Budgie’s Burke Shelley says he’s turned down surgery for an aortic aneurysm as he fears having an operation could result in spinal damage, which could leave him in a wheelchair.
The condition causes a bulge in the wall of the aorta – the main artery which carries blood between the heart and the rest of the body.
Wales Online report that the vocalist and bassist was diagnosed with a six centimetre aortic aneurysm a decade ago, and the condition has now recurred – but Shelley is determined to carry on as normal.
He says: "Doctors have informed me I've got another aneurysm, a critical one, even higher up my aorta this time. It’s been there for more than six months. They've said they definitely need to operate on it straight away, but I've told them no.
"I'm 70 next month and want to live what life I have left and not be crippled.”
Shelley adds: “I've got faith in God and have no worries about where I'm going. So I'll just go when He decides to take me and, in the meantime, I'll carry on doing what I want to do. Simple as that."
Shelley says the surgery he had in 2010 for the condition resulted in damage to his diaphragm, leaving him unable to sing properly.
However, he reports he has unfinished material featuring vocals from 10 years ago that he hopes to release as an album at some point in the future.
Budgie's final studio album was You're All Living in Cuckooland which was released in 2006.
