Shane MacGowan is hoping to spend Christmas at home as his wife Victoria Mary has revealed the Pogues rocker has to stay in hospital for two weeks.
The singer – who celebrates his 65th birthday on Christmas Day - is being treated for viral encephalitis — an uncommon and serious condition in which the brain becomes swollen. Just over a week ago he contracted shingles and the infection spread to his eye, leading Victoria to call for help.
“I noticed it on his face. His eye was getting red and began to close over. I called the doctor and the doctor said it was very dangerous so we had to get him to the hospital straight away,” she said.
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Further tests confirmed encephalitis, which when left untreated can lead to death in one in 10 patients.
“The hospital explained to me that shingles can go into your brain and that’s what happened to Shane so now they want to keep him in on a drip for two weeks,” Victoria told the Sunday Independent.
Victoria previously opened up about her frustrations over her husband being hospitalised.
She said: “It’s not so much of a challenge to stay positive and connected with your angels when life is going well and things are fun but when the s*** hits the fan and you are challenged by illness or anything that disrupts your ease it’s not going to be smooth sailing!
"Shane is in hospital now and I have been feeling the full range of feelings including desperate and hopeless and overwhelmed and anxious, and everything else that a human feels.
"But even if we collapse in a heap and cry our eyes out - there is always a part of us that knows that everything is going to work out and be ok."
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