Legendary drummer Carmine Appice recently shared a harrowing account of a life-threatening medical emergency that occurred during a 2018 European tour. He described how the experience brought him closer to his faith. The detailed story was shared in an interview with Pastor Caspar McCloud.
Appice recounted the terrifying series of events that began with severe nosebleeds during a performance. The situation escalated into a near-death experience across multiple countries.
‘What brought me closer to Jesus, for me, was I have these hemorrhaging nosebleeds, and when I was in Europe with my brother [Vinny] in 2018 — we were doing a tour to support our record — and we were in the Canary Islands, and when I went on stage and hit the drums, I was bleeding like crazy,’ Appice said.
The situation quickly became critical. It forced an emergency response during the performance.
‘So I went backstage. Vinny took over with the band, and when he came backstage, it looked like a murder scene; there was blood everywhere,’ he continued. ‘And I’ve had these before, and I know the only way that takes care of it is the surgery. So I went to the hospital and they didn’t have a clue what was going on.’
The medical emergency then took a dramatic turn during their flight home. It required an unprecedented emergency landing.
‘So my wife redid our flights. We were in Canary Islands, and then we had a flight to Lisbon, Portugal, and Portugal back to New York. And luckily she did that on our American Express, because on the plane right in the middle of the ocean, I had a major nosebleed,’ Appice explained. ‘There was a doctor in front of us. I had IVs hanging from the rafters. They couldn’t stop me from bleeding.’
The flight crew was forced to make a life-saving decision when medical personnel on board intervened.
‘And they told the captain the third time, If you don’t land this plane somewhere, this guy is a famous drummer, he’s gonna bleed out on your plane and you are gonna be responsible, and it’s gonna be all over the news that you are responsible,’ he said. ‘So they veered the plane off a little bit and they landed at the Azores… It’s in the middle of the ocean… It’s a little island… They had to land this giant plane at an Air Force base over there.’
Appice described a particularly frightening moment during his treatment that led to what he believed was a spiritual encounter.
‘And then I got out with my brother, and I was stuck in a hospital there. And I was still bleeding, and they had stuff, trying to take care of it,’ he recalled. ‘And what really got me is they were inserting gauze in my nose to stop the bleeding. I didn’t know that they were gonna knock me out to do that, but they did. And when I woke up, I was in a room that was black. Right in the corner was a light. I thought I died. I thought that light was the light of Jesus or God.’
The ordeal continued with multiple medical airlifts and hospital transfers across several countries. This included a challenging experience in Paris.
‘So I got back to Paris in a little jet, in a medical airlift jet. When I got to Paris, they put me in this hospital. They wanted, like, $25,000 on a credit card for me to even enter the hospital, which we did,’ Appice said. ‘And then she flew over from New York and she had to… My brother Vinny had to leave, and they wanted to cut my face open, pull it over and fix it. And I said, You can’t fix it like that. You have to go up the artery, all the way to the back of her nose. There’s these veins over here. And they wouldn’t listen to us.’
The final leg of his medical journey proved to be the most critical. Doctors discovered a life-threatening condition.
‘Somehow, through all this craziness, the State Department and American Express, which gave us the first airlift, all these different things, somehow she got another airlift. And I just found out the other night, it wasn’t a jet; it was a propeller plane. And it went from Paris to Ireland, Ireland to Newfoundland, Newfoundland to New Jersey, and then into the hospital,’ he explained.
‘On the last phase, my fever was way up, my blood pressure was way up, and the doctors on the plane were getting worried. So we finally got to New Jersey. I got into the hospital there, and they had two doctors. One of them took the gauze out of my nose and it was sepsis. He said one more day, 24 more hours, I would’ve been dead.’
Appice concluded his account by crediting his survival to divine intervention. He added a touch of humor about his wife’s perspective.
‘So, I say Jesus saved me. My wife is Jewish. Se said, No, it was the other Jew that saved you. [Laughs] But I know what it was,’ he said.
This life-threatening experience represents just one chapter in the remarkable career of a drummer who has faced numerous challenges throughout his decades in the music industry.
Blabbermouth reported that Appice reflected that this near-death experience reinforced his faith in Jesus Christ and helped him become a better person. The spiritual awakening he described during his recovery has continued to influence his perspective on life and mortality.
The 2018 European tour that nearly claimed his life was actually completed despite the medical emergency. Psychedelic Scene noted that he and his brother Vinny were able to finish the European tour dates before the incident forced him to return home for treatment. This demonstrates the drummer’s dedication to his craft even in the face of serious health concerns.
The chronic nature of Appice’s nosebleed condition has been a recurring issue throughout his life. It has affected him during significant moments in history. WDRV documented that the drummer’s ongoing health issues with recurrent nosebleeds have been a significant part of his life, even affecting him during moments of great personal anxiety like on 9/11, showing the chronic nature of his condition.
The drummer’s experience highlights the critical importance of emergency medical response and the complex logistics involved in international medical evacuations. It also showcases how life-threatening situations can profoundly impact one’s spiritual beliefs and personal outlook.
