Whedonesque : Comments on 18644 : Sonny Rhodes in bad health, needs a hand up.

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January 12 2009

Sonny Rhodes in bad health, needs a hand up. Sonny Rhodes, our favorite Firefly theme song blues musician, is in need of a hand up. He is a very proud man, but circumstances related to medical conditions are preventing him from working, and he's trying to keep a roof over his head.

Sonny's wife Ann called me with these details and hoped the Browncoats could help. Sonny hasn't performed since October 2008, except for once or twice against his doctor's wishes when he had to keep the power from being shut off and pay rent, and doing that made his condition worse. He just had an emergency hernia operation and needs to have two hip operations as soon as possible. Ann said he'll likely be out of work for a few more months and, besides being in a lot of pain, is naturally quite worried about paying medical and rent bills. Sonny has vowed to be there for the Browncoats in the future and would appreciate any financial assistance that may be possible via the PayPal Donate link on his MySpace page

Brian DTI | Cast&Crew | 22:15 CET | 44 comments total | tags: sonny rhodes, firefly

The man has a quality.

Pointy | January 12, 22:30 CET

That's awful news. Thank you for bringing to our attention.

Simon | January 12, 22:34 CET

That's horrible. I hate to put it off, but I can't send anything until my next paycheck. I hope he gets better, whatever is ailment.

NYPinTA | January 12, 22:45 CET

Donation made and I'll pass the link around to others who may be interested. Thanks for letting us know.

library hooligan | January 12, 22:47 CET

I had the pleasure of having dinner with him on the Browncoat Cruise. He is such a genuine and nice man. Thank you to anyone who can help him in his time of need.

danregal | January 12, 22:56 CET

I can't send much, but send I will. He kindly answered some artistic questions for me after one of his performances during the cruise.

Tonya J | January 12, 23:02 CET

Reposted at SerenityStuff.com.

C. A. Bridges | January 12, 23:07 CET

Thanks everyone for your any support you can give! Sonny truly does love the Browncoats. He is one of the most humble, talented and generous people I've met. And I assured Sonny and Ann that we would help. Quite honestly, it's made me cry hearing the panic and worry that Ann and Sonny have expressed to me. The world needs more people like Sonny to brighten it up.

Brian DTI | January 12, 23:11 CET

Also posted on Serenitymovie.org.

NYPinTA | January 12, 23:14 CET

That's so sad. I hope Browncoats who can help, will.

phlebotinin | January 12, 23:15 CET

I just made a small donation and will pass the info around wherever I can think of.

I wish I was in a position of being able to organise some kind of fundraising event - is that something someone in a more appropriate location (ie the US) can think about?

Beth | January 12, 23:16 CET

Twittered. Posting it on our various podcast sites. Poor Sonny. :(

BrownCoat_Tabz | January 12, 23:45 CET

On the Browncoat Cruise there were a bunch of us on the elevator (all women) when the door opened and he stepped in. He surveyed us all as the door closed behind him and he smiled and said "I am the luckiest man alive." Such a flirt!
I'll spread the word.

Lioness | January 12, 23:56 CET

Buffy Between the Lines will be giving away a special episode to anyone who donates (and only to those who donate). We hope this encourages people to give - it's a rough economic time :(

Here's all the details BBtL Episode for Sonny

BrownCoat_Tabz | January 13, 00:02 CET

I'm sorry to hear he's not well. I'll gladly donate but I don't have a Paypal account. Is there another way or can a mod here help
me out with this? I can send a money order and perhaps it can be forwarded to him? I'm new here so I don't know the protocols for an issue like this and could use a bit of guidance.

Just received the blu-ray discs of Firefly and Sonny's song was beautiful music to my ears and I was able to enjoy it many times over.

mirrorshades | January 13, 00:07 CET

You don't need a Paypal account, Paypal allows you to use credit card without having to sign up for an account, just look for the "Don't have a PayPal account?" option above the little credit card symbols.

[ edited by Beth on 2009-01-13 00:17 ]

Beth | January 13, 00:16 CET

I echo thanks to the poster for bringing this to our attention. Will definitely be donating.

Universal free healthcare for all! <3

fangless | January 13, 00:28 CET

I really can't donate right now... but I posted on twitter and FriendFeed... =/

maxsummers | January 13, 00:30 CET

I've posted this to every group/social network I'm on. I can't donate yet, but hopefully that will send over some folks who can!

BrowncoatG | January 13, 00:32 CET

That's so tragic. I literally only have a couple of dollars to give but I figure anything is better than nothing. I hope he gets betters

okelay | January 13, 00:37 CET

Thank you for telling us about this...contribution made.

Chris inVirginia | January 13, 00:56 CET

It's not much, but I'm hoping my small contribution helps.

