UPDATE: New Zealand musician Chris Knox, who is in Auckland Hospital after suffering a stroke last week, is not in pain and is responsive to family and friends.

The Ward-Knox family released a statement saying they are optimistic and focused on his well being.  They have been overwhelmed by the level of support from around the world since his stroke.

UPDATE: New Zealand musician Chris Knox, who is in Auckland Hospital after suffering a stroke last week, is not in pain and is responsive to family and friends.

The Ward-Knox family released a statement saying they are optimistic and focused on his well being.  They have been overwhelmed by the level of support from around the world since his stroke.

“We’d like to express our thanks to everyone who has helped or wished us well in the last few days.”

“Like many other families who are currently experiencing a similar change to their lives we are learning a great deal about strokes and their long-term effects. We have learned that it is too early to predict the ramifications of a stroke with any degree of accuracy. However, positive anecdotes have been flooding in which fill us all with hope.

“Chris is not in pain and is responsive to family and friends who are very optimistic and focused on Chris’s well being. He enjoyed his vegetable frittata this morning but I suffered the classic Knox withering look when I mentioned beer.

“As the situation becomes clearer to us we will happily inform those who wish to know."

They have created a site at chrisknox.blogtown.co.nz for this purpose, which they aim to keep as current as possible.

News reports say Chris Knox is in a stable condition and doctors were still waiting for the swelling to go down before they were able to offer a prognosis.

Knox is a musician, film critic and cartoonist. He is regarded as the ‘spiritual godfather’ of the iconic independent music label Flying Nun.

His music career began with legendary Dunedin punk band The Enemy, followed by post-punk heroes Toy Love, then the Tall Dwarfs and his own solo work.

Knox has appeared as a film reviewer on arts TV shows The Edge and Backch@t, and hosted the series The New Artland. He is also the man behind the long-running Max Media cartoon strip in the NZ Herald.