Sports

Boy Hurt By Foul Ball Could Leave Hospital Tuesday

CHICAGO (STNG) ― The young Cubs fan whose skull was fractured by a foul ball off the bat of pitcher Ted Lilly may be heading home to Frankfort Tuesday.

Dr. Tord Alden, the Children's Memorial Hospital pediatric neurosurgeon looking after 7-year-old Dominic DiAngi, said the boy is "fairly out of the woods for some of the major consequences" of such a serious head injury.

"We're all thrilled," Alden said, noting that Dominic has been treated by everyone from the emergency room team to trauma services to pediatric intensive care to the hospital's therapists. "I was actually very worried about him for the first 12 hours or so but he's really done very well."

Dominic spent Monday proving he could still do basic activities, like walking and eating. The medical staff is also monitoring his pain level before he continues his recovery at home.

Alden said Dominic, like anyone hit in the head so hard he passes out, will likely remember nothing of the injury or the moments preceding it.

"He will only really remember what people tell him," he said.

Lilly and first baseman Derrek Lee visited Dominic Saturday in the hospital, bringing him a a Cubs jersey. The team has sent other get-well gifts including a baseball signed by the team, a bat from second baseman Mark DeRosa and a jersey and glove from shortstop Ryan Theriot.

(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2006. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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