Why Guns N’ Roses’ Slash Was Given Less Than Two Months To Live

On top of his incredible guitar playing thanks to which he’s considered one of the greatest guitarists in history, Guns N’ Roses lead guitarist Slash is a perfect representation of what a rockstar looks, sounds, and acts like with his iconic sunglasses and hat as well as his notorious lifestyle that included drugs, alcohol, and partying much like every other musician.

The iconic guitarist, unfortunately, faced the inevitable consequences of substance abuse much sooner than his fellow musicians when his heart failed at the early age of 35. On the bright side, this devastating incident was an epiphany for Slash and he decided to quit doing drugs and drinking alcohol. Let’s dive into the details of this unfortunate story and how the GNR icon was saved miraculously.

Slash Had A Serious Heart Problem And Almost Died

Slash was only 20 when he joined Guns N’ Roses and the benefits of being a rock and roll god came pretty rapidly for the guitarist. The endless alcohol, drugs, and partying was almost a necessity for every rockstar and Slash played his part perfectly as a young musician. However, this extravagant lifestyle had its downsides and he learned it much sooner than anyone else.

Slash’s years of substance abuse led to a condition called cardiomyopathy which affects the heart muscles when he was only 35 years old. Furthermore, it got to a point where his doctors at the time gave the Guns N’ Roses guitarist a maximum of six weeks to live. While everything seemed to be against the musician, things took a turn in a positive direction all of a sudden.

Being a young person, the ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ guitarist was fitted with a defibrillator to keep his heart rate steady which would prevent his heart from stopping. The odds weren’t in his favor but the musician miraculously managed to heal after the surgery with the help of therapy as well.

In an interview, Slash said:

“Years of drinking had swollen my heart to the point of bursting. It reached the point where the doctors gave me between six days and six weeks to live. They installed a defibrillator to keep my heart from stopping and keep it beating at a steady rate. After the operation, I began therapy and miraculously my heart started to heal.”

His fans couldn’t be happier that Slash somehow managed to keep on living while his doctor gave him only one and a half months to live. Things could’ve ended pretty badly for the guitarist if his following actions included his old habits but fortunately for his fans, family, and friends, the rocker learned better, let’s take a look.

Slash Gave Up His Addictions After Facing Death

While some musicians don’t get the wake-up call, Slash wasn’t one of them as the guitarist decided to get rid of every addiction that damaged his heart and nearly killed him. In order to save himself and his family, he decided to go to rehab back in 2006 and the musician has been sober since then.

In addition to being sober for 15 years, the Guns N’ Roses icon is an advocate for maintaining a drug-free life and he oftentimes mentions during interviews how alcohol and drugs can ruin somebody’s life. In his statements, Slash gives himself living proof of how substance abuse is destructive and harmful both for one’s self and loved ones.

Although it must have been scary for him to go through such a scary process during which he was told to have less than two months left, Slash had the biggest lesson in life and put his health first rather than living the moment carelessly. Thanks to his responsible actions, fans still have the opportunity to see him rocking the stage after all these years.