelling on the brain as well as the infection.
Her parents Shannon and Lisa Hope told the Seymour Telegraph yesterday that although Tahlia was on the mend, there was still a way to go in her recovery.
‘‘She’s definitely back on track and should make a full recovery,’’ Lisa said.
‘‘But she has slowed down a bit.
‘‘Her strength is not there yet.’’
Tahlia is receiving an anti-viral IV drip at all times with a nurse visiting daily to change the drip.
With a medical appointment set for today, Lisa said there was a chance Tahlia’s drip could come out, but it was looking more likely that it would be another week.
Following that, Tahlia will need to have blood tests in four weeks to get a full clearance from the illness.
In what has been a testing time for the Hopes, with Shannon describing it as ‘‘horrific’’ when his daughter was in great pain and unable to hold a conversation because of the effects of the illness, spirits have risen as she recovers.
‘‘It was pretty scary there for a while,’’ Shannon said.
‘‘We were very fortunate the doctors were on to the viral meningitis.
‘‘The support has been sensational.’’
Prior to falling ill, Tahlia had been in purple patch of form, having flown to Adelaide for trainer Paddy Payne the weekend before, where she landed a double. She had also been preparing to ride at Caulfield.
But racing is the furthest thing from the Hope’s mind as Tahlia works her way through recovery.
‘‘It’s just going to take time,’’ Shannon said.
‘‘This could take five or six weeks.
‘‘There is no hurry to get back to racing.’’
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