Jimmy Barnes reveals how close he came to death: 'That's not going to work!'
Australian rock legend Jimmy Barnes has faced death and serious fears that he might not wake up after open heart surgery.
The Scottish-born former Cold Chisel frontman, 67, has survived his fair share of health issues, from his long life to the extreme and his drug and alcohol addiction.
While others previously worried about him, two months ago he was as worried as his family after he was struck by a life-threatening infection that affected his heart.
At one point, while in St. Vincent's Hospital in Sydney, a seriously ill Barnes told his wife Jane, “I don't think I'm going to make it.”
'I just had a terribly sick feeling, because I've never felt so sick before. I thought I was gone,” he said 60 minutes.
Hours before going to the hospital, an unwell Barnes took the stage at a memorial concert for his late friend and promoter, Michael Gudinski.
At one point at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney, Jimmy Barnes (left) told his wife Jane (right): 'I don't think I'm going to make it'
Although he felt very unwell the night before going to hospital, Barnes still played at a memorial concert (pictured) for late friend Michael Gudinski.
The pain of performing because he didn't want to let anyone down was evident in the footage of the concert – not that you could tell from his powerful voice that night.
Barnes was so ill that he barely remembers the show.
'I was really bad. And even though I felt like I could barely walk, I just had to get there,” he said.
Backstage he was sweating and had a fever. '
'There was a lot of pain. My back hurt a lot…I had trouble walking. I don't know how I got through it,” Barnes recalled.
“As soon as I came off, I almost collapsed.”
Barnes was scheduled to fly abroad the next morning for another concert, but instead went to hospital as her health continued to deteriorate.
“He could have easily said, 'I'll just sleep on the plane, I'll sleep it off,'” Jane recalled.
“If he had done that this time, I don't know if he would be with us.”
Barnes explained what led to him making the fateful decision to go to St. Vincent's instead of Sydney Airport.
'I got out of bed and was in so much pain. I was wheezing, had a fever (and I thought: I just can't do it).”
Although he had had a bad back on and off for years, this time he didn't know what was wrong. He just knew it couldn't be ignored.
When his children heard that their father was in the hospital, they immediately knew it was serious.
“For him to pull the plug (and say) 'I'm going to the hospital' is a big deal,” said his eldest son, Today Extra host David Campbell.
Daughter Mahalia added: “I've worried about him at many points, but I don't think I've been more worried about him and all of us than I was in December.”
Campbell said he called his father's wife and Jane and she said, 'This isn't good. It doesn't feel good at all.”
'So he had gone from feeling 'I'm letting people down' to 'something is wrong and I don't know what's happening to my body'.
“And it started to scare him. I think he was scared. And he said, 'I think I'm dying.'”
At St. Vincent's Hospital, what Barnes thought might be pneumonia turned out to be much worse.
A team of specialists discovered that the rocker's body was failing because an infection in his blood was causing endocarditis – a life-threatening inflammation of the heart
'It's deadly. “If he had not died of the infection, he would have died of heart failure because the entire valve fell apart,” said cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Paul Jansz.
Jimmy Barnes (left) is pictured with his wife Jane (right) after open heart surgery
Jimmy Barnes shows off the scar left by his open heart surgery, also featuring a tattoo of his wife Jane's name
Jimmy Barnes and his wife Jane are pictured. She barely left his side during his 26 days in the hospital
By the time he was wheeled into the operating room for open-heart surgery, his doctors said he had only hours to live.
“When I thought about dying before the operation, all I thought was, 'You have to enjoy those moments; Have I told my children that I love them enough? Did I tell Jane? The people you love, make sure you tell them,” Barnes said.
During a seven-hour operation, doctors replaced Barnes' damaged valves and repaired his heart.
He endured the surgery, but the pain when he woke up was like nothing he had ever felt before.
“It's like you've been torn in half,” he said. 'Your best friend is a pillow. When you cough, it's just pain. If you breathe too deeply, it is pain. And sneezing would be the end of you.
'But I think it made me stronger. I want to be better than I was. This has given me all this new life and I want to make the most of it. I want every minute to count.'
Barnes has gained a new appreciation for some of the simpler things in life, like Sunday lunch with family.
He is full of gratitude for his doctors and his wife, who hardly left his side during his 26 days in the hospital.
“The fact that my family was there and Jane was there definitely kept me from going anywhere. I wanted to spend every breath I could with Jane. And if that meant fighting to live longer, then I would,” he said.
Barnes has gained a new appreciation for some of the simpler things in life, like having Sunday lunch with family (pictured with some of his grandchildren)
Just because he had open heart surgery doesn't mean Barnes (pictured) should avoid fruit salad
Amazingly, his recovery is going well. Barnes will return to live music at the Byron Bay Bluesfest on Easter Sunday.
When 60 Minutes reporter Sylvia Jeffreys asked him about this quick comeback, Barnes stretched out his arms like a crucifix and joked that this would be the day of his resurrection.
'I miss being on stage, I have to do it, I have no choice. I have to go out there and scream, it just takes the emotions out of you,” he said.