NEW YORK - A parade of well-wishers from the entertainment, sports and culinary worlds have already been by to visit hospitalized Sean Avery since he checked into a New York medical facility with a lacerated spleen Wednesday morning, his father said today.
Al Avery added that his son is not "scared" as he continues to lie in the intensive care unit of St. Vincent's Hospital waiting for the bleeding to stop.
"Not at all," Al Avery said. "This whole thing is more of a nuisance for him, an inconvenience to him. He's not a good patient. He can't sit still. He's anxious to get out of there."
Al Avery remained behind at the family's Pickering home while Avery's wife Marlene rushed to New York to be with her son.
"She says there have been a constant flow of people there to see him," Al Avery said. "I know Brandon Dubinsky was by and Glen Sather was supposed to go by too. But it's not just teammates. Sean has a lot of friends in the fashion and restaurant industry in New York."
Having spoken to his son by phone, Al Avery said Sean "seems to be in pretty good spirits. He's still a little groggy."
Sean Avery, 28, is expected to make a full recovery, but cannot leave hospital until the bleeding subsides. He likely will remain there for a few days, although his hockey season is officially over.
Avery was injured during the Rangers 5-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday night from a first-period hit but continued to play, racking up an assist.
The Rangers claim surgery will not be required.
"Hopefully the (laceration) of the spleen will close," Al Avery said. "You would not want them to remove the spleen although he could still play if they were forced to do that. At least that's what I have been told."
Located on the left side of the body behind the stomach, the spleen helps the body fight infection and filter blood. While you can live without a spleen, you could also be more prone to infection.
"From what I understand he is doing better this afternoon," Rangers coach Tom Renney said.
