SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Francisco Giants fan who was severely beaten outside Dodgers Stadium was transferred to a rehabilitation facility Tuesday after nearly seven months in hospitals, doctors said.

Bryan Stow's move into rehab is a step forward in his recovery after he suffered serious brain injuries in the March attack that had left him barely clinging to life. Doctors at San Francisco General Hospital, where he had been treated since May, predicted a long and rocky road ahead for the 42-year-old Santa Cruz paramedic.

"Bryan has been an extremely challenging patient," said Dr. Geoff Manley, who is the hospital's chief of neurosurgery and has been overseeing Stow's care. "It has been a roller coaster, but he is young and strong and has made tremendous advances."

Stow's family recently reported on its website that he is speaking and moving his limbs again.

Manley said Tuesday that Stow is "starting to get up but not quite walking."

The family requested that the name of Stow's rehab facility not be released, according to Manley. The family released a statement saying, "We feel immense relief today, knowing that Bryan is ready to start the next chapter of his story."

Louie Sanchez, 29, and Marvin Norwood, 30, have been charged in the attack, which police describe as the culmination of a string of confrontations they had with randomly selected Giants fans at the stadium during the Los Angeles Dodgers' March 31 home opener.

Sanchez and Norwood both have pleaded not guilty to mayhem, assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury, and battery with serious bodily injury in Los Angeles County Superior Court.