Former Grateful Dead bass player Phil Lesh got a new liver Thursday afternoon at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Lesh, who had been suffering from internal bleeding caused by a hepatitis C infection diagnosed in 1992, is out of intensive care and is on the mend.
Following a marked worsening of Lesh's condition in September, Lesh and band publicist Dennis McNally managed to keep the bassist's condition and his impending operation secret from the media, amid widespread speculation. Lesh and friends did, however, communicate with Dead fans directly, using the discussion forums at the Dead's official Web site.
Deadheads were asked specifically not to forward information to the media or post to newsgroups -- and in this case, the effort to contain information to specific online channels seems to have worked.
When the 58-year-old bassist entered the operating room at 3:30 p.m. PST Thursday, an email request for prayers and "healing vibes" was sent out.
"Cyberspace offered Lesh a more direct and more personal way to communicate with his audience -- his family, as it were -- than through the media," McNally said Friday morning.
