Kanada Kev Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 While Bobby's bitchin' about a few streaming shows on Wolfgang's Vault, Phil's doin' something productive ... Attaboy Phil!!!Grateful Dead's Phil Lesh gives money for bloodT he doctor back home in California thought the best thing to do with Phil Lesh's prostate issue was watch and wait.Lesh thought that was a fine idea, except for the part about it being slow, stupid and pointless. So the founding and only bass player for the Grateful Dead made haste for Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, where he had surgery last Tuesday at the increasingly legendary Vattikuti Urology Institute.More than 2,700 other men have had their cancerous prostates robotically removed at Vattikuti since 2001, and it's sort of like million-dollar lottery winners: After the first few, everyone stopped paying attention.What makes Lesh noteworthy, aside from his resume, is that he's celebrating the occasion by putting a bounty on blood donations. Give a pint by the end of the year, let him know about it, and his nonprofit will donate $10 to Vattikuti.Lesh, 66, has been a big booster for organ donation since he received an aftermarket liver in 1998. After racking up more Frequent Transfusion Points at Henry Ford, he has widened his scope."Holidays are the worst time of year for blood donations," he pointed out, but the need for blood doesn't go away just because everybody who's not on a gurney is at the mall.Leshes did their homeworkLesh has been micromanaging his health care since he ignored the early signs of hepatitis C and it wound up costing him a body part. He and his wife, Jill, did their homework on prostatectomy and decided that Detroit in December was the place to be.The robotic technique pioneered at Vattikuti is considerably less invasive than the old method, said Henry Ford spokeswoman Zoila Brown, with fewer and milder side effects. "We've actually had patients from every state," she said, and recently someone dropped by from Antarctica.Lesh's case was typically smooth. He checked out of the hospital after 36 hours, checked into a Dearborn hotel for a few days of recuperation, and was scheduled to fly home to Marin County this morning. He could have taken off Saturday, but waiting a few extra days allowed him to leave his catheter behind.In Dearborn, he said, he was out and about every day, "trying to balance rest and exercise so the rest will mean something, and my whole being won't atrophy." His destinations included The Henry Ford and Fairlane Mall -- entertaining enough, if not his most enjoyable visit to the area."I remember partying at the Pontchartrain with the (Jefferson) Airplane in 1970," Lesh said. "Quite an evening."Inform Lesh of blood donationWith the Grateful Dead largely expired, his focus this millennium has been on Phil Lesh and Friends, a revolving cast of musicians playing what he calls "Dixieland-style rock."His prostate's musical career is over, but the rest of him doesn't expect to miss any performances, and he is looking forward to writing as much as $50,000 worth of checks to Vattikuti through the Unbroken Chain Foundation.After you offload a pint, simply send an e-mail to donor@phillesh.net, put "I Gave Blood" in the subject line, and give your name, blood bank name, city and state.Compared to giving blood, it's easy, not that giving blood is all that difficult. And be you a rock star, rock fan or rock collector, don't forget the most important thing, other than the part about saving lives:Free cookies.Reach Neal Rubin at (313) 222-1874 or nrubin@detnews.com. Catch his blog at www.detnews.com/blogs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baj Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 Phil's the KING Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chameleon Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 Phil is going straight to Heaven..... In fact he already has a suit in storage from the 70s... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayr Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 Phil is going straight to Heaven.....In fact he already has a suit in storage from the 70s... Not anytime soon I hope!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timouse Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 phil = class actbob = cash hungry dumbass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hux Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 Bob = artistPhil = Ringo Starr and his all star band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanada Kev Posted December 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 Phil = Ringo Starr and his all star band Ouch! Do you really think that Phil is comparable to Ringo? Phil has more musical talent and heart in him than Ringo ever could dream of having. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonyak Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 haha, you make me laugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayr Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 Dont diss Ringo!!Its funny how the whole Bob/Phil thing seperates people. Personally I like them both, but Phil is the more righteous one in my opinion and seems to be carrying on the Dead philosophy more than anyone else. I prefer his Jams better too, but thats just me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hux Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 By any measure of success Octopus's Garden alone trumps anything Lesh has sole creative credit for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booche Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 Pathetic attempts Geoff but enjoyable to watch the fool you make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hux Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 I'm actually tutouring Bob's kids, so I'm gettin' a cut $. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcO Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 I'm actually tutouring Bob's kids, so I'm gettin' a cut $.oh man, those kids are doomed.a "tutour"!:: shakes fist at computer :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayRay Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 I think that it's great that Phil is bringing awareness to so many issues that are close to my heart. This time of year in particular it is so important to get out and donate blood, with just one donation you can help up to three patients in need. And the free cookies are really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.G.C. Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 Go To Heavan is the only album of theirs i don't have on vinyl... damn...OH YAH,,,GOD BLESS PHIL!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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