Sir Brian May feared he'd never play guitar again after suffering a stroke.
The Queen rocker was taken to hospital last September after suffering a "minor" stroke that left him without any control over one of his arms and he admitted it a "scary" time when he first fell ill because he didn't know if he'd pick up his instrument again.
Discussing his anxieties about potentially not being able to play, he told Guitarist magazine: “It went through my mind. When I suddenly couldn’t control this left arm, it was quite scary. I had no idea what was going on.
“I phoned my doctor and she said, ‘Okay, I think you’re having a minor stroke. Dial 999, get in the ambulance and I’ll see you there.’ But even at the worst time, although I couldn’t control where the arm was, I could control my fingers.
"So I thought, ‘I’m probably not really in danger.’ I’m all right now. I’m just taking it slow.”
The 77-year-old guitarist had told fans about his "little health hiccup" on Instagram just days after being hospitalised.
The 'We Will Rock You' hitmaker told fans in an Instagram video update: “I hope you’re all well out there. I’m here to bring you first of all some good news. I think good news is that I can play guitar after the events of the last few days and I say this because it was in some doubt because that little health hiccup that I mentioned happened about a week ago and what they called it was a minor stroke and all of a sudden - out of the blue - I didn’t have any control over this arm so was a little scary."
Praising the staff who cared for him at Frimley Hospital in Camberley, Surrey, he added: “I have to say I had the most fantastic care and attention from Frimley Hospital where I went blue lights flashing… the lot. Very exciting!”
His wife, actress Anita Dobson, confirmed a few weeks later that he was on track to make a "full recovery".
Speaking to The Sun newspaper's Bizarre column, Anita said: “He’s been told to rest. It’s hard to keep him resting, but he needs to, otherwise he won’t get well.
“He’s doing great – he’s on the road, he’s doing really, really well. We’re very pleased.
“I’m completely confident he’ll make a full recovery.
“You have to take things slowly, chill a bit. He’s not that kind of animal!”
