VIC:Meldrum's condition no longer critical

AAP General News (Australia)
12-21-2011
VIC:Meldrum's condition no longer critical

MELBOURNE, Dec 21 AAP - Music guru Molly Meldrum is off the critical list.

Meldrum had been in an induced coma after suffering major injuries in a fall at his
Melbourne home on Thursday.

His manager on Wednesday said doctors had reclassified Meldrum from critical but stable
to serious and stable.

"He still is serious and in intensive care and it will be a really long road," Mark
Klemens told AAP. "But there are baby steps and good news."

Mr Klemens said Meldrum would undergo surgery over the next few days for his injured
shoulder and ribs.

And his sedation had been reduced, allowing him to briefly open his eyes on several
occasions, he said.

Meldrum, 65, fractured his skull when he fell three metres in the backyard of his Richmond
home on Thursday night while putting Christmas decorations up on the roof of his elevated
spa.

Fans have rallied with messages of support for the music icon, who hosted one of Australia's
pioneering pop music shows, Countdown, in the 1970s and 80s and appeared regularly as
a music reviewer and interviewer of rock stars on Hey Hey It's Saturday through the 80s
and 90s.

On Wednesday at 11am (AEDT), Melbourne's Federation Square will show SMS messages of
support for Meldrum on its big screen and send the messages to The Alfred hospital.

AAP gfr/afr

KEYWORD: MELDRUM

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