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featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com]
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Originally posted: May 3, 2006
Falling Stone
Apparently we should disregard reports - such as this one posted Wednesday on the MTV UK site - that Keith Richards has suffered a hemorrhage and must return to the hospital to have blood drained from his brain.
I called Rolling Stones spokeswoman Fran Curtis about the reports Wednesday morning, and she told me the Stones guitarist is in fine shape.
"He’s out of the hospital," she said. "His manager spoke to him last night. He’s doing well."
Richards was flown to a New Zealand hospital last week after reportedly falling from a palm tree in Fiji while vacationing. Fellow Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood also was said to be up the tree; Australian and New Zealand newspapers reported the pair was reaching for coconuts.
One paper also reported that, improbably enough, after the fall Richards had gotten aboard a Jet Ski and had another accident.
The band’s representatives have declined to provide any details about the injury. But Curtis said Richards is in good enough shape that the Stones still plan to kick off a world tour in Barcelona on May 27.
"Everything’s on schedule," she said.