EVH has hand surgery

Paul Wolfe · Post by **Paul Wolfe** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 5:28 pm

Came across this yesterday... Ed had surgery on his left hand. I can't imagine how nerve-wracking it'd be to have surgery on my fretting hand if I made my living the way he does.

BLABBERMOUTH wrote:Eddie Van Halen revealed to Rolling Stone that he is recovering from delicate hand surgery due to a bone spur, a twisted tendon, and a cyst in the joint of his left thumb. He explained that the hand problems first popped up during VAN HALEN's last tour, saying, "During the last leg of our tour, I started developing pain in my thumb and my pinky. I didn't think much of it at the time. It got progressively worse to the point that about three months ago I wasn't able to play at all. My pinky and my thumb were totally locked up and felt like there was something broken."

He sought help from hand specialists in Dusseldorf, Germany, who at first were treating him for arthritis before further examinations showed the extent of the problem: "They said the only way to fix it was surgery, which of course scared the shit out of me, but I was told it was the only way to fix it. Surgery was a success, now I just have to let it heal. I am totally jazzed that they found the problem, fixed it and in about four months my hand will feel like I am 18 again. Thank God."

The stitches came out within a few days, and so far Van Halen's hand has regained its full reach. His recovery will be complete in four-to-six months. "In the meantime I am able to write a bit, but cannot overexert my hand because it needs to heal properly," he said.

Sat Sep 19, 2009 10:13 pm

Lets hope Ed's hand will be better soon!
Thnx!

Post by **skezza** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 10:25 am

Man, reading this scares me. It makes me forget that we're all human and one of the greatest guitarists of all time, someone who changed guitar, may be coming close to his expiry date.

Post by **Trigger** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 10:49 am

Love him or hate him he set a standard that other follow and to think we could lose another big name from the world of live music is sad indeed.
I saw VH in 1984 and I was stunned at how amazing they were in the DLR days prior to the big split.

tedeeoo · Post by **tedeeoo** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 3:08 am

I have read somewhere (I don't remember exactly where) that Ed's hand is recovering well and that he is playing some. He seems to be taking care of himself a little better than he has in the past also, hopefully we'll hear some new music from him soon. Eddie was my second biggest influence, he always looked so cool on stage and of course, no one sounds like Eddie or pre-split VH.