Q: Do you have an update on the injury Drake Hogestyn suffered in May? — Charlene, Kansas City, Kan.

A: I don't just have an update about the actor who plays the uber-popular John Black on "Days of our Lives"; I have the truth. It was reported that Hogestyn was seriously injured after falling out of a tree, which seemed odd. Was he climbing a tree? Building a treehouse? Sawing off a tree limb? None of the above. There were also reports of Hogestyn having surgery due to internal bleeding — again, a soap opera fiction. Here is what really happened, according to a press release Hogestyn's lawyer sent to Soap Opera Digest. Hogestyn's legal team claims that the actor was injured on set while filming a stunt where he broke through a prop door, because the set "had not been properly prepared." Apparently he "ran full speed" toward the door and "smashed headfirst" into it, which caused "severe head injuries." Hogestyn was hospitalized and is now recovering in his home in Malibu, California. The statement concludes saying: "Drake, his wife Victoria, and the Hogestyn family, appreciate all the good wishes, prayers and positive thoughts from so many loyal fans, but ask that their privacy be respected at this time. Drake's goal is to get back to the show as soon as possible."

No one is saying who released the original story. The cast and crew were told to keep the accident quiet and offer no comment if asked.

Hogestyn was involved in another incident a few years back.

In 2007, TMZ obtained a copy of a restraining order that Hogestyn filed against a man he says "physically tried to exorcise the devil from (him)" and assaulted him at his home.

According to TMZ, Hogestyn said he and his family were in the backyard of their Malibu home when Carl Raymond Cheney came onto his property and ran at his daughter with a Bible in hand, screaming: "Where is he? I will cast him out!" Cheney was "calling (him) by (his) stage name ... recalling past storylines, especially the demonic possession of several years past." Hogestyn reacted when Cheney grabbed and pushed his wife backward on their patio stairs, saying, "(I) grabbed him by the hair, spun him around (and) delivered a right cross to the chin that sent him down the stairs." According to the restraining order, the struggle continued for 10 minutes until he and his son were able to subdue Cheney until the police arrived.

To find out more about Lynda Hirsch and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.