Hello,
 
  I just got back from my visit to the hospital.  This message may be a little
jumbled since... I don't know... I guess there is no cohesive thought.
 
  1st, the good news:
 
     John does not have a punctured lung, as I had been told.  His lung was
  only collapsed (*only* collapsed... jeez) and has respoded since being re-
  flated.  He is still on the respirator but that is just to prevent pneumonia
  (when lying in a certain position unconscious for a peroid of time, mucos
  (sp?) can build up in the lungs if not taken care of).
     His ribs are *not* broken.
     The swelling in his face has gone down.
     Whenever he wakes up, he opens his eyes a little and becomes a lot more
  aware than he did previously.
 
  2nd, the bad news:
 
     John is a lot more aware when he wakes up.  It appears as if he is in a
  lot of discomfort whenever he comes-to.
     I am not used to being in hospitals, so some of this may seem obvious to
  those that have, but it still struck me.  They have tubes all over.  We all
  cringed when one friend of JP's who works in a nearby hospital described how
  one of them is hooked up.  (We were OK until we saw how uncomfortable John
  was whenever he awoke... thus imagined what he was going through)
     The two times John woke up when I was there, he began kicking and trying
  to get out.  His heart rate rose from mid-60's to 120's in a matter of
  seconds.  They had to lightly sedate him both times.  I am told this has been
  happening.
 
  We all took turns talking to/at John for a while.  We were told that while
lightly sedated, he was more aware of what we were saying than we would think.
 
  The good thing in all this is how many people keep visiting him.  His mother
was very appreciative of all the support and caring that people have been
giving.  The hospital staff didn't even have to look up his room when we said
his name... the receptionist just rolled her eyes and told us what room.  At a
hospital the size of Beth Isreal, I found that impressive.  After I asked her
if a *few* people had been asking for it, she just nodded and groaned, "Uh-huh"
 
  The atmosphere was tense, but positive.  Jokes to break the tension were very
common.  John was told by one person that he'd be back on campus milking this
for everything it's worth in no time.  I told him that, while he's recovering,
I expect him to be up there in the stands with us waving a towel/T-shirt around
his head every time BU scores.
 
  I told Mrs. McKersie about the coming messages from the hockey-l and she was
very touched.  Again, she talked of how the outpouring of support has been
wonderful.
 
I guess I'm sort of babling at this point, so I might as well stop.
 
If you want to send a message, make sure you get it to me by Wed/Thurs so I can
print it out and give it to him next weekend when I visit again.
 
 
Thank You,
 
Tony