Reuters: Keith Richards could suffer brain damage-report

[DeepModem Mom]

Keith Richards could suffer brain damage-report
Tue May 9, 2006

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....

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&storyid=2006-05-09T224413Z_01_N02309188_RTRUKOC_0_US-RICHARDS.xml&src=rss&rpc=22

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

1. Too late.

The damage was done years ago.... :evilgrin:

[hyphenate]

That was my first impression, too

:)

[CrazyOrangeCat]

2. He'll be fine.

He'll outlive the doctors by decades--no worries. ;)

[MnFats]

27. he DID threaten to dance on everyone else's graves not too long ago..

...if he ain't dead yet he ain't goin' out now. this, though some claim he looks like he's been dead for some time.

one of my heroes.

kick ass, Keith...

[Berry Cool]

3. Warning: obvious joke ahead...

How will we be able to tell?

[tridim]

4. I feel bad for him because he seems like a genuinely nice person

But honestly, how are they going to tell if he has (more) brain damage? His brain has been damaged for decades due to alcohol and drug abuse.

[katty]

11. right-Richards has been barely hanging onto his bones for ages

[peacebird]

5. just last month he was pissed to no longer be on celebrity death watch

he said he guessed he wasn't "rock-n-roll" enough anymore... He's been a regular since its inception I think.

[Gman]

31. This ought to get him back on it real quick

[Blackthorn]

6. Well he's virtually "pickled" so he'll be fine.

[Demobrat]

7. A few weeks to recover from

having a hole drilled in your skull? At his age? Man I want some of whatever those publicists are smoking.

[brentspeak]

8. The story about what's happening to Keith Richards keeps changing

First, it was reported that Richards fell out of a tree. Then, that he smacked his head jet-skiing. Then, that he had head surgery to relieve pressure on his brain to prevent any possible problems, and that it was a success. Now, it turns out he's had two head surgeries, and that rather than being a "success", he might be getting worse (or possibly that the surgeries themselves made his situation worse.)

[Skittles]

14. he fell out of a tree, then went jet-skiing, not knowing he was so injured

so when he became ill while jet-skiing there was the misconception it was a jet-skiing accident; this is what I heard

[MrSlayer]

9. I hope he's okay.

Keith is a living legend and one of the greatest song writers in history.

[Deja Q]

12. Is that picture of Lynn Goldsmith recent?!

Okay, we all know it's Keith... but for a 60-something he's not bad at all.

[brentspeak]

25. That's an old photograph

From the late 70's or early 80's, it look like.

[mikita]

13. I second that...

the rest of this thread is rather cynical, IMHO.

[tabasco]

20. I'll third that.

He's a cool guy and I hope he gets better.

[cyberpj]

10. And how would we know? nt

[Bigmack]

15. I always felt Keith must be some....

kind of Superman. All those drugs... smoking... burning the candle at both ends.

Hell, he doesn't look bad for a guy who should have been dead years ago.

The guy must have damn good genes.

Get well, and soon, Keith.

[calimary]

18. Walter Yetnikoff's book quoted Mick Jagger (who was trying to

help the author climb out of the bottle and pills and shit) as saying he had doctors in Switzerland who brought Keith back from the dead. I believe it.

[tenshi816]

30. You think this looks good?

I love the guy, always have, but he looks bloody awful.

[Bridget Burke]

33. He's smiling & there's a light in his eyes.

Yup, there's a roadmap of his past all over his face. Bloating would fill out the wrinkles--but not improve the general effect. What I can see of the rest of him doesn't look too bad...

For comparison--Jimmie Page. Who was a total fox in his youth:

[tenshi816]

35. I always preferred Robert Plant

to Jimmie Page (looks-wise) but now to me they both just look like old guys (yep, I'm being completely shallow here!).

I agree about the light in Keith's eyes and hope he's around for a long, long time, however bad he looks. I know that for me, personally, I'd much rather hang out with Keith than Mick Jagger (whose ego sucks up all the air around him) or even Eric Clapton (who does fantastic work with his rehab center, but who - from what I've seen of him in interviews in the UK - comes across as priggish and sanctimonious now). I've always loved the fact that Keith Richards is completely unrepentant about the excesses of his life, and he doesn't blame anyone else for it either. He is who he is.

My husband would like to meet Roger Daltrey, not because he's a huge Who fan (although I am) but because Daltrey's a keen fisherman who owns a trout farm. That always makes me laugh.

I'll tell you who I met and admired a lot: George Harrison. We lived in a cottage across the road from his Friar Park estate in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire for nearly 8 years. We used to chat occasionally when George was out on his bike (he led a very low-key life), and he let us pick the blackberries that grew on his fence in the summer and take ivy cuttings from it in the winter for Christmas decorations. He was a thoroughly nice bloke and I was so sad when he died.

