More conflicting reports about Keith Richards

Conflicting reports are circulating as to how Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is doing following cranial surgery this week in Auckland, New Zealand. The Australian newspaper The Age says that Richards's daughters Theodora and Alexandra "rushed to his bedside... as concerns grow about potential brain damage following more surgery." This follows a story in the New Zealand Herald that Richards had a first operation on April 28th, shortly after he arrived in Auckland, and that "medical staff feared for his life at the time." The Herald story added that Richards was discharged after the first operation and was under private medical attention, but that he was readmitted to Mercy Ascot Hospital "after passing out and complaining of major headaches," at which time doctors decided to do a craniotomy, during which they drilled holes in Richards's skull to relieve pressure inside his head.

On the other hand, local TV news in Auckland reportedly shot footage of Richards's daughters and his wife Patti Hansen carrying some of his guitars into the hospital, possibly indicating that he really was "up and talking," as his publicists announced following Monday's (May 8th) surgery.

The guitarist reportedly fell out of a tree while vacationing in Fiji, though some stories claim he injured his head in a jet-ski accident.

Because he will be recuperating for a few weeks, the Stones have postponed the European leg of their A Bigger Bang world tour, which was due to begin May 27th in Barcelona. No new start date has been announced yet.
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