Legendary Writer Father Andrew Greeley Critical After Fall
ROSEMONT -- The Rev. Andrew Greeley, the best-selling novelist and newspaper columnist, fractured his skull in a fall Friday. He is in “critical” condition at a suburban hospital, his family and friends report.
How the outspoken priest was hurt is still being pieced together by his family, but hospital workers told them Greeley, 80, snagged his jacket in taxicab door at about 4 p.m. Friday and fell, hitting his head.
“Right now he’s critical but stable, very stable,” said his niece, Laura Durkin. “Doctors are hopeful and pleased with his progress from last night to today. They’re pleased with his current condition.”
Greeley, a Chicago-born Catholic priest, has written more than 50 novels, including best sellers that offer tales of international intrigue. His Sun-Times columns tackle the issues of the day, including his unique take on religion and politics.
He was lecturing Friday at a convention of the Religious Education Association, at a hotel near O’Hare Airport, Durkin said.
In his fall, Greeley fractured his skull and the left orbital bone near his eye, his friend and attorney Terry Goggin said.
He has bleeding on the brain, and doctors installed a monitor in his skull to gauge pressure on his brain, Goggin said. C-T scans are also being used to monitor his injuries.
Greeley was transferred from the emergency room at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge to the surgical intensive care unit, Goggin said. Other than the implantation of the pressure monitor, he has not had surgery, Goggin said.
“He looked good this morning,” Goggin said. “He was resting comfortably.
“You know, he’s a fighter and a tough guy. He was restless last night. He’s got everything they want in a patient. All the signs are very positive.”
Goggin praised the doctors and nurses at Lutheran General, saying “they’ve been just wonderful.”
Greeley had delivered a 2 p.m. lecture Friday on the conversation between fiction and religion at the annual Religious Education Association conference at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rosemont, said W. Alan Smith, executive secretary of the association.
He was joined by Chicago-born writer Stuart Dybek.
“Both of them were received very well,” Smith said. “Greeley was very generous, and very funny, as you’d expect. He and Dybek began with their elation over Obama’s election. It was a great experience.”
The lecture lasted until about 3:30 p.m. Friday, said Smith, who was notified of Greeley’s accident by a reporter Saturday.
“It’s really shocking to hear that,” he said.
Copyright 2008 STNG Wire, The Chicago Sun-Times. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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