Following an outpour of support from fans across the globe last year, Bad Brains frontman HR will undergo surgery this month for a neurobiological disorder that has been increasingly diminishing his quality of life.
In March of 2016, HR’s wife and carer, Lori Hudson, set up a GoFundMe Campaign to help alleviate the financial strains that resulted from the incurable, severe and chronic headaches known as SUNCT.
In the initial post, Hudson said the rare condition – which has been nicknamed “Suicide Syndrome” – had got progressively worse to the point where he now lives in “almost constant pain”.
“The intensity of the nighttime headaches is so great that he yells, cries out, groans, and sobs — repeatedly, every few minutes, for most of the night,” Hudson said.
“He can't work. He has no quality of life. If you call him and ask how he is, he will say, 'Everything's okay,' because that's just how he is. But everything is not okay.
“He has lost weight, with visible muscle wasting.”
After exhausting a range of other treatment options, including a “cocktail of pharmaceuticals”, HR consulted with a neurosurgeon, and surgery has now been confirmed for February, as detailed in the latest GoFundMe update.
Fans continue to donate to the cause, with 458 people contributing $16,384 of a $15k goal at the time of publication.
Despite living with such a serious condition, HR has remained active with the band, as Hudson detailed late last year:
“I think he's gotten to the point where he's tired of the headaches controlling his life, so he's continuing to have weekly band practice and making (very limited) plans to perform. As you know, music is his passion, the thing that drives him, and he needs it.”
In 2015, guitarist for the seminal hardcore act, Dr Know, also had health issues, being hospitalised and on life support in a critical condition for several days.
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