Archive for June, 2007

Here is an email sent by Michael Rodgers, Jimmie Rodgers son regarding the surgery Jimmie went through on Thursday, June 28th to remove the steel plate that was put in his head 40 years ago.

The surgery began that morning with a group prayer with the Dr’s and family.Dad was in great spirits talking with the nurses and the admitting staff and even signed a few autographs for them. He didn’t seem to have a worry in the world but deep down I know he was nervous.When they wheeled him into the operating room the surgeons had “Jimmie Rodgers Greatest Hits” on the CD player.Dad suggested that they turn that guy off as he didn’y really like that guy to much (Ha). They all laughed and asked what he wanted to hear. Dad said how about a little Johnny Cash. And so Johnny sang dad to sleep.Once he was out cold they put JR back on the music system and left it on the rest of the surgery.

About four minutes after beginning, the Doctors pulled back the scalp to reveal the plate. When they did that the plate literally lifted up and jumped up away from his head. The Doctors, five in all a Neuro Surgeon, Two Plastic Surgeons,Two Stem Cell Specialists and the rest of the team began to clean the plate and lift it away from the head. It released itself and came away clean. On the video tape of the surgery we could hear the Neuro Surgeon say Oh my God look at that. How did that get there? Under the plate was revealed a complete and intact skull bone where three months ago there was none.The entire hole in the bone which was an eight inch by six inch oval had grown completely closed with a new skull bone which was smooth and shaped to match the existing skull. It was perfect in every way and was the same thickness as the other bone.The Droctors said that in 35 years of surgery they had never seen anything like it.

They did not need to recreate a new skull bone at all. Dad was completely healed and made whole again after 40 years.The stem cell Doctors sprayed a stem paste made from dads blood over the skull bone and onto the skin flap and the Plastic Surgeons closed him up. The stem paste will keep him from swelling and will encourage skin growth onto the bone.The entire procedure took about 28 minutes and after one hour in recovery Dad walked out of the room on his own much to the anger and dismay of the nursing staff. He spent one night in the hospital and was released yesterday.

When we left the hospital yesterday he was hungry so we went to a nearby Olive Garden restaurant for lunch. You should have see everyone’s face when dad walked in with this turban bandage on his head. It was very funny.As of this morning June 30, 2007 he went bass fishing and when I spoke to him about an hour ago he had landed two.My father and our family want to personally thank everyone who has sent emails and well wishes from around the world. Your prayers and positive thoughts were heard and all of our lives have been changed in such an amazing way.

We cannot thank you enough. So if anyone asks you how Jimmie Rodgers is doing please tell them that he is completely healed and is in perfect health.

Congratulations to Jimmie Rodgers and I look forward to having him on The Night Prwol Show again soon.

-MTC

Johnny “Guitar” Watson is one of the most underrated R&B; guitar players of the 1950s. He began his career as a piano player for Chuck Higgins’ band before jumping ship as a solo performer for Federal Records in 1953. He scored his biggest hit of the ’50s with the Bihari Brothers RPM Label in 1955 with his cover of Earl King’s “Those Lonely Lonely Nights”. This week, you’ll hear the best of Watson’s 1950s recordings, including a demo version of the infamous “Gangster Of Love”, which at that time was called “Bandit Of Love”. Don’t miss it as Matt The Cat reveals the story behind the story on one of the original bad boys of R&B.;

Harlem Airs On XM 5:
Monday 7/2 @ 1pm EST
Tuesday 7/3 @ 9pm over LA and Midnight over NYC
Friday 7/6 @ 6pm EST
Sunday 7/8 @ 11am EST