Feb 19, 2005 2 min read

BOSTON (AP) – New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi was released from the hospital Friday, after spending two days recovering from a mild stroke that caused numbness, blurred vision and severe headaches. Wearing a gray sweat suit, Bruschi smiled and waved to reporters and fans as he walked with his wife, Heidi, to a waiting sports utility vehicle outside Massachusetts General Hospital. He did not comment.

Bruschi was reportedly walking and talking normally a day after the stroke.

Doctors said positive reports so soon after the stroke were good indicators that he could continue his football career, but his prognosis remains uncertain.

Bruschi, a nine-year veteran, is one of the team’s most popular players and a key member of the defense that helped New England win three of the last four Super Bowls.

He was selected as the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week three times last season, including after a first-round playoff victory over the Indianapolis Colts. He ranked second on the team with 128 tackles and tied for second with three interceptions. On Sunday, Bruschi played in his first Pro Bowl in Hawaii.

Heidi Bruschi called 911 on Wednesday, saying her husband was experiencing “blurred vision, numbness on the right side of his body.” The Patriots later confirmed that he had suffered a mild stroke.

Team spokesman Stacey James visited Bruschi at the hospital Friday to deliver hundreds of printed e-mails from well-wishers around the country.

“The outpouring of support has been overwhelming and the Bruschi family is very appreciative,” James said.

An estimated 700,000 people per year in the United States suffer strokes, the vast majority resulting from clots that block the brain’s arteries.

Brian Mullen of the NHL’s New York Islanders attempted a comeback two years after suffering a mild stroke and undergoing surgery to correct the heart problem that caused it in 1993. He had a seizure while training for his comeback and retired when no team would take a chance on him.

Houston Astros pitcher J.R. Richard, one of the most dominant right-handers of the late 1970s, had his career cut short when he suffered a blockage-caused stroke in 1980 at age 30. His comeback attempt was also unsuccessful.

Unlike heart attacks, strokes usually cause no pain, so the warning signs often are missed by victims and people around them. Symptoms include sudden weakness or numbness, dimness or loss of vision, difficulty or inability to speak and severe headaches.