Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley very publicly hit rock bottom a few years ago but has since channelled his struggle to get sober into the band's latest record, 13 Voices. Now, just ahead of Mother's Day, the singer's mom has opened up about her son's battle with alcoholism and being his No. 1 fan.
Speaking to the Canadian Press, Michelle Gordon recounted the frightening experience of visiting her son is hospital when his liver and kidneys failed — leaving him on the verge of death.
"It's a mother's worst nightmare when you get a call at 4 a.m. saying your child is in the ICU," she said. "I didn't fully grasp the severity of it until we got there. They had him in a drug-induced coma. And that's when they told me they didn't expect him to survive."
Gordon has always been her son's band's biggest fan, and she remembers bringing her friends to mostly empty gigs at the start of their career, "grinning ear to ear" in a "proud mama moment." Hell, she still drives around with a licence plate that reads: "SUM41ROX."
She even partied with the group back in their wilder days, travelling to Japan with them once, where she recalls that they took over the flight — drinking the plane dry and getting kicked out of first class.
In a total reversal of events, that same support she gave the group's penchant for hard partying now carries over into Whibley's sobriety. While in hospital, doctors warned Whibley that even a single drink could kill him — so when he swore off alcohol, to avoid being a hypocrite, Gordon gave up drinking too.
With Whibley's recovery underway and his band's new album out, she's returned to being a Sum 41 stan.
"It was another proud-parent moment to see him go from rock bottom to top of the world again in such a short period of time," she told CP. "He's a fighter."
For additional insight into Whibley's recovery and return to music, check out Exclaim!'s recent interview with Whibley for our No Future YouTube channel below.
Speaking to the Canadian Press, Michelle Gordon recounted the frightening experience of visiting her son is hospital when his liver and kidneys failed — leaving him on the verge of death.
"It's a mother's worst nightmare when you get a call at 4 a.m. saying your child is in the ICU," she said. "I didn't fully grasp the severity of it until we got there. They had him in a drug-induced coma. And that's when they told me they didn't expect him to survive."
Gordon has always been her son's band's biggest fan, and she remembers bringing her friends to mostly empty gigs at the start of their career, "grinning ear to ear" in a "proud mama moment." Hell, she still drives around with a licence plate that reads: "SUM41ROX."
She even partied with the group back in their wilder days, travelling to Japan with them once, where she recalls that they took over the flight — drinking the plane dry and getting kicked out of first class.
In a total reversal of events, that same support she gave the group's penchant for hard partying now carries over into Whibley's sobriety. While in hospital, doctors warned Whibley that even a single drink could kill him — so when he swore off alcohol, to avoid being a hypocrite, Gordon gave up drinking too.
With Whibley's recovery underway and his band's new album out, she's returned to being a Sum 41 stan.
"It was another proud-parent moment to see him go from rock bottom to top of the world again in such a short period of time," she told CP. "He's a fighter."
For additional insight into Whibley's recovery and return to music, check out Exclaim!'s recent interview with Whibley for our No Future YouTube channel below.
