During a conversation with The Metal Voice, former Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno addressed his current state of health.
Paul reportedly underwent an operation back in 2016 to remove what was described as a “rugby ball-sized abscess” on his lungs.
He also required a knee-replacement procedure on both knees after several motorcycle accidents over the years, forcing him to use a wheelchair and perform sitting down.
Asked about his health issues, the musician replied:
“I still got two knees to be done yet. I haven’t walked in four years, it’s ridiculous. They’ve got the cement in the right knee, left knee is coming up next.
“Unfortunately, my surgeon, he’s one of the best in the country, but it’s not like the hospital says, ‘Okay, you’re coming in for this operation at this date.’
“He’s the one who books you, not the hospital. He also takes care of a lot of our troops who come over with amputations and stuff like that.
“I’ve got to wait for him, and we’re hoping soon after New Year I’ll get the left knee done. Once that’s done, I’ll get up and learn to get up on crutches. That’s a start.”
It must be weird not walking for so long. Four years, right?
“The thing is, they won’t touch you for two years in any operations whatsoever just in case it all goes wrong and they don’t take the blame for anything.
“And then when I did go and have the right knee removed, I caught this thing called MRSA, which you get from hospitals. It’s all over the world, MRSA; I caught that twice.
“That delayed things a bit. It’s just a horrible situation. The left knee’s looking pretty good, the left leg’s looking alright, but the right one’s absolutely destroyed. It’s going to be a very complicated operation.”