Deryck Whibley, frontman for the Grammy nominated rock band Sum 41 is opening up once again about the alcohol abuse that nearly claimed his life. Last May, the Canadian rocker was hospitalized after fainting in his kitchen, forcing his fiancé, model Ariana Cooper, to rush him to the hospital. It was there that doctors informed him that he could never drink again. The frontman told Noise that he used drinking as a means to wake up and have enough “fake energy” to get on stage, but after years of substantial drinking, Whibley says that he no longer finds the urge to participate in the practice that nearly killed him. While most people may feel like they’re missing out on a rite of passage when they’re forced to stop drinking, Whibley says that he has done so much of it already, that he’s “done with it.”
The damage Whibley had done to his body was so intense that both his kidneys and his liver literally collapsed. As a result, the singer who was once married to Avril Lavigne, was not only placed in a coma so the effects of withdrawal would be easier on his body, but he was bedridden for such a long period of time that his muscles have been depleted, making it hard to walk or stand for extended periods of time. While he can’t wait to get on stage again, he isn’t sure he is strong enough to perform yet. His doctors have told him that his progress is going well, and that he is not behind schedule at all, but Whibley stated that it all feels very slow to him. He also mentioned that it’s the thought of getting back in front of a crowd that keeps him going.
Despite the obvious effect being hospitalized has had on his writing, Whibley is thankful that his health scare happened now and not when he was older, because he isn’t sure his body would have made it otherwise. Coming out unscathed from what could have been a tragic turn of events has not left Whibley, who is the first one to admit that it could have been much worse “I do look back and think about how much worse it could have been. I could have had way more health problems than I had, but my liver is fine! Everything shut down before any more damage could happen. To walk out of there alive, without cirrhosis or needing transplants… you know, it could have been worse.”
Whibley recently was writing with 5 Seconds of Summer for their upcoming album, which is yet to receive an official release date, and Sum 41 as a whole have been busy recording tracks for their sixth studio album.
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