Judas Priest’s Richie Faulkner works “three times a day” with a physio on the road to manage the damage caused by an aortic aneurysm and stroke in 2021
Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner has issued an update regarding his health and how he deals with it on the road, after suffering both an aortic aneurysm and a stroke in recent years.
In an interview with Albany, New York radio station Q105.7, Faulkner is asked about his routine to prepare for Priest shows these days, in the wake of his recent serious health issues.
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“Fortunately, I don’t have to do anything too heavy,” he says [via Blabbermouth]. Luckily, I just have to remember to take my meds, which I’ve forgotten this morning. Thanks for reminding me! That’s sometimes the hardest thing.”
He goes on: “I’ve had a bit of collateral damage on my right side with stuff connected to what happened. So I have to work at that.
“We have a physio on the road, and I work with him three times a day: once in the morning – after these interviews, I’m gonna work with him on coordination – before the show and then after the show as well. We do that three times a day. So that sort of stuff I have to work on.
“But as far as the heart and everything’s concerned, it’s meds. I can’t eat too many leafy greens, which I’m not too bothered about. I got lucky, really. There’s a lot of people around the world with a lot more serious conditions than I have. So I consider myself lucky to be here talking to you.”
Richie Faulkner suffered an aortic aneurysm while performing onstage with Judas Priest at Louder Than Life festival in 2021. He was subsequently rushed to hospital and underwent a 10-hour heart surgery.
“My aorta ruptured and started to spill blood into my chest cavity,” he said at the time. “From what I’ve been told by my surgeon, people with this don’t usually make it to the hospital alive.”
Earlier this year, he revealed how he had also suffered a stroke shortly after the incident. “They found some damage on the left side of the brain, which affects the right side,” he explained. “Now, fortunately I don’t play guitar with my foot, so that’s fine, I can get away with that. But my hand, obviously, that’s our engine room. Everything started clicking into place in regards to what I was feeling on stage. There was something that was wrong.”
For the time being, though, Faulkner is determined not to step back from his duties in Judas Priest.
“I still play, we’re still writing records, we’re still playing as hard as we can – it doesn’t affect that – but there’s just little things I have to do,” he said. “But I go out every night thinking… Sometimes I come off stage and I call home and I say, ‘I can’t fucking do it. I can’t do it. I can’t do it.’”
View a list of Judas Priest’s upcoming tour dates via their official website.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
