Get back in the saddle soon, Keith.
Posted on 05/09/2006 5:51:28 PM PDT by Paleo Conservative
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Doctors are concerned Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards could suffer from brain damage after undergoing two surgeries following a fall while holidaying in Fiji, the New Zealand Herald reported on Wednesday.
The newspaper said Richards had undergone an operation at a hospital in New Zealand on Monday to relieve a blood clot on the brain which involved drilling a hole through the skull. Subdural hematoma can be caused by mild knocks to the head.
His London publicists confirmed on Monday that he had surgery but did not disclose the details. They said it was a success and he was expected to recover in a few weeks.
The Herald said Richards had his first operation on April 28 to stop bleeding in his skull.
A spokesman at the Ascot Hospital in Auckland declined to comment on the report.
Richards' two daughters -- 21-year-old Theodora and 19-year-old Alexandra -- were also reported to have arrived at Auckland's Ascot Hospital on Tuesday to join their mother at Richards' bedside.
The 62-year-old rocker had been under medical observation in Auckland following the fall in late April.
Richards was flown to Auckland after the accident while holidaying in Fiji following the end of the Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand leg of a world tour.
Along with lead singer Mick Jagger, Richards has been the backbone of the Rolling Stones since the 1960s.
His history of arrests and drug abuse in younger years has given him the reputation as rock 'n' roll's ultimate survivor. He pokes fun at his checkered past by greeting concert audiences with the catchphrase, "Good to be here, good to be anywhere."
He has suffered his fair share of freak accidents.
In 1998, he broke three ribs and punctured a lung falling from a ladder while reaching for a book in his library. In 1990, one of his fingers got infected after he punctured it on a guitar string. In both cases, the Stones were forced to postpone concerts.
Reminds me of an old New Yorker cartoon (which I can't find on the Web either.)
Two guys introducing themselves:
Perhaps we will be able to understand him now when he speaks.
LOL! True!
Seems to me the first reports were it was aminor accident and he was just under observation...but it sounds to me like this was a serious head injury.
I had a relative in her sixties that fell onto a concrete floor from a raised position a couple of years back. She was conscious when they got her to the hospital, but an hour or so later a clot formed and they had to operate, saying survival rate of these things is 20%. She was in a coma for a month, and when she came out of it she was damaged to the point where she does not know who anyone is, plus does not have any use of he legs and barely any hand usage.
I suspect Mr Richards has played his last set, regardless of whether he lives through this experience. Most unfortunate.
i went to see them this past fall in Charlottesville (best show ever, out of all the various rock shows i've been to)
prayers for his recovery
"Ah, but was he sober when he climbed up the tree? ;)"
LOL He didn't climb up there.... he just came down and landed there!
We went to that concert, too, and also the one in Charlotte.
Did not read the post, and will not go further on the thread than to reply. Just too much material here...way too much.
Yeah, prayer bump
You're right. Doesn't look a decade older than 80.
I was thinking the same thing. I'm a few years behind Keith, and my pointer finger on my right hand isn't as gnarly as his, but it does have sort of a funky bump in it in the first joint behind the nail. The left one is getting that way, too.
It's a pain getting old, but it sure beats hell out of the alternative
How could the difference be determined?
Ya can't make this stuff up.
Get back in the saddle soon, Keith.
Stealing a headline from The Daily Progress online...It was Sweet, Virginia.
I picked up a copy of that Friday's Daily Progress (we had to go to their offices to get one, apparently there was a production problem) to add to my "very important newspapers" collection.
They're the best, period. Still.
05.10.06 Keith Richards Continues To ImproveContrary to stories in newspapers in New Zealand and the UK, Keith Richards did not undergo a second operation. The first and only operation was done on Monday, May 8 and was 100% successful. There was no brain damage. He continues to improve as expected.The Rolling Stones "A Bigger Bang European tour" will begin in June with details to follow shortly.
That's all right, that's all right, that's all right.
Sometimes you feel like trouble, sometimes you feel down.
Let this music relax you mind, let this music relax you mind.
Stand up and be counted, can I get a witness.
Sometimes you need somebody, if you have somebody to love.
Sometimes you ain't got nobody and you want somebody to love.
Then you don't want to walk and talk about Jesus,
You just want to see his face.
You don't want to walk and talk about Jesus,
You just want to see his face.
***
I'm listening to the Yankees' postgame. It strikes me that the people who rag on the Stones are alot like the people who rag on the Yankees. I guess it must be a warped manifestation of the jealousy of the woefully outclassed.
Keith's guitar is a voice of pure joy.
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