Iron Maiden drummer left paralyzed by stroke: 'By the grace of God I'm getting better'
Longtime band member Nicko McBrain suffered a stoke in January
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain is speaking out about his health.
The longtime heavy metal rocker shared an update with his fans after he suffered a stroke in January that left him partially paralyzed.
"It left me paralyzed on my right side from my shoulder on down," McBrain, 71, revealed in a statement via YouTube.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}IRON MAIDEN SINGER FLIES BAND'S 747 DURING WORLD TOUR
Longtime band member Nicko McBrain suffered a stoke in January. (Getty Images)
"Of course I was very worried that my career was over but with the love and support from my wife, Rebecca and family, my doctors… my Maiden family I was able to bounce back to somewhere near 70% recovered."
McBrain said he went through 10 weeks of "intense therapy" and is focused on getting back to "100% fitness."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I'm not there yet, but by the grace of God, I'm getting better and stronger as the weeks go by," he added.
The rocker appeared to be in good spirits in his video message and included a photo of himself behind his drum set during an Iron Maiden performance.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Iron Maiden’s manager Rod Smallwood additionally shared, "We honestly did not know if he would be able to play a whole show until band rehearsals started in May."
Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain shared a health update with his fans after he suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed. (Getty Images)
"There was just so much support for him from the band and then genuine relief for all when we saw he was going to be able to do it!"
The band is slated to continue their tour at The Wacken Open Air festival in Germany.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On Friday, Iron Maiden shared photos on Instagram from their The Future Past Tour.
"Tonight is the final European show of #TheFuturePastTour ! #IronMaiden #KillerKontent #Wacken"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}From left to right, Dave Murray, Janick Gers, Steve Harris, Bruce Dickinson, Nicko McBrain and Adrian Smith. (Getty Images)
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The Wacken Open Air heavy metal festival in northern Germany announced earlier this week that the event reduced audience capacity due to inclement weather.
Persistent rain turned the grounds to mud and forced organizers to order a halt to all new arrivals, according to The Associated Press.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Metal fans walk are the rain soaked, muddy festival grounds in Wacken, Germany, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023. (Christian Charisius/dpa via AP)
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Organizers of the famed music festival in the village of Wacken, in a rural area northwest of Hamburg, had already told fans on Tuesday that no more cars and trucks could be admitted to the site because camping areas, the grounds and access roads were in poor condition because of heavy rain in recent days, and more was expected.
Early Wednesday, they announced a "total admission stop." In a statement on the festival's website, they said "considering the weather conditions, the reasonable visitor capacity for Wacken Open Air 2023 has now been reached."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Associated Press contributed to this report.