Freddy Fender has liver problems

[Janice Brooks]

Singer Freddy Fender Needs New Liver, Kidney

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (Reuters) - Grammy Award winning country singer Freddy
Fender has hepatitis C and needs liver and kidney transplants, a spokesman said
on Monday.

Fender, whose hits include "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" and "Wasted Days
and Wasted Nights," was diagnosed with the disease and resulting kidney failure
on Wednesday, said publicist Kirt Webster.

"His liver is only working at 10 percent," Webster said. "His liver is so
damaged he has also experienced kidney problems."

Fender, 63, a native of San Benito, Texas, has begun dialysis treatments while
he begins what is, on average, a two-year wait for a new liver. For medical
reasons, he must have the liver transplant before getting another kidney,
Webster said.

"He says he's lived a great life and we're very hopeful they'll find a match,"
Webster said.

Hepatitis C, which kills about 10,000 people in the United States annually, can
be contracted through direct contact with the blood of infected persons like
sharing needles or transfusion with infected blood (before 1990). It is
transmitted sexually in rare instances.

Webster said Fender, whose real name is Baldemar Huerta, would continue
performing while awaiting the transplants.



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Janice "Busgal" Brooks
ICQ 44729047