Here's what's going to be happening. Richie is checking in today, and will be "primed" with a saline IV. Tomorrow and the next day he gets high-dose Melphalan which will basically kill the bone marrow. Then on Monday he starts getting his stem cells back. No radiation needed for him, apparently.
Dr. Forman said he could bring his guitar and anything else he wanted, so he has his purple Strat, with no amp, and a practice pad and sticks. It would be a good thing if we could find a headphone amp for him...it doesn't have to be a Scholtz Rockman which is apparently made of unobtainium and very expensive. It can be something cheesy and Chinese. It's just so he can hear himself when he plays.
I think he would also like a keyboard. Probably something that can be battery powered would be best because IT is very picky about what it allows to be plugged in in Helford Clinical Research hospital. It's understandable...shorts and stuff. However, Richie is very picky on his end. So a bitty Casiotone wouldn't get it. Something that's got full-size keys and a few octaves is what would be best. The Casio he passed on to Jim Smith is battery powered and has full-size keys...61 of them. He'd prefer 88, but people in Hell want ice water.
Of course, if he's feeling like crud from the Melphalan (very likely, it's old-school chemo that is very harsh) he'll probably want to just crash for a while.
Oh yeah, funny movies on DVD would probably be helpful.
I will be giving out his direct number on a need-to-know basis. Anyone else can call the landline or my mobile and I will pass messages to him.
Will update tomorrow if not later today.
