Greg "Fritz" Hinz, longtime drummer for Canadian hard rockers Helix, was placed in a medically induced coma after fracturing his skull in a fall from the roof of his house. According to Helix singer Brian Vollmer, Hinz's injuries "are not life-threatening" but doctors were "keeping him in a coma and on breathing tubes until they feel he's all right to come out of it." He has multiple fractures but the good news is that he was brought out of his drug induced coma.

As a result, he will be unable to play with Helix at the band's two scheduled gigs in Ontario this weekend. Filling in for him will be Jamie Constance from Syre.

Vollmer's first message was: "I want to post this before rumors start flying around. This morning, shortly after I had just posted a video from yesterday's practice, I received a phone call from Fritz's girlfriend Traci. Fritz had gone out to the front of the house to fix some shingles on the roof. When Traci's sister went out to check on him, he was laying on the front lawn, having fallen from the roof. Luckily, one of the first two people on the scene was a nurse, who immediately phoned 9-1-1. He had a seizure on the front lawn and then another on the way to the hospital in Hamilton. They immediately put him in a drug-induced coma with breathing tubes down his throat. Over the course of the day, I started to receive as much info as the doctors were giving Traci. It was a day of crying, pacing, and praying. He had hit his head pretty hard on the way down and who knows what else he hit as he fell. About an hour ago, Traci phoned me to say that the doctor had told her the injuries are not life-threatening (they think) but regardless, he will have some serious rehab in the future. He fractured his skull and crushed a few vertebrae. The doctors are keeping him in a coma and on breathing tubes until they feel he's alright to come out of it. He's also moving his legs ? a good sign. Please pray for Fritz tonight, everyone! This weekend will still go on with Jamie Constance from Syre filling in on drums. I will keep everyone updated on how Fritz is doing. Get well, my brother."

New update: "Thank you to everyone who have sent their well wishes and prayers for Fritz. I've been in constant communication with Tracy and she's given me the go ahead to post the latest news on how he's doing. He's pretty banged up with multiple fractures to his vertebrae (I won't list them all), multiple basilar skull fractures, a rib fracture, and hemorrhaging. As bad as all this sounds however, there are positives as well - Today he was brought out of his drug induced coma and squeezed Traci's hand. He's also been able to move his feet. He was put back into a drug induced coma shortly after so the doctors could run a CT scan. Tomorrow they are going to bring him out again and see how it goes. He'll probably be in the hospital for at least a couple more weeks, and after that have to wear a back brace for several months while he goes through rehab. Before I end off this post, I'd like to once again mention that Jamie Constance will be filling in for this weekend's dates. Please do not think that it's 'crass' to go on without the big guy. If Fritz could talk right now I'm sure he'd agree that the 'show must go on'. Whenever there's a situation like this there are many people-agents, band members, club owners, and bar staff depending on making wages this weekend. Not playing would not solve anything; it would just make problems for more people. Please understand. Get well Fritz-we love you."

Upcoming shows:

Nov. 16 - Maxwell's - Waterloo, ON
Nov. 17 - The Brass Monkey - Ottawa, ON

Source:	facebook.com
Band profile:	Helix