Jamie Foxx waves to fans on the boat, first sighting since being hospitalized

TMZ.com

Jamie Foxx's road to recovery seems to be going just fine, because the guy is out in public now...with TMZ getting the first glimpse of him since his hospitalization.

Check out this footage we got, showing a jolly JF cruising a mega-boat on the Chicago River on Sunday afternoon...pretty lively and happy to see some fans too. A nearby ship passed him and gave him a big cheer... Jamie waved him back.

TMZ.com

He also appeared to be accompanied by a few other people on board...and at first glance, it appears that there were family members around. They've been by his side through this ordeal - and we know they also visited him while he was in rehab in ChiTown.

The difference here...we finally have a clear vision of Jamie in the flesh, which is encouraging. Frankly, there's been a lot of speculation about his condition... and the more he slipped out of the public eye, the more the speculation would grow. People are worried.

Now hopefully all those rumors can be put to rest...because the guy seems to be on his way to full health. Still no word on what exactly happened to him that sent him to the ER in the first place, but the fact is he seems ready for a comeback.

Here's another positive update that TMZ can provide...we saw more footage of Jamie spending a night on the town in the Chicago area on Saturday, bustling on his feet, no less, and looking for to be in a good mood there too.