celebrity encounters -- Richard Simmons part 2

[jawjahboy]

1987 Pittsburg, PA

After Richard's sharing with the entire patients' group he visited with the "toddlers to teens" activity session. He interacted well with the youngsters and the parents. He seemed to enjoy helping the younger kids with finger painting their t-shirts and making posters about transplant experiences from the kids' points of view. While he was busy with the younger kids, my daughter and the other teen (also a girl from GA who we knew well) were busy writing a make believe commercial about their antirejection medication, Cyclosporin A. Richard then teamed up with a camera crew and local TV personality to shoot the commercial. Richard played director as the teens were interviewed about life with a transplanted liver. The final line was, "Don't forget to take your Cyclosporin. It's such a deal at only $14,000 a gallon."

Richard was shocked when he heard that price. I showed him on a calculator that the then current price was actually a little over $15,000 per gallon ($200 for 50 ml)

During the session, I was close enough to Richard to observe his hair plugs and the scarring from surgery and the injury to his shoulder. He talked to the parents and seemed interested in our personal experiences concerning our children's health issues.

While we were waiting on a shuttle to take us to our hotel, Richard's limo pulled up near us. He emerged from the building and was hustled into the car. It was obvious he was done with his gig for the day and ready for privacy. He did not acknowledge the crowd that was waving and yelling for his attention.

[tonebytone]

Amazing. Thanks so much for sharing this part of your life and experiences.

[Linda]

Very interesting stories.