Shane McGowan shared a New Year’s message with fans and told them about his health.
The Pogues singer was hospitalized in early December with an infection, but was released home in time for his birthday on Christmas and for the celebration of the New Year.
In a video message sent from his home on Saturday (December 31), McGowan said: “Hi, friends, I’m sitting here with encephalitis.
“The light is killing me,” he said, referring to why he wore sunglasses indoors, “but I wanted to wish you a Happy New Year and a merry Christmas.”
Happy New Year 🥳 have as much fun as you can when you can!!! Thank you 🙏 pic.twitter.com/qzgj2TeKGG
— Shane MacGowan (@ShaneMacGowan) December 31, 2022
Encephalitis is a rare disease in which the brain swells. It can be life-threatening and requires urgent treatment. Symptoms include loss of movement and difficulty speaking.
McGowan continued by saying he wishes people “all the luck in the world and all the love. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, I love Shane.”
Last month, the musician was diagnosed with encephalitis, but then he caught shingles, and the infection spread to his eyes. This led to him staying in the hospital for two weeks.
His wife, Victoria Mary Clark, said in December that she thought her husband was “a little upset” about his last stay in the hospital. “It really upsets him,” she told The Irish Mirror. — He wants to get out.
Despite his disappointment, Clarke assured fans she believed her husband would recover, telling them not to “worry too much” and that she was “sure he would be fine.”
Over the past decade, McGowan has had health problems over and over again, including a pelvic fracture in 2015 that required the use of a wheelchair and left him with constant mobility problems.
In the same year, after many years of oral health problems and dental complications, he was given a new set of teeth and titanium implants in his jaw. The following year, McGowan was hospitalized with hip pain aggravated by pneumonia.
