BLAZE BAYLEY Says His Wife Is 'In A Coma That Could Last Days, Weeks Or Even Months'

UK-based heavy metal singer Blaze Bayley (ex-IRON MAIDEN, WOLFSBANE) has released the following statement:

"On Sunday 6th of July at 5.15 pm, my wife and manager Debbie collapsed at our home in Tamworth. She was rushed to hospital and scanned, it was discovered she had suffered a brain heamorrhage. She has had three neuro surgeries, each one has been a success.
"Debbie is now in a coma that could last days, weeks or even months. She is breathing on her own and she is stable, but she is still in critical condition. I visit her every day that I am not out with the band, and talk to her about what is going on with the band and how well the new album is doing. Her family and close friends are also at her bedside every day.

"Thank you to every one who has sent messages of support to Debbie and to me. A lot of them I have read out to Debbie in hospital. As each day passes she has more chance of making some kind of recovery, but it will be a very long process. It is not like on TV where people just suddenly wake up. They may wake up for 60 seconds then fall unconscious again for hours or days and eventualy they can stay awake for a little longer each time. The whole process can take days, weeks, months, or even years. Brain injuries and recovery are very unpredictable so there are no guarentees or certanties in any of this.

"She has worked so hard to get the band going and to make the new album possible that I feel it is important to continue with what she has started for us. So I am not cancelling any shows that she has arranged for the band, because I know that is not what Debbie would want. We will continue to book shows and run things the way she started. There have been a few hiccups with the online store but please email us if you have any problems and we will try to sort them out.

"Thank you all again for all the love and support you have given my wife and me over these very difficult days. I hope you enjoy the new album and we'll see you at one of our shows soon."

Bayley and Debbie got married on February 14, 2007 on the island of Gran Canaria.

In a May 2008 interview with HeavyMetal.no, Bayley stated, "I had a lot of problems with alcohol, severe depression, almost had a breakdown at the end of [the] 'Tenth Dimension' [album cycle], fucked about by the record company, totally broke, I'd spent all my money of trying to keep the band together. I was absolutely fucked. I was just about keeping going, and then I met my wife. And she'd known me... We've known each other for 18 years. 20 years. We were apart for years, because I follow this passion for music, and Debbie was following her passion, she was a dancer, and then she got her own hair business, and then we met again, when I was at my lowest. My wife found me, and really made me believe again, that it wasn't all my fault, it wasn't the fact that people didn't like what I was doing, it was the fact that they didn't actually know that I was doing anything at all. So that was a big difference. So that's it. She supported it, then I had incredible support from my family, my friends, and the fans who stuck by me was just incredible. With that kind of support, and with my wife behind me, helping me sort myself out, [I got] through my drinking problems, depression and all of that."

Blaze Bayley and wife/manager Debbie:

(Thanks: Vaderainband)