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I had orginally saved this paper for Cal Ripken's last game (at Fenway), but there was more to it:
Worcester T&G, September 28th, 2001:
Oh, if we only knew.
Worcester T&G, September 28th, 2001:
Hospital Releases Bledsoe
Pats QB to miss at least 3 games
Howard Ulman, AP
Boston - Drew Bledsoe expects to miss at least three games after being released from a hospital yesterday following a hit that caused bleeding in his chest cavity.
The New England quarterback said he felt all right but still experiences pain when he takes a deep breath. He was well enough to watch part of pratice leaving Massachusetts General Hospital.
"It could be as short as three weeks. It could be longer than that," Bledsoe said. "For the next two weeks, they really don't want me to do anything. No heavy lifting. No trenuous activy.
"As a matter of fact, they told me over the next two weeks they don't want me to pick up my kids."
Bledsoe said an artery near his rib cage was partially torn, but he didn't have a collapsed lung and never feared for his life, although the injury is unusual for a football player. He also said he got "dinged" in the head but didn't say whether it was considered a concussion.
"The only long-term effect would be if there were scarring in the chest cavity, which could limit my lung capacity at some point, Bledsoe said in a conference call from his home. "So they're having me make real sure that once an hour I take real deep breaths."
A chest tube inserted to remove the blood, which was recycled into his circulatory system, was taken out Wednesday, Bledsoe said. Doctors want to make sure the injury is completely healed before he lifts anything heavy.
But Bledsoe said he can attend team meeting and practices and hopes to be on the sideline for Sunday's home game against Indianiapolis.
Tom Brady will start in his place, only the fourth quarterback to start for New England since Bledsoe was drafted with the first pick in 1993. Bledsoe has started 124 of the team's 130 games since then. Scott Zolak and Scott Secules started three each.
Bledsoe was hurt with 4:48 remaining in last Sunday's 10-3 loss to the New York Jets as he ran up the right side and cut inside rather than run out of bounds. As defensive end Shaun Ellis hit him low from behind, linebacker Mo Lewis smacked him from the side, knocking Bledsoe out of bounds.
"I just kind of left myself wide open and he put a good, clean hit on me. I was pretty exposed when he hit," Bledsoe said.
He didn't think he lost consciousness. He returned to the game for one series, but when he went to the sidelines to discuss specific plays and the two-minute offense, backup quarterback Damon Huard knew something was wrong.
"From the questions I was asking about some of the plays we had in the game every week for two years, I think he realized I wasn't functioning at my full capacity," Bledsoe said.
Brady replaced him for the final series.
Bledsoe walked off the field, but the pain intensified in the locker room as more blood leaked into his chest cavity.
He said there was no damage to his lungs or spleen, although at the start "there was a sconcern because of the pain I was having that there was something like that."
After two weeks, he'll be re-evaluated and "once it's healed up inside of there, they'll let me do quite a bit more."
But, after spending parts of five days in the hospital, one of the NFL's most durable quarterbacks doesn't know when he'll be able to play again.
"I've been proud of the fact that I've been able to stay on the field, whether it's good fortune or I've been strong or I've been able to play with (injuries)," he said.
Oh, if we only knew.
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