Queen Guitarist Brian May Reveals He Suffered a Minor Stroke, Temporarily Lost Mobility in Left Arm
Queen guitarist Brian May is on the road to recovery after suffering a minor stroke, which temporarily left him unable to move his left arm.
The musician took to Instagram and YouTube to share the update, detailing his breakthrough following his health struggles. “I’m here to bring you—first of all—some good news, I think,” he announced in a video. “The good news is that I can play guitar after the events of the last few days. And I say this because it was in some doubt, because that little health hiccup that I mentioned.”
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May said that he suffered from the stroke about a week ago. “All of a sudden, out of the blue, I didn’t have control over this arm—so it’s a little scary, I have to say,” he shared, referring to his left arm. The Queen member also mentioned that he received “the most fantastic care and attention” at Frimley Hospital in Surrey. May explained that while he recovers, he is “not allowed to drive, not allowed to get on a plane” and “not allowed to raise the heart rate too high.”
As for why he didn’t share what he was going through at the time of being hospitalized, May noted that he doesn’t “want sympathy.” He pleaded to fans, “Please don’t do that because it’ll clutter up my inbox and I hate that.”
The news of May’s recent health struggle comes four years after the guitarist shared on social media that he suffered a heart attack after he tore his gluteus maximus muscles while gardening. In the caption for the video explaining the situation, he joked, “Sheer Heart Attack eh? Well, I think I always worried a little bit about that album title. I wondered if it might upset some people who had actually had heart attacks. I’m actually quite relieved now that I’m in that club — and I don’t find it upsetting at all!”
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