INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- John Lee phoned today and wanted to pass on some more information on his status, and granted permission to release the following information:

He had surgery today Wednesday and it went well. In fact, the surgeon told him he was able to preserve more of the foot and bone than had been expected.

He will see a plastic surgeon on Thursday to discuss options. His foot has been re-cast, and this cast is much lighter than the initial one. Some of the meds are still preventing him from eating solids and he remains on liquids. He’s looking forward to a regular meal -- steak I believe -- which depends on some more test results on Thursday.

Looking ahead, John was hopeful of a release from the hospital in a few more days, but nothing for certain just yet. He is still in a lot of pain but he was able to get up out of the chair and move around a bit, “gracefully and with ease” as he put it.

Lee, who is the track photographer at the Central Missouri Speedway and a regular contributor to the USMTS, was injured during hot laps Saturday and taken to Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence.

Check out High Fly’N Photos at www.highfly-nphotos.com to see some of his work or purchase photos online.