Thanks for the information - I'll be passing it along, as well.

cheshire_monkey | January 13, 01:03 CET

Contribution forthcoming, and a post made on The Southern Indiana Browncoats Yahoo group.
Thank you to all who assist this wonderful gentleman.

TDBrown | January 13, 01:06 CET

Austin Browncoats will support Sonny in anyway we can. We're hosting our next raffle with all proceeds going to Sonny.

[ edited by haldira on 2009-01-13 01:34 ]

haldira | January 13, 01:33 CET

I too was lucky enough to have dinner with Sonny, he's such a sweetheart. Off to contribute and pass the message along. Best wishes for a speedy recovery to a true gentleman!

deadbessie | January 13, 01:38 CET

Donation sent! Browncoats take care of our own.

RobinInSeoul | January 13, 02:21 CET

There's a great Thank You update on Sonny's Myspace now. :)

BrownCoat_Tabz | January 13, 02:22 CET

MySpace is blocked at work, but I'll most certainly be making a donation when I get home.

Sonny & I had breakfast early one morning on the Browncoat Cruise, and talked of Texas, tractors, and the proper way to prepare and eat grits.

God speed and good health to you, Mr. Rhodes! I'll be praying for you and Ann.

[ edited by MikeTMC on 2009-01-13 03:52 ]

MikeTMC | January 13, 02:49 CET

Sad news, I donated.

Succatash | January 13, 02:52 CET

Posted to the 769 members of the Canadian Browncoats..

Lioness | January 13, 03:16 CET

I wish I could have sent more, but I made my small donation. I also tweeted and posted a bulletin on MSP. I'm sure that the Browncoats will rise to the occasion - as they always do. ;)

MizBehavin1 | January 13, 03:20 CET

What a nice message at his My Space. I never knew he was there til now. I have passed on the link to my friends who went on the cruise with me and they will be donating. Brian, I don't blame you for crying. After I read the topic information, I was sitting there at work fighting back the waterworks. Elderly people should not have to go through this. It's unnecessary and unfair.

Tonya J | January 13, 03:30 CET

I'm always proud to be part of such a community – but moments like these which make me most proud when we rise up for a good cause.

Mirage | January 13, 08:13 CET

So sorry to hear this - will donate later today when I can access MySpace.

sorchasilver | January 13, 14:22 CET

Thanks for the info Beth. Will go over and take care of this now.

mirrorshades | January 13, 15:27 CET

Charlotte Browncoats were excited to donate what we could and are proud to be part of a community that is eager to help their own. We wish Sonny the best.

lurch | January 13, 15:35 CET

I've linked to this on the sidebar so people will still be able to see the appeal once this entry disappears off the front page.

Simon | January 13, 15:53 CET

Thanks, Simon. Much appreciated.

Tonya J | January 13, 18:32 CET

Thank you Simon. I was concerned about this news dropping off and you've solved it!

Brian DTI | January 13, 20:09 CET

Hi, if you haven't heard, Sonny's and Ann's spirits are way up with the touching emails and donations that have come in. They are so grateful to everyone and so touched to know there is good in the world. Unfortunately, they aren't out of the woods yet, so please donate if you haven't done so.

Due to popular request, I encouraged Sonny to get a PO Box for those who don't have credit cards or don't like PayPal. Sonny's MySpace page will be updated shortly with that address. Thank you!

Brian DTI | January 16, 22:56 CET

New address for mail, checks, and money orders:

SONNY RHODES
2974 Delta Fair Blvd
324
Antioch, CA 94509

C. A. Bridges | January 18, 17:28 CET

Sonny will be at Wondercon in San Francisco on Sunday March 1 at the California Browncoats table F6-F7. I'm not sure when he'll arrive, as he is coming right from the airport, but he is looking forward to seeing everyone. Please come and show your support!

Brian DTI | February 24, 19:51 CET

Done. Hope this can one of the issues that Health System Reform prevent to ever happen again :(

Small Blue Thing | February 25, 16:44 CET

The donations and supportive emails did make a big difference in a variety of ways and Sonny continues to be very grateful. He's still not in good shape with health or finances, and continues to perform as much as he can to raise money.

Some of the donated money has been used for medical tests. From what I was told, most of the needed surgeries have not yet happened. When I saw him a few weeks ago on the set of Browncoats Redemption, he looked a little weak and naturally wasn't moving around too well, but made a beautiful performance for the film and realized a dream of his to be in a movie. This experience made him quite happy :-)

Because donations have slowed a lot, they have disabled PayPal donations to save on fees, and the physical address for donations will remain. Sonny's MySpace page receives periodic updates.

[ edited by Brian DTI on 2009-04-27 02:47 ]

Brian DTI | April 26, 22:51 CET

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