Brian May has shared an insight into his recovery following his recent heart attack as he revealed he has been crawling around his house ‘on his hands and knees’.
The Queen star, 72, suffered a heart attack last month, shortly after suffering a separate, unconnected gardening injury which left him hospitalised.
Detailing his experience since returning home from hospital, May said: ‘Just a quick word. I finally managed to get to the music room. I’m recovering slowly. I’m still crawling around the house on my hands and knees, not very rock star like.’
Opening up: Brian May has shared an insight into his recovery following his recent heart attack as he revealed he has been crawling around his house ‘on his hands and knees’
He also reminisced about his performance at Party At The Palace in 2002 as he tried to celebrate the 18th anniversary of the Queens Jubilee.
He added: ‘It’s amazing that 18 years ago I was on top of Buckingham Palace, the loneliest place in the world, playing God Save The Queen and terrified out my wits but it’s one of those times when you face the fear and you’re never quite the same after it.
‘Wishing you all luck and hoping that one day I’ll be functional and I’ll be out there and we can do some more great stuff, maybe? God bless.’
It comes after the guitarist said he couldn’t believe the messages of support he’s had from fans and although he agreed it was a bit strange added:
Struggles: The Queen star, 72, suffered a heart attack earlier this month, shortly after suffering a separate, unconnected gardening injury which left him hospitalised (pictured 2020)
‘I feel like I died but I was able to come to the funeral and see all the tributes and stuff. I’m lucky I got to hear it so my life is complete.’
He returned to social media on Tuesday to thank fans for their support and well-wishes, as he likened the messages to reading funeral tributes.
Confessing he was ‘battling things’ as he continues to recover from his heart attack and unrelated muscle injuries, the rocker admitted he was feeling ‘overwhelmed’.
May said in an Instagram video: ‘I’m overwhelmed and really, more than touched by the torrent of love and support that’s come back at me after all the coverage in the press, I really didn’t expect all that.
Detailing his experience since returning home from hospital, May said: ‘Just a quick word. I finally managed to get to the music room. I’m recovering slowly’
‘As you can see I’m ok… my email box and everything else is so full of incredible messages, I will never ever be able to thank you all individually, so let me please at least thank you all here.
‘This is going to sound really strange but I sort of feel like I died and yet I was able to come to the funeral and see all the tributes.’
He went on: ‘I often think that at funerals, all these people come and say these wonderful things about the person that’s gone but he or she cant hear it.
Recovering: The Queen guitarist was recovering from a ripped muscle and trapped nerve as a result of a gardening injury, when he suffered a heart attack amid his recovery
I’m lucky, I got to hear it – so my life is complete. Yeah I’m sorry if that sounds weird, but I can’t compare it with anything.’
The musician went on to state he is ‘taking it easy and doing physio’ as he recovers, concluding: ‘But thank you thank you thank you, that’s all I can say, for the fantastic amount of love you’ve given me. It’s really appreciated, I will never forget it.’
The video comes after May made the shock admission on Monday that he was rushed to hospital after suffering a heart attack.
Hospitalised: The rocker released an Instagram video in which he explained the shocking series of events that lead to his hospitalisation
The guitarist was recovering from a ripped muscle and trapped nerve as a result of a gardening injury, when he suffered a heart attack amid his recovery.
The rocker released an Instagram video in which he explained the shocking series of events that lead to his hospitalisation.
May began the clip by stating: ‘I told you I had a ripped muscle and that was the way I was diagnosed and we thought it was like a bizarre gardening accident… I kind of forgot anything to do with the bum people find amusing… but anyway, it turned out to be not really the case.’
Candid: He detailed his shock saga in a lengthy Instagram video shared on Monday
He went on to reveal that after being diagnosed with a rip in his gluteus maximus, he was confused to find that a week later he was still in pain.
He explained: ‘I mean real agony. I wanted to jump at some points. I could not believe the pain. And people are saying ‘that’s not like a ripped muscle’, so eventually I had another MRI.’
The results showed that May had a compressed sciatic nerve, which he noted ‘felt like someone had been putting a screwdriver in my back the entire time. It was excruciating….’
However, in the middle of receiving treatment for his trapped nerve and ripped muscle, Brian suffered another medical emergency.
Shocking: May went on to reveal that doctors discovered he had three arteries congested and he was in danger of blocking the supply of blood to his heart
He explained: ‘So that’s one side of the story, and I’m a lot better now. I’m free of that terrible pain that actually destroys your mind…
‘But the rest of the story is a little more bizarre. I was shocked, I thought I was a healthy guy. Everyone says I’ve got a great blood pressure and I keep fit, I bike, good diet.
‘I had – in the middle of the whole saga of the painful backside – I had a small heart attack. I say small, it’s not something that did me any harm. It was about 40 minutes of pain in the chest and tightness. It’s that feeling in the arms and sweating.
Couple: May, who is married to former EastEnders star Anita Dobson, 71, previously said the nerve pain caused by his gardening injury ‘paralysed my brain’
‘And you kind of know, you’ve heard things and you think ‘this is a heart attack’. To cut a long story short, my wonderful doctor drove me to the hospital himself and I had an angiogram [an X-ray used to examine blood vessels.]’
May went on to reveal that doctors discovered he had three arteries congested and he was in danger of blocking the supply of blood to his heart.
Doctors suggested that he undergo open heart surgery, but May opted for the alternative which was to have three stents put inside his heart.
Still recovering from his ripped muscle and nerve pain made the operation even worse, however, with Brian saying that he ‘ripped out his tubes’ in hospital after being left in such agony.
Couple: May, who is married to former EastEnders star Anita Dobson, 71, previously said the nerve pain caused by his gardening injury ‘paralysed my brain’
Following the operation, May is recovering well, revealing that he is in no pain from the surgery, stating: ‘I walked out with a heart that is very strong now. So I think I’m in good shape for some time to come…. And if I’m not then I’ll have another angiogram.’
He continued: ‘Anyway, I didn’t die, I came out, and I would have been full of beans if it weren’t for the leg.
‘I’ve only just got to the point where the leg is liveable.’
May went on to encourage his followers to look after their hearts and get them checked as they approach their ‘autumn years’ of life.
He concluded: ‘I’m very grateful that I now have a life to lead again. I was very near death because of this, but the pain that I had was from something very different. It’s funny how these things work.
‘But I’m good. I’m here. And I’m ready to rock. Please don’t send me sympathies, because I’m good. God bless.’
He added that he believes everyone over the age of 60 should have an angiogram to warn them of their risks of having a heart attack, noting that he himself ‘had no idea’ that he was in danger.
Legendary: May is best known as the guitarist in rock band Queen