Boston Medical Center hoping for ‘mass exodus’ as amputees continue recovery at rehab hospitals

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

In a sign of the rapid progress being made by some of the dozens wounded in the Boston Marathon bombings, doctors at Boston Medical Center said today they hoped to see a “mass exodus” of patients from their hospital into rehabilitation facilities.

On April 15, BMC received 23 patients, 15 of whom were deemed to be in critical condition. As of today, with 11 patients remaining, just one of those endangered patients is in critical condition. Seven are in stable condition, and three are in serious condition, doctor said today.

Dr. Jeffrey Kalish told reporters today that patients who underwent life-saving amputations are steadily returning to a changed life, but some patients have grown weary of hospital food and are bringing their own in. Most amputees are walking the hospital hallways using walkers or crutches, he said.

“It takes a lot of work, and they have to learn new routines, but we are gearing up for a mass exodus to rehab,’’ Kalish said today. “Everything is starting to return to a normal state.’’

Kalish also said that during the past seven days, military veterans who also underwent amputations for war-related wounds have come to the hospital and walked the halls with the patients, showing them “their life is not over.’’

The Boston Marathon terror bombings killed three people and wounded more than 170. Including the BMC patients, 56 people remained hospitalized as of Sunday.