[Bridget Burke]

37. John was my Favorite Beatle.

But he definitely could be an asshole. George was always a gentleman.

After George died, I saw a tribute on a news show, presented by a gentlemen with obvious Indian roots & a fine British accent. He pointed out George's respect for Indian culture & his philanthropy. But he was also mourning A Beatle--a part of his youth, too.

[tenshi816]

41. John was my favourite Beatle too musically,

but as a person - not so much. It always bothered me the way he treated his first wife, and also that he used to make fun of disabled people (anecdotal stuff I've read over the years in the UK).

I came to appreciate George Harrison more over time and feel he's been much underrated musically. As a person, though, you're absolutely right, he was a real gentleman. His Mexican-American wife, Olivia, was a sweetheart too (and quietly beautiful - she didn't need to advertise it). Olivia Harrison wasn't a cliche "rock star's wife" with servants running around to cater to her every whim. She was a completely normal person, living her day-to-day life without the need to call attention to who she was married to. If you didn't know who she was, you wouldn't know who she was (if you see what I mean). She did a tremendous amount of charity work for Romanian orphans, and that's the only time I ever remember her being in the spotlight - but it was for a good cause and she raised a lot of money locally.

The local flamboyant rockstar wives were married to Deep Purple's Jon Lord and Ian Paice. They were twin sisters, both perma-tanned with long, highlighted blonde hair, and they never missed a chance to let anyone know who they were.

Such a difference.

[AlCzervik]

16. maybe he'll stop slurring now.

[uppityperson]

17. Oh dear, too easy. Being nice, that would be too bad.

[graywarrior]

19. He's certainly got a strong constitution.

Hope he bounces back again.

[Berry Cool]

21. I've got nothing against Keith as a musician or a person, I just think

it's quite miraculous that he's even alive today, given how much he's abused his old body.

That's the great irony of his life...there are any number of health fanatics who have lived and died during his lifetime, and yet Keith rolls on, despite all the damage he's done to himself. He's like the "Just Say No" poster child, but for all we know he could outlive us all!

[graywarrior]

22. Kinda like a cockroach.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

23. All joking aside...

This story made me sad. Can you imagine them starting to kick? Keith has to live forever. The Rolling Stones have to make music forever.
Duckie

[KT2000]

24. Agree with you on that

More to do for this fellow & the Stones - I wish him well.

[BensMom]

26. TV Clip

Auckland TV Clip.
Keith's beautiful family visiting - and carrying in guitars.

http://www.zippyvideos.com/8285824375089646/3news.stones/

[Gold Metal Flake]

28. What if he loses the ability to play?

This could seriously suck.

[Minstrel Boy]

29. Keith "Not in Peril"

10 May 2006
KEITH 'NOT IN PERIL'
By Allison Martin

THE Rolling Stones last night laughed off claims that Keith Richards was paralysed and could be left braindamaged after his fall from a tree.

A spokesman also rubbished reports that the 62-year-old rocker's family were holding a bedside vigil after a second operation in New Zealand to remove a blood clot from his brain.

He added: "There is no brain damage, there is no paralysis, there was no second operation and there is no bedside vigil.

"Keith has had one operation and has since been on the phone laughing and joking."

The Mirror

[bdamomma]

32. putting his looks aside

he is a great musician, hope he recovers.

[DesertRat]

34. There's no Rolling Stones without Keith.

I truly hope he recovers.

[Midlodemocrat]

36. He'll be fine. Alcohol is a great preservative.

:hide:

All Kidding Aside. I love the Stones and wish him well. They are my favorite band.

[eppur_se_muova]

38. (UPDATE) Stones star Richards 'improving' (BBC)

Rolling Stones star Keith Richards has not had a second brain operation and is improving "as expected" after suffering a head injury, his publicist has said.

Press reports said the hell-raising guitarist had surgery again following a first operation on Monday.

But an official statement said the first operation was "100% successful".

"There was no brain damage," it said. "He continues to improve as expected." Richards is thought to have fallen out of a tree while on holiday in Fiji.
***
His spokeswoman Fran Curtis also denied a Sun newspaper front page story that said Richards's family had mounted a bedside vigil.
***
more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4756955.stm

[underpants]

39. After all this time it was a freakin' coconut tree that did him in?

Come on!

:wow:

[shrike]

40. I always thought Keith Richards proved the existence of God

How else can you explain the fact he's still alive.

BTW, I'm KIDDING.

[SOS]

42. Hopefully he will be OK

People make fun, but how many 62 year olds go on two year, five continent tours, climb trees, ride jet skis and still do one armed push-ups?

See you at Madison Square Garden on the 2008 tour Keith!