Tim Bozon was diagnosed with Neisseria Meningitis in February, 2014. He continues to recover.
Image Credit: Kamloops Blazers
March 19, 2014 - 4:00 PM
SASKATCHEWAN - The health of former Blazer and Canadiens prospect Tim Bozon continues to improve, though he still faces a long recovery from complications due to Neisseria Meningitis.
According to a press release, Bozon's family wanted it known that over the weekend, he was moved out of the intensive care unit and into a room in the ward. He is now listed as stable. He is awake, moving around in his hospital bed and trying to speak. It's quite a leap considering last week his condition was listed as critical but stable and improving.
While playing with Kootenay in Saskatchewan against the Saskatoon Blades he was admitted to Royal University Hospital and diagnosed with Neisseria Meningitis.
He was listed in critical condition February 28, isolated, and an investigation was launched to ensure anyone in close contact was free of the illness.
Bozon was born in Lugano, Switzerland and played for teams in Europe before moving to Canada when he was 17. He was selected by the Kamloops Blazers, twenty-seventh overall at the 2011 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft.
Bozon, now 19, played 71 games for the Blazers in the 2011-12 season recording 36 goals, 35 assists for 71 points. He scored more goals than any other WHL rookie. He was nominated for rookie of the year, an award he shared with Blazers goaltender Cole Cheveldave.
His skills on the ice didn't go unoticed. That season, he was ranked 42nd overall for the 2012 NHL entry draft by the NHL Scouting Bureau for North American Skaters and at the draft was selected in the third round, 64th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens.
During the 2012-13 season, Bozon recorded 36 goals, 91 points in 69 games. A fractured wrist kept him off the ice through most of the playoffs. He was traded to the Kootenay Ice Oct. 22, 2013, having already signed the three-year, entry level contract with the Montreal Canadiens.
Parents Phillippe and Helene Bozon have been beside him in hospital as he heals while the WHL, the Kootenay Ice and the Blazers have been behind him, cheering him toward recovery. The Blazers created a banner for fans to sign in March that was later given to Bozon. They also put a donation box in the arena for the WHL's Tim Bozon Trust so fans could make donations towards his medical and rehabilitation costs.
The family says since arriving in Saskatchewan they've received support from the hockey community, friends and even strangers. Anonymous gifts like restaurant vouchers, fruit baskets and a box containing blankets and other bedding have been brought to the hospital. The Bozons would like to say thank you for these gifts.
Though Bozon's health is improving, Saskatoon Health Region Communications states he still has a long way to go before he's fully recovered.
The public can make donations to the Tim Bozon Trust at any BMO Bank of Montreal branch in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Anyone from outside Western Canada who would like to contribute to the Tim Bozon Trust can send the donation to the Tim Bozon Trust c/o Western Hockey League, 2424 University Drive NW, Calgary AB, T2N 3Y9.
To contact a reporter for this story, email jstahn@infotelnews.ca or call 250-819-3723.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014