Iron Maiden drummer left paralyzed by stroke: 'By the grace of God I'm getting better'

foxnews.com:

Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain is speaking out about his health. The longtime heavy metal rocker shared an update with his fans after he suffered a stroke in January that left him partially paralyzed. "It left me paralyzed on my right side from my shoulder on down," McBrain, 71, revealed in a statement via YouTube. "Of course I was very worried that my career was over but with the love and support from my wife, Rebecca and family, my doctors… my Maiden family I was able to bounce back to somewhere near 70% recovered." McBrain said he went through 10 weeks of "intense therapy" and is focused on getting back to "100% fitness."   "I'm not there yet, but by the grace of God, I'm getting better and stronger as the weeks go by," he added.

The rocker appeared to be in good spirits in his video message and included a photo of himself behind his drum set during an Iron Maiden performance.

Iron Maiden’s manager Rod Smallwood additionally shared, "We honestly did not know if he would be able to play a whole show until band rehearsals started in May." "There was just so much support for him from the band and then genuine relief for all when we saw he was going to be able to do it!" The band is slated to continue their tour at The Wacken Open Air festival in Germany.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Iron Maiden (@ironmaiden) On Friday, Iron Maiden shared photos on Instagram from their The Future Past Tour. "Tonight is the final European show of #TheFuturePastTour ! #IronMaiden #KillerKontent #Wacken" The Wacken Open Air heavy metal festival in northern Germany announced earlier this week that the event reduced audience capacity due to inclement weather.