Rochester Knighthawks defenseman Casey Zaph has been hospitalized after suffering a brain injury during a recent medical examination.

Zaph collapsed Tuesday at his doctor's office, where he had gone to seek treatment for headaches he had been suffering from this past weekend.

The Zaph family released the following statement today:
 

Thank you for your concern about Casey Zaph.

Casey had a very serious incident on Tuesday June 7th. He had been experiencing severe headaches over the weekend, and while visiting his family doctor collapsed in the office. He was transferred to the neurological intensive care unit at the Toronto Western Hospital where he has been diagnosed with internal bleeding of the brain.

He blacked out as a result of the brain injury, and fell on his face fracturing the bones above and below his right eye and with some damage to the jaw. He will need plastic surgery at some future point.

Casey has been on a ventilator and under heavy sedation. He has had a number of CAT scans and MRIs, which show bleeding but it appears that the bleeding has halted. All we can do now is wait for the brain swelling to reduce so the doctors can undertake further analysis regarding his ability to function and any further treatment.

On the positive side, Casey is in good shape and a real fighter. As of today, at noon, he was taken off the ventilator and is able to breathe on his own, move his arms & legs and even attempts to sit up and pull out all the tubes... so he is aware that something he does not like is going on. That is all good news for someone after only 48 hours in intensive care. Although we are optimistic, we also know this is going to be a long haul.

It has been a traumatic situation for us. We are overwhelmed, and still trying to comprehend what’s happened over the past couple of days. We cannot even begin to deal with the outpouring of support and requests for information. We have set up a web page to try to keep you updated.

The Zaph Family
 

To send well wishes to Casey and his family, visit carepages.com and type in "CaseyZaph."