Paul Rodgers recently shared details on his health and the surgery he underwent for his vocals. After suffering numerous strokes, eleven minor and two major, the rocker was unable to speak. The strokes ultimately led to a procedure, which risked Rodgers’ vocal chords. Fortunately, he is now healing, and his vocal cords seem to be okay.
During the recent interview with KSHE 95, the rocker shared his scare of almost losing his voice.
He clarified he has been healing, and when asked if he is now healthy, he shared:
“Yeah, thank you. Thank God, really. But I do thank hyperbaric [oxygen therapy] as well, which is the treatment you can get. You just sit in there, oxygen under pressure. The only thing you feel is a little bit in your ears; it’s like flying on a little puddle jumper airplane. But that’s all. And then you just watch a movie for an hour, and you’re done. You breathe in, and [the oxygen] recirculates through your brain, and it’s very good. It took a year and a half to get my voice back after all that stroke.”
He was then asked if he was worried about his vocals when recovering from the strokes. He affirmed and said:
“Definitely, yeah, because I had an operation — endarterectomy, I think it’s called. Actually, they have to cut your throat. They have to incubate it to do that. And they get very close to the vocal cords. But I had a great surgeon, Dr. Lawlor. He’s in Vancouver now. And he said, ‘I knew that you were a vocalist, and I was careful to keep the knife away from your vocal cords.'”
After losing his ability to speak, the rocker was scared he wouldn’t be able to speak again, and the words he tried to say didn’t come out as he expected. Eventually, this led to surgeries.
Even though his doctors told the rocker that he might not be able to come out of it alive, Rodgers still considered undergoing surgery. After the surgeries, it took him six months to return to singing and playing guitar, though not fully healed to gain his singing voice back.
Listen to the interview below.
