Richie Faulkner ‘Feeling Very Strong’ Weeks After Heart Surgery
Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner is “feeling very strong and positive” as he recovers from a ruptured aorta suffered during a concert in late September.
“I was able to return home from hospital 10 days after my surgery to continue recovery at home,” the rocker explained in a message posted to the band's Instagram. “It has now been 7 weeks since the night it all happened and I’m feeling very strong and positive. My incisions have healed very well and I can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Judas Priest were playing “Painkiller” during their Sept. 26 set at the Louder Than Life Festival when Faulkner’s “aorta ruptured and started to spill blood into my chest cavity.” The guitarist was immediately rushed to the hospital after the show, where doctors performed more than ten hours of surgery to repair damage.
Faulkner, who said he has been “playing guitar everyday” during his recovery, admitted he’s lucky to have survived the ordeal. “It’s Thanksgiving this month, and whether you celebrate it or not, I have a lot to give thanks for this year.”
Read Faulkner’s complete health update below.
Judas Priest launched their 50 Heavy Metal Years tour on Aug. 15 with a show at the Bloodstock Open Air festival in England, and played 13 shows in the U.S. before announcing that the remainder of the tour would be postponed due to Faulkner's "major medical heart condition."
Faulkner said previously that he's grateful that the Louder Than Life set was only an hour long and that the Heart and Lung Center was only four miles away from the gig. The guitarist, who is 41, had "no history of a bad heart, no clogged arteries, etc." prior to his scary on-stage incident.
There is no timetable for Judas Priest to resume their U.S. tour, although the band has said that "tickets will be valid" for the make-up dates.
Watch Richie Faulkner Power Through Concert With a Ruptured Aorta