Iron Maiden have spent yet another summer on the road playing shows. For Nicko McBrain, however, this tour has been unprecedented: the drummer has now revealed that he's in recovery from a stroke.
The musician shared the news on Twitter today, explaining that, in January, he suffered a transient ischemic attack (TIA) — a minor stroke — that left him paralyzed from his shoulder down on his right side.
"Of course I was very worried that my career was over," McBrain wrote. "But with the love and support from my wife, Rebecca, and family, my doctors, especially Julie, my OT (Occupational Therapist), and my Maiden family, I was able to bounce back to somewhere near 70 percent recovered."
The drummer went on to say that, after ten weeks of intensive therapy, he began tour rehearsals with the band in May. "I feel it's important to let you know about this now instead of earlier as I was mainly concerned with doing my job and concentrating on getting back to 100 percent fitness," McBrain explained. "I'm not there yet but by the grace of God I'm getting better and stronger as the weeks go by. Thank you all for a most wonderful and magical tour so far, you have all been so amazing."
Iron Maiden's manager, Rod Smallwood, added, "The rest of the band and l think that what Nicko has been able to achieve since his stroke shows incredible belief and willpower and we are all very proud of him."
The metal lifers recently added some Western Canadian dates to their itinerary, which are on deck for this fall.
See the message from McBrain below.
The musician shared the news on Twitter today, explaining that, in January, he suffered a transient ischemic attack (TIA) — a minor stroke — that left him paralyzed from his shoulder down on his right side.
"Of course I was very worried that my career was over," McBrain wrote. "But with the love and support from my wife, Rebecca, and family, my doctors, especially Julie, my OT (Occupational Therapist), and my Maiden family, I was able to bounce back to somewhere near 70 percent recovered."
The drummer went on to say that, after ten weeks of intensive therapy, he began tour rehearsals with the band in May. "I feel it's important to let you know about this now instead of earlier as I was mainly concerned with doing my job and concentrating on getting back to 100 percent fitness," McBrain explained. "I'm not there yet but by the grace of God I'm getting better and stronger as the weeks go by. Thank you all for a most wonderful and magical tour so far, you have all been so amazing."
Iron Maiden's manager, Rod Smallwood, added, "The rest of the band and l think that what Nicko has been able to achieve since his stroke shows incredible belief and willpower and we are all very proud of him."
The metal lifers recently added some Western Canadian dates to their itinerary, which are on deck for this fall.
See the message from McBrain below.
