Houston stabbing victim released from NYC hospital

Chrisopher McCarthy, the 21-year-old Houston tourist stabbed last week on a New York City subway train, left the hospital yesterday and said he plans to get back to Houston as soon as possible. Though McCarthy lost between 60 and 70 percent of his blood after the stabbing — the knife punctured his heart — doctors at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center said they expect him to make a full recovery. The NY Times described him as "frail," but reported that he got out of his wheelchair and stood on the sidewalk outside the hospital for several minutes to talk with reporters.

McCarthy said he wants to return to New York and finish the vacation he and his girlfriend, Ganda Krisananuwatara, started. He said Mayor Michael Bloomberg had invited him for coffee the next time he's in town and NY police officers offered to take him to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the places the pair had intended to go. And he doesn't seem to have any ill will toward the city: "When you get to New York, you know, it's a beautiful place," McCarthy said. "When you first get here and really see the city. That's why everyone has the 'I Love New York' shirts. It's true."

McCarthy was one of the victims of Kenny Alexis, a 20-year-old Boston man who apparently had a history of mayhem and said he stabbed McCarthy "because he was in his way." McCarthy's take on Alexis: "I just forgive him and just love more."