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Arts & Entertainment

Lou Reed Recovering After Liver Transplant: "I Am A Triumph Of Modern Medicine"


By

Ben Yakas

Published Jun 1, 2013

Modified Jun 1, 2013


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By

Ben Yakas

Published Jun 1, 2013

Modified Jun 1, 2013


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Well this is disconcerting: during an interview with The London Times, Laurie Anderson revealed that husband Lou Reed has recently undergone a life-saving liver transplant. “It’s as serious as it gets,” she told them. “He was dying. You don’t get it for fun.” Reed, 71, put a statement on Facebook proving he's still got his wits about him: "I am a triumph of modern medicine, physics and chemistry. I am bigger and stronger than stronger than ever."

"My Chen Taiji and health regimen has served me well all of these years, thanks to Master Ren Guang-yi," he added. "I look forward to being on stage performing, and writing more songs to connect with your hearts and spirits and the universe well into the future." Anderson gave more details about why Reed decided to have the surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio instead of in New York: it was “because the hospitals here are completely dysfunctional.”

Reed is recovering now, "already working and doing t'ai chi," but Anderson was realistic about how such a major surgery will affect him: “I don’t think he’ll ever totally recover from this, but he’ll certainly be back to doing [things] in a few months,” she told The Times. Here's hoping that Reed gets back to being the intimidatingly cranky rock god we all know and love, able to terrify journalists with every utterance, as soon as possible!

Tagged

liver

liver transplant

lou reed

modern medicine


Ben Yakas

Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.